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Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame 2024 inductees: (front, left to right) Annemarie Jason (sister of Paul Wieland), Cecelie Owens, Vic Carucci, Warren Gelman, Bridget Niland. Back: Robbie Cadle (nephew to Kevin Cadle), Dan Gronkowski (brother of Rob), Rick Lancellotti, Walt Stefani, Patrick Foster (son of Norm), Craig Van Tine (son of Ed Van Tine).
The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame is no longer just virtual. You can once again see inductees’ names and faces and relive the memories they have created.
The Hall’s 34th class was officially unveiled Wednesday at a new venue as Dave & Adam’s Card World at 8075 Sheridan Drive, the presenting sponsor of annual induction dinner, will now be hosting new displays to honor the inductees.
Housed for many years in KeyBank Center, the Hall has been without a home since the Sabres expanded their team store in 2018 into the area in the arena pavilion where the displays had been located.
Under the direction of Hall board member and exhibit chairman John Boutet, five cases were salvaged from the displays downtown and several others were constructed in the store. Boutet estimated he spent about 200 hours building the rest of the display. Each inductee is requested to provide a piece of memorabilia, and Boutet’s personal collection also provided items.
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“It’s a dream come true,” said Boutet ... Most of all our stuff has been in storage for six years so it’s really nice for us to be able to have a place to showcase all these wonderful items we’ve collected. Everyone who has been inducted in our hall of fame has something here in our exhibit, whether it’s a picture, a jacket, a football, a helmet. We want to make sure everyone is celebrated.”
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The new Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame display at Dave & Adam's.
The classes are arranged by years and a photo induction card is included of each inductee.
“It’s like a puzzle putting it all together,” Boutet said.
Marv Levy’s personal Pro Football Hall of Fame bust was donated to the collection. The original, of course, is in the Hall in Canton, Ohio. There are jerseys like you’d expect from big names such as Jim Kelly, Pat LaFontaine and Dave Hollins.
But there also are unique items such as a basketball from former Buffalo State coach Dick Bihr, a bowling pin from former Erie Community College coach Kerm Helmer, the boots of legendary wrestler Ilio DiPaolo, the 1932 Olympic figure skating dress of Louise Weigel and a jacket from ex-Grover Cleveland football coach Art Serotte.
“It’s things like that, the really local items, that are the fun ones,” Boutet said.
The new display cases for the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame at Dave and Adam’s Card World in Williamsville.
This year’s class will be formally inducted at the annual dinner in November, with details to be announced. It is led by four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski, the Amherst native who became one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and two-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman Brooks Orpik, who went from Nichols School to titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. Also named were:
- Sportswriter Vic Carucci, whose 40-plus years of covering the NFL included two stints at The Buffalo News.
- Warren Gelman, a three-sport athlete at Nichols who went on to Yale and is considered one of the founders of girls hockey in Western New York.
- Rick Lancellotti, a 41-home run man for the 1979 Double-A Bisons who played for three MLB teams and became a slugger in Japan.
- Bridget Niland, a standout track athlete at Williamsville South and UB who has made a career as one of the area’s prominent college sports administrators.
- Cecelie “Ces” Owens, a standout basketball player at South Park and Buffalo State who is a Buffalo school principal and the founder of the G.I.R.L.S. Sports Foundation, Inc. to improve the quality of life for young people.
- Walt Stefani, who built a sectional and regional powerhouse during a 34-year career as the volleyball coach at Orchard Park High School.
Named in the veteran class to be inducted posthumously are Kevin Cadle, a former Baker Victory basketball star who became one of the top coaches of all time in England and Scotland and a prominent NBA and NFL broadcast analyst for SkySports in London; Norm Foster, longtime coach at Iroquois and Amherst High School in wrestling, football and track; Ed Van Tine, considered the “Godfather of lacrosse in Western New York” after a career as a coach at Buffalo State, Canisius College and St. Francis High School; and Paul Wieland, the Sabres’ inaugural public relations director and pioneer for their television broadcasts.
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Memorabilia at the new Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame display at Dave & Adam's.