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Friday, October 20, 1995     Page:

Luzerne sports Hall of Fame calls on Leppert, Plevyak
   
Founder and president Joe DeSimone has announced that Morlyn Leppert will
be the ticket chairperson for Sunday’s Luzerne County Chapter Northeastern
Region
    Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame inductionAlso, Rev. Valentine Plevyak will
deliver the benediction and invocation.
   
The event will be held at Genetti Hotel and Convention Center in
Wilkes-Barre. It starts at 3 p.m. with a cocktail hour, followed by dinner and
the induction.
   
Tickets are available from the new inductees or Leppert (655-8209).
   
Leppert attended the Hughestown Borough grade and high schools, and played
varsity basketball in the 1920s. He was known for his ability to hit shots
from well beyond the foul line. He then went on to play with the the
Hughestown Boosters, a semi-pro team.
   
Besides his athletic career, Leppert was president of the Hughestown Hose
Company and later its chairman of the board of directors. He was Justice of
the Peace and Police Magistrate for many years, and later was elected to the
Hughestown Borough Council. Leppert was appointed to the board of trustees of
the Retreat State Hospital for a term of four years by Gov. David Lawrence.
   
Rev. Plevyak, of Carbondale, attended Carbondale and Fell Township high
schools and is a 1935 graduate of Fell Township High School.
   
As a baseball player, he starred as a center fielder for four years and was
considered one of the top high school and semi-pro players to come out of the
area.
   
At 16, Plevyak played in the old NEP semi-pro league with Simpson. He also
played in the Wyoming Valley League, with St. Mary’s and Plymouth in the late
1940s and 1950s. He also played with the Wyoming Valley League All-Stars
against the Wilkes-Barre Barons in the 1950s, and also against the Major
League All-Stars team.
   
Plevyak graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1940. He was ordained
a priest from St. Bonaventure Seminary in 1944. During his tenure as a priest,
he continued to play amateur baseball until age 55.
   
This year’s inductees are: Michael Addesa, Old Forge; Bob Bessoir,
Scranton; Bob Betnar, Plains; Chuckie Bloss, Wilkes-Barre; Stew Casterline,
Tunkhannock; John Childs, Athens; Richard Chulada, Honesdale; Nicholas
“Streaky” Dardes, Pittston; Joe DeMelfi, Berwick; Mark Duda, Dallas; Thomas
Finan, Matamoras; Joe McGlynn, Pittston; Joseph Moran, Wilkes-Barre; James
Morgans, Allentown; the late Jimmy Mulligan, Old Forge; Daniel Parrell,
Hazleton; Mark Popple, Bear Creek; Dr. Charles Rushefski, Old Forge; Karl
Schnure, Wyalusing; Carl Solark, Freeland; the late Peter Turonis, Carbondale;
and the late John YonKondy, Swoyersville.