The Bangor Slater Athletic Hall of Fame honors individuals, establishes pride, and preserves the tradition of the Bangor Athletic program by honoring those who have made a significant contribution to athletics in the Bangor Area School District.
In an effort to honor outstanding team accomplishments in athletics, the Bangor Area High School Alumni Association and the Athletic Hall of Fame are also honoring Teams of Distinction Honor. The criteria for this award is a BAHS varsity team that has made an outstanding accomplishment, which may include a team championship, undefeated season, or any unique recognition not made by another team in its respective sport. Nominations for this honor will be accepted 10 years after the team distinguished itself.
2009 Members of the Athletic Hall of Fame
Team of Distinction - The 1983 Baseball Team
The Team Qualified for District XI Playoffs and Reached State Championship Semi-finals
Team members are listed below:
Row 1: Brandt Godshalk, Jeff Heard, Kevin Labar
Row 2: Kevin Stansberry, Jim Widrich, Flynt Tuller, Dave Barr, Jeff Ott, Jim Nagle, Jeff Williams
Row 3: Keith Kline, Todd Rauscher, Matt Sabatine, Wayne Hill, Steve Thomas, Dean Humphreys, Dave Heard
Row 4: Coach Bill Pensyl, Bill Groeneveld, Tim Hoechst, Jim Temples, Tony Beleno, John O’Brien, Coach Brad Pensyl
In 2008 the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee added another category to their honorees. A Team of Distinction Award will be given to any BAHS varsity team that has displayed an outstanding accomplishment, which may include a team championship, undefeated season, or any unique recognition not earned by another team in its respective sport. Nominations for this honor will be accepted 10 years after the team distinguished itself.
This year's Team of Distinction is the 1983 Baseball Team:
The 1983 Slater baseball team, coached by Bill Pensyl, qualified for the District 11 Playoffs and was seeded fourth. After defeating Emmaus and North Schuylkill, they were defeated by Allen in the championship game. The team went on to the state playoffs where they beat Plymouth-Whitemarsh and Valley View. The win over Valley View advanced the Slaters to the State Championship playoffs at Shippensburg where they lost to Reading 5-3 in the semifinals. Keith Kline (outfield), John O'Brien (DH), and Kevin Stansberry (3rd base) were named to the Colonial League All-Star Team. In addition, Jeff Heard (2nd base) and Todd Rauscher (pitcher) received Honorable Mention.
Heidi DeBoer Hodge was a member of Bangor High School's gymnastics team. The team, coached by Connie Zernick, was only in existence for three years, from 1978 to 1980.
Twice during that time, Heidi qualified for states and in 1979 was Bangor High School's MVP. In 1978 she was the District 11 Class I Uneven Bars Champion and 2nd in All-Around competition. She repeated as Uneven Bars Champion in 1979 and placed third that year in All-Around competition.
Much of her training was done with a club team at the Easton YMCA where she was the Eastern Regional Class I All-Around Champion in 1977 and 1978. She placed second as an All-Around in 1979.
Heidi earned a full scholarship to the University of Iowa. There she was a welcome addition to the gymnastics team and earned the MVP-All-Around Team Member Award in 1979-80 and 1981-82. She was the Uneven Bars Champion at the Iowa Invitational Meet in 1980-81 and placed seventh in the Big 10 Championships on uneven bars in 1979.
Heidi and her husband Dave reside in Iowa City, Iowa where they have lived on a farm outside of town for the last 30 years. They have five children (ages 26-15) and two grandchildren. For 26 years they have owned and operated a construction business. Some of Heidi’s hobbies include working out, riding horses and raising honey bees.
David Jones, a standout athlete, received six varsity letters while competing at Bangor High School, 3 in football and 3 in track.
His senior year football honors include:
- Captain of the BAHS football team – 1996
- Team Defensive MVP - 1996
- Starter (DT/OT) for Eastern Conference Championship Team - 1996
- 1st team in the Express Times and Morning Call All-Area football teams - 1996
- 1st team All Colonial League, OL and DL - 1996
- Captain of 1997 LARC Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Game
- A.P. 2nd Team All-State DL (AAA/AAAA) - 1966
- BAHS Football Scholar Athlete
- Lehigh Valley Outstanding Football Scholar Athlete
His track and field honors include:
- Captain of track and field team - 1997
- Colonial League Champion in shot put - 1997
- District qualifier in shot put – 1996, 1997
- Top 8 in Colonial League Championships in shot put – 1995, 1996
David continued to excel in football and track in college. He went to Lehigh University where he played football and was named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team in the Fall of 1997. He transferred to Muhlenburg College and was captain of the football team in 2000. Twice he received honorable mention as an All-American from USAFootball.com. Twice he was first team All-Centennial Conference DL, and twice he was named team MVP. He also set the record for career tackles for a loss. He is in the Top 10 in sacks and tackles for a loss in the history of Muhlenberg football (110 years old.)
Continuing his career in track and field, David took a silver medal in the shot put in the spring 2001 Centennial Conference Track and Field Championships. He also took a bronze medal in the Winter Championships and was a four-time Centennial Conference finals qualifier in both spring and winter competition.
David was an assistant football coach at Lafayette in 2001, assistant coach of the defensive line at Trinity College from 2002 - 2007, assistant squash coach at Trinity from 2004 - 2008 and director of strength and conditioning at Trinity College from 2003 - 2008.
David was recently married and works as a Retail Analyst for Coach, Inc. in Manhattan.
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Like her older sister, Holli DeBoer Jones was also a member of Bangor High School's gymnastics team, competing in all four events: floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars, and vaulting. She also competed as a high jumper on the Slater's track team.
Holli was a three-time state qualifier in gymnastics, placing in the top 10 all three years. She was Bangor's MVP in 1978 and 1979. Twice she placed first in District 11 Class I All-Around competition (1978 and 1980). In 1979 she placed second as an All-Around.
As a member of the Club Team at the Easton YMCA she competed in Eastern Regional Class I gymnastics competitions. Twice, in 1977 and 1978, she placed second in All-Around competition, and in 1979 and 1980 she was Eastern Regional Class I All-Around Champion.
Holli followed in her sister's footsteps with a full scholarship to the University of Iowa where she competed in gymnastics from 1980 to 1984. At the Iowa Invitational Meet she took a first in floor exercise and was All-Around Champion in 1980-81, and Uneven Bars Champion in 1981-82. She was team MVP and was named the University of Iowa Poster Gymnast in 1983. She was the only gymnast at that time that competed in all four events in every meet for all four years.
She graduated from the University of Iowa with a Health and Physical Education Degree and is currently a part-time teacher of gymnastics at Summit Gymnastics in Buffalo, Wyoming. Last year she helped to coach three girls who became Wyoming State Champions.
Holli lives with her husband in the Big Horn Mountains of Buffalo, Wyoming where she hunts elk, mountain lions, antelope, and deer. They are the owners of a ski lodge, a hunting lodge, and two snowmobile lodges. They have two daughters, one in college in Arizona, and the other in college in Wyoming.
Ronald Mack, a 1960 graduate of Bangor High School, was an outstanding three-sport athlete who earned a total of six varsity letters in football, basketball, and track during his high school career.
In 1958 and 1959 he was All-League offensive and defensive tackle, receiving All-State Honorable Mention in 1959.
He was named the Wigwam Wiseman High School All-American in 1958 and 1959. He was Stroudsburg's Daily Record "Brite Star of the Week" on October 25, 1958.
Ron received a four-year football scholarship to Wichita State University where he played from 1960 - 1964. At Wichita, he was a three-year letterman, playing tackle as a sophomore, and guard as a junior and senior. The Wichita Team took the Missouri Valley Championship in 1961 and 1963. In 1961, they played Villanova in the Sun Bowl.
Ron was featured in a 1963 edition of Inside Football Magazine, which gives previews of the upcoming year for college football teams. In 1963, Wichita was ranked in the top 20 college football teams in the nation.
After receiving both his Bachelor's Degree (1965) and his Master's Degree (1973) from Wichita State University, Ron taught and/or coached in Blairstown, NJ; Bangor, PA; Derby, KS; Northampton Community College; and Wichita State University. He served as a sports official for 14 years in the 1970's and 80's, and has been an instructor for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation from 1976 - 1990.
Ron resides in Glendale, Arizona and is presently employed by Southwest Airlines as a dispatcher for lost luggage at the Phoenix airport. He has two daughters, four grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
James R. Rowlands
Jim Rowlands, a 1953 graduate, played four years of football, three years of basketball and two years of baseball while a student at Bangor High School. He holds the distinction of being the starting center on the first winning basketball team in Bangor's history.
Under head basketball coach, John Heard, Jim established a new season high mark with a total of 307 points in 21 games and had the best average per season with 14.6 points per game. In 1953 he was selected as a member of the Lehigh Northampton League second team. He was described in one newspaper article as "a bulwark under the net both on defense and offense. His knack for connecting virtually blind on the jump and turn, and his ability to control taps and rebounds were major factors in the Maroon's success."
Jim has said that he was honored to play with teammate Joe Heard, who was selected to the first team All-League and was also a member of the BHS Athletic Hall of Fame.
Jim graduated from the University of Notre Dame. After graduation he worked for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. He was drafted into the Army and spent most of his two years in Germany. After that he worked for ATT-Western Electric for ten years, and spent nine years working and managing several racquet clubs. He currently works for Rebco Kwik Print, Inc., a family business, which he owns and manages.
Jim and his wife Amanda Angeline, a 1959 Bangor graduate, have four children and five grandchildren.
