Into the Hall: George Von Benko
When the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame is mentioned a wealth of outstanding area athletes likely comes to mind.
There is another name that will always be intertwined with the Hall of Fame.
That name is George Von Benko.
After helping to make his dream of a local hall of fame come true and seeing droves of deserving sports figures being inducted, Von Benko himself has been chosen as a member of the Class of 2024.
It seems only fitting that Hall of Fame Executive Chair/Co-Founder Von Benko, the man most responsible for the many Fayette County athletes who have had the Hall of Fame honor bestowed upon them, is also inducted into that organization.
Hall of Fame Board Chairman Chris Cluss certainly felt so.
无毛视频淲hat success we无毛视频檝e had is based on George无毛视频檚 legacy and what he无毛视频檚 done,无毛视频� Cluss said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 the founder and he无毛视频檚 done yeoman无毛视频檚 work. He无毛视频檚 worked tirelessly to make the thing a success. A majority of the information comes from George. He无毛视频檚 a wealth of knowledge when it comes to things almost no one else knows. He has a lot of good connections in the sports world.无毛视频�
Cluss also cited Von Benko无毛视频檚 weekly 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� feature that appears in the 无毛视频-Standard and puts the spotlight on local sports greats.
无毛视频淚t was prefaced on George无毛视频檚 无毛视频楳emory Lane无毛视频� stories that have appeared in the 无毛视频-Standard for years,无毛视频� Cluss said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a popular thing and gives you an idea of how many outstanding athletes have come through here.无毛视频�
Cluss noted there had been a recent push for Von Benko to be inducted.
无毛视频淔or the last couple years with the nominations and letters, we无毛视频檝e got a lot of, 无毛视频楬ey, when is George going in?无毛视频� We never had him on the ballot, but we had a considerable amount of input from the membership on George and this year we felt it无毛视频檚 time to recognize him for what he无毛视频檚 done, being the main guy behind the Hall of Fame,无毛视频� Cluss said.
无毛视频淪o the board unanimously decided to make him a part of this year无毛视频檚 class.无毛视频�
Von Benko discussed his impending induction while being interviewed by WMBS general manager Brian Mroziak on Von Benko无毛视频檚 own 无毛视频 Line Talk Show recently.
无毛视频淚t is truly an honor. I无毛视频檓 very humbled by it,无毛视频� Von Benko said. 无毛视频淚 was surprised but deeply honored.无毛视频�
Von Benko discussed the evolution of the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame.
无毛视频淢y friend Jes Hutson, who was the co-founder of the Hall of Fame, had been bugging me about doing something in the summer to honor our great athletes,无毛视频� Von Benko recalled. 无毛视频淗e wanted to have a dinner and honor one or two people. He caught me in the parking lot leaving here one Saturday, and he said, 无毛视频榊ou无毛视频檝e been avoiding me. What无毛视频檚 going on?无毛视频� I said, 无毛视频榃ell Jes, I无毛视频檝e got a different vision. I have a different idea. All these other counties around us have a hall of fame and I无毛视频檝e always wondered why we didn无毛视频檛.无毛视频�
无毛视频淲ell, I started researching it and they had tried to start it twice in the past. One of the guys who was really pushing it was the late James 无毛视频楲ash无毛视频� Nesser, the old coach at St. John无毛视频檚 and Uniontown. But it never got off the ground. I said, 无毛视频楾hat is my idea. I want to start a sports hall of fame.无毛视频�
无毛视频淛es and I went to Chris Cluss and a bunch of other people in town, some old coaches, and that无毛视频檚 how the Hall of Fame started.无毛视频�
Inductees and representatives for the Class of 2024 will be recognized through the 无毛视频-Standard, Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频 Line Talk Show on WMBS Radio and the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame web page and Facebook page.
Von Benko is a Laurel Highlands graduate who couldn无毛视频檛 crack the Mustangs无毛视频� talented boys basketball roster under coach Harold 无毛视频淗orse无毛视频� Taylor, so he decided to get involved in a different way as a 15-year-old.
无毛视频淚 was always friends with all the athletes. We had so many players at that time that I couldn无毛视频檛 make that team,无毛视频� Von Benko said. 无毛视频淏ut the guys wanted me to be a part of everything so they talked me into being the manager, and Horse let me do all of the scouting notes, stats and everything else like that.
无毛视频淏ut he knew that I wanted to get into radio. I told my dad when I was 5 years old that I wanted to get into radio and do play-by-play. I used to practice on an old tape recorder with the television sound turned down.
无毛视频淗orse went to the radio station at that time that was doing Laurel Highlands, WPQR, the FM station. He talked Ed Olesh, the general manager, into using me on the broadcast. I started doing color. Then one game 无毛视频� the guy doing the play-by-play showed up inebriated. He could not do the game. So young George Von Benko was thrust into doing the play-by-play and that was the beginning of it all.无毛视频�
Von Benko, whose education background includes the School of Journalism at both Penn State and West Virginia, saw his career take off after that and has become a rarity among media members.
无毛视频淚n my career I无毛视频檓 the only guy who I know of 无毛视频� and Bill Hilgrove said the same thing 无毛视频� that at one time worked for Penn State, Pitt, Duquesne and West Virginia,无毛视频� Von Benko said with a chuckle.
Von Benko无毛视频檚 first professional job also came at WPQR-FM.
无毛视频淚 started doing a sports show, and they had a cable television outlet so I did a show on television, too,无毛视频� Von Benko said. 无毛视频淚 interviewed the local high school coaches and college coaches. From there I went to WLSW, which was in Scottdale. I was the morning guy. I did a sports talk show there and did all sorts of interviews.无毛视频�
Bigger and better opportunities arose for Von Benko.
无毛视频淎 job opened up in Morgantown, West Virginia, WAJR, which was the flagship station for the Mountaineers,无毛视频� Von Benko said. 无毛视频淚 applied for a news job. Well, the guy started looking at my background and said, 无毛视频楥an you do sports?无毛视频� I said I love sports. The next thing you know I was hired as sports director at WAJR/WVAQ. That无毛视频檚 what started my career at West Virginia. I was there for several years, then left for WTAE in Pittsburgh.无毛视频�
Von Benko was part of a night trio that included Myron Cope and Stan Savran at WTAE.
无毛视频淚 did the pre- and post-game shows for the Steelers with Jack Fleming and Myron Cope,无毛视频� Von Benko said. 无毛视频淚 was there for a little bit then left there after I was let go, which happens in radio. Myron used to tell me all the time, 无毛视频榊ou无毛视频檙e not in the business unless you无毛视频檝e been fired,无毛视频� which is the way radio is.无毛视频�
Von Benko just moved on to another Pittsburgh network.
无毛视频淚 hooked on with Cox Interactive Media, which was part of WIIC, Channel 11 in Pittsburgh (now WPXI),无毛视频� Von Benko said. 无毛视频淭hat was their Internet thing. We had a sports page and everything on there.无毛视频�
Von Benko eventually moved on to work for the University of Cincinnati.
无毛视频淏ob Goin, who was with me at West Virginia, was athletic director at Cincinnati,无毛视频� Von Benko pointed out. 无毛视频淭heir play-by-play guy, Paul Keels, left and went to Ohio State. They called and said, 无毛视频榃ould you be interested in coming and doing the Bearcats?无毛视频� Of course I had the backing of Bob Huggins (the Bearcats men无毛视频檚 basketball head coach at that time) who was my friend since college (at WVU), so I went to Cincinnati.
无毛视频淚 did the Bearcats for a couple years, including a year they should无毛视频檝e won the national championship when Kenyon Martin got hurt in a meaningless Conference USA game. They would无毛视频檝e won the championship that year.无毛视频�
Von Benko also has broadcast Pitt women无毛视频檚 basketball, volleyball, swimming and wrestling and Duquesne basketball and worked for WJAS, Prime 无毛视频 Network (as Pirates baseball 无毛视频淭alkin无毛视频� Bucs无毛视频� guest host) and Fox 无毛视频 Radio in Pittsburgh as a college basketball analyst. He无毛视频檚 written for the Louisville 无毛视频 Reporter and MLB.com.
Von Benko无毛视频檚 professional path finally led him to WMBS in Uniontown.
无毛视频淚 was doing a show on a station that无毛视频檚 no longer around, the one in Brownsville, WASP,无毛视频� Von Benko explained. 无毛视频淚 had a pretty successful show there. That station closed up and I was looking for another talk show gig and fate brought us (he and Mroziak) together. And the rest is history I guess.无毛视频�
Von Benko无毛视频檚 talk show has aired Saturday on WMBS from 10 a.m. to noon since 2005.
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame Golf Outing/Luncheon/Social, starting with golf at 9 a.m., on June 21 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville. Those interested in purchasing luncheon tickets or participating in the golf outing can contact Katie Propes by phone at 724-415-2211 or by email at kpropes@occluss.com.