The Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame is six years old now.

Its membership stands at 41. That includes 16 football players, 15 track and field athletes, 14 basketball players, five gymnasts ... 11 different sports are represented.

But there’s one name in Butler sports lore who seems to rise above. If this Hall of Fame was a Christmas tree, he would be the star on top.

Paul Uram.

The man is more than a legend.

He served as an assistant football coach at Butler from 1955-73 before moving on to the Steelers as their strength and conditioning coach. Uram was a part of all four Steelers Super Bowl title teams of the 1970s.

He was head gymnastics coach at Butler from 1955-68, winning 107 dual meets — while losing none.

Legendary status, to be sure.

But Paul Uram is about even more than all of that.

It’s the positive impact he’s had on people for decades, as a coach, teacher, co-worker, family member or friend.

When fellow Butler Hall of Famers mention Uram’s name, they do so with reverence.

Bill Rettig, Butler’s bruising running back from the 1960s, said he spent practice time with the gymnasts to gain more flexibility as an athlete — and to spend more time with Coach Uram.

Mickey Uram, Paul’s nephew and a 2012 inductee, said Uram taught the importance of discipline, character and work ethic.

A soft-spoken coach who rarely raised his voice at anyone, Uram never had to speak to get his point across. His athletes have often spoke about “the look” he used that was universally understood.

Coach Uram had a way of making his athletes devoted to him and their teammates.

“To a man, everyone on his teams didn’t want to disappoint him,” Mickey said. “I wish that every kid, at some point, could be coached by Paul Uram.”

There can be no better compliment.

One of this year’s inductees, former football player Donnie Brown — who went on to coach for 10 years in the NFL — described Uram as “the most creative and innovative coach I’ve ever been around.”

Cliff Diehl, a former gymnast, said that Uram instilled a “don’t quit” type of attitude in him as a person that Diehl in turn instilled in his own children and grandchildren.

No doubt, countless others have done the same.

Mickey Haley credited Uram for making him a two-sport athlete in high school. Haley was going to give up diving and stay with gymnastics in high school until Uram told him the swim team needed a diver. He encouraged Haley to compete in both sports.

How many coaches would do that today?

Haley said that “there are great coaches, then there are the elite coaches, of which there are very few. Paul Uram is one of them.

“He never yelled. But he was always interested in you.”

To this day, Butler is benefitting from the interest Paul Uram put into teaching, coaching and developing quality people.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle