LYNDORA — Saturday night was one like none before for the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.

Holding its 56th annual banquet at the Lyndora American Legion Hall, the organization saw its group of athletes, coaches, and community members surpass 400 inductees when it welcomed a dozen individuals and acknowledged the 1953 Chicora High basketball team.

The class was the largest in the Hall of Fame’s history.

“The classes will continue being that big because of the amount of talented high school athletes in the county since 1990,” BCSHOF president Dan Cunningham said.

Enshrined were Seneca Valley grad and former West Virginia offensive lineman Don Barclay, Karns City hooper Denny Barger, Karns City grad and talented baseball player Jack Gaiser, three-sport Knoch letterman Steve Hall, Knoch soccer player Amanda Sharbaugh Spaeder, and Ben McLure, who was instrumental in Butler’s baseball scene.

Butler standouts Cole Baxter (wrestling, football), Clint Eury (baseball), David Haas (swimming), Danica Snyder Alexander (cross country, track), Ray Weiland (golf), and Bob Stanley (gymnastics) were included, as well.

“This night is for all of them,” said Cunningham, who helped in the three months of preparation that led up to it.

Comments concerning those honored follow:

1953 Chicora High School basketball

Chances are, if you step into a high school classroom today, more students will be in seats than Chicora had in its graduating classes in the 1950s. That couldn’t slow the 1953 Blue Devils prep basketball team, which went 23-3 and won the District 9 Class C title. Neither could some interesting court setups.

“For instance, Parker (had a player) that would shoot from the other team’s foul line,” said Jim Baccanti, a member of that Chicora crew. “West Sunbury, you had to shoot through the rafters.

“In general, it was unique.”

The squad earned the night’s team award. Players who helped the group to success were Ron Nulph, Bob Wilson, Tom Dunn, Jim Skidmore, Tom McCollough, Don Collier, John Vensel, Bill Storey, and Dick Cunningham. They were coached by Jim Salsgiver.

Don Barclay

Seneca Valley grad Don Barclay spent plenty of time in front of determined defenders. He was also in Pitch Perfect 2, along with some of his Green Bay Packers teammates.

“Needless to say, that was probably not my kind of deal, but I took part in it and it was fun,” Barclay said. “Something I could say to the kids later on.”

As if his football career wasn’t enough.

“(My parents) taught me a lot of stuff growing up,” Barclay said. “My dad and my mom chose to teach hard work, discipline, and to have a good attitude.

“If I can teach my kids to do the same, they’ll be walking the right path.”

Denny Barger

At Karns City, Denny Barger poured in 800 points on the basketball court, including 39 in one game against rival East Brady.

He later coached football and boys and girls basketball. He was also the president of Petrolia Valley Little League and managed Pony and prep leagues in Karns City and Butler.

“I hope I left kids with a little bit more than a win or loss and a pep talk before we hit the field,” Barger said.

Cole Baxter

Cole Baxter’s parents tried to get him involved in organized T-ball and wrestling a year early.

“To this day, my parents probably cannot name ten wrestling moves, but that was never their job,” Baxter said. “They let the coaches coach and they were there for everything else.”

That included sitting through youth wrestling tournaments on the weekends and making sure they were present for almost all of his college matches.

“Even though I was told at least a million times in my life that the world does not revolve around me, in those examples it felt like it did,” the winningest wrestler in Butler High School history added.

Clint Eury

Clint Eury’s father taught him not to drag his feet. He told him that, if he was thinking about doing something, the kid down the road was already doing it.

Eury played baseball at Butler High School and then for Penn State University, where he finished his collegiate career as the program's all-time leader in saves. His parents were there every step of the way.

“They were the first ones to congratulate a good hit, a good game, calling as soon as the game was over, or traveling down to Northwestern University for a 12 p.m. game,” Eury said. “It meant so much.”

Jack Gaiser

Jack Gaiser’s power at the plate was something to behold.

As a high school-aged player, the 1941 Karns City graduate played on working men’s teams. One night, playing in Harmony, he belted a moon shot over the railroad tracks. As he circled the bases, one of the members of the crowd who witnessed it said, “I saw it, but I still don’t believe it. Nobody could hit a baseball that far.”

“He was a lover of the Yankees, and I think it was because they were known as the Bronx Bombers,” said Jack’s son, Tom Gaiser, speaking on his behalf for the posthumous induction. “They were always hitting home runs just like dad was always hitting home runs around here.”

David Haas

An All-American swimmer in his time in the pool at Butler High School, David Haas will tell you he wasn’t the most conventional. When he swam, he said, all you could see were arms and legs splashing everywhere.

He left for the Navy just days before college scholarship offers showed up, but recognizes how important the sport was in his life.

“I had no idea that swimming was so powerful of a thing to do,” Haas said.

Steve Hall

A three-sport athlete at Knoch High School and three-year letterman as a baseball player at Grove City College, Steve Hall has officiated for the PIAA for a quarter century.

He thanked his parents, extended family, and friends, as well as the high school officiating crew he works alongside.

“They don’t see too well, but I’m up here,” said Hall, making light of the scorn he endures from a disgruntled fan.

Ben McLure

Receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Ben McLure recalled his days on the diamond.

“As a baseball player, my career is described as brilliantly mediocre,” McLure said. “I was never the best at anything. I could catch it, I could throw it, but I could not hit it.”

One particular memory stood out that let him know he wasn’t long for wearing a glove and swinging the lumber — his first look at a good curveball.

“I was standing in the right-hand batter’s box and the ball was going to hit me,” McLure said. “It was going to tear my cap off. I got out of the way, the only thing that was left in the batter’s box was the hat.

“Strike one.”

While he wasn’t able to put those sorts of offerings in play as much as he would like, he definitely had an eye for talent, spending 44 years in a career as a professional baseball scout.

Amanda Sharbaugh Spaeder

Amanda Sharbaugh Spaeder netted 101 goals at Knoch and put up numbers at Gannon that the university’s women’s soccer program had never seen.

“Everyone that knew me, knew me as a Sharbaugh and that I played soccer,” Sharbaugh Spaeder said. “That was kind of my identity until I was married and became a professional in the world.

“I was really proud of that. I loved being known as the Sharbaugh soccer player.”

Danica Snyder Alexander

Danica Snyder Alexander was fast, setting Butler High School records in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs. However, she wasn’t quick to take track and field seriously.

“Who would have ever thought that the awkward middle schooler who got special permission from the gym teacher to organize his office instead of running the mile would be standing here tonight?” Snyder Alexander said. “Looking back on it, it’s a miracle I actually stuck with it, but God had a plan. He definitely had his work cut out for him, though.”

She challenged herself to finish her speech in under 5:06, which was how long it took her while practicing and happened to be her personal best in the mile, as well. As per usual, she accomplished a goal, telling her story and offering thanks with two seconds to spare.

Bob Stanley

A standout gymnast at Butler High School, Bob Stanley never placed lower than second place in any dual meet in his three seasons at Georgia Southern. He was a two-time runner up at nationals, including one as a member of Indiana State’s squad.

“I’m happy to be recognized and inducted for something I was very passionate about,” Stanley said.

Ray Weiland

Ray Weiland, one of the most talented golfers in Butler County history, gained induction posthumously. Speaking on his behalf was his wife, Patty Weiland, who told a story of how her husband helped Jeff O’Donnell, who’s legally blind, at an event at Hiland Golf Course.

“Every shot that Jeff got up to do, Ray put the ball down, lined Jeff up, and Jeff hit it,” Patty said. “Some were good, some were bad, like we all do.”

On hole No. 6, with its tricky green, Ray instructed Jeff to putt the ball 18 feet for it to drop into the hole, two feet further. The latter did as he was told, and the outcome was what the former predicted.

“Jeff was standing there in shock, like, ‘What did I do? What did I do?’” Patty said. “We were all yelling and everything. Ray walked up to him, put his arm around his shoulder and said, ‘You know what? That might be our best birdie putt ever.”