By Jim Mandelaro and Scott Pitoniak
Democrat and Chronicle

(Thursday, January 24, 2002) -- Seventeen people, one arena and one world championship team make up the Frontier Field Walk of Fame Class of 2002. The inductees were announced Wednesday night at the Rochester Press-Radio Club Day of Champions dinner and will be honored at a ceremony at Frontier Field this summer.

Contributors/ Administrators

Tom Emmanuel -- A longtime area basketball official and rules interpreter, he was inducted into the inaugural Section V Basketball Hall of Fame last year. He was considered the dean of local high school basketball officials. The annual Section V tournament presents a sportsmanship award in his name to the team that ''most conscientiously upheld those qualities of sportsmanship that Tom Emmanuel so generously displayed for so many years.''

Dave Martens -- Athletic director at Fairport High from 1973 until his retirement in 1991, Martens is credited with building the most successful sports program in Section V. During his tenure, Martens hired 14 coaches, including Don Santini, who guided the Red Raiders to seven sectional titles and two mythical state championships. When Martens took over, there were seven girls programs. That number doubled by the time he left.

George Monagan -- The first person hired at Monroe Community College, he was the athletic director from 1962 to 1989. He also was the college's first basketball coach, leading the Tribunes to three conference titles. He pioneered the growth of the MCC athletic department from one sport to 16. Now a published poet and novelist, he lives in Canandaigua.

Gene Monje -- The former three-sport star at Franklin coached Rush-Henrietta Sperry to the 1976 Section V Class AAA basketball championship. He has been a Division I college basketball referee since 1974 and has worked more than a dozen NCAA Tournaments, including the Final Four.

Professional sports

Pat Ercoli -- The former Rochester Lancers forward has coached the Rhinos to a 107-52-6 record in six seasons, winning three A-League titles and the prestigious 1999 U.S. Open Cup championship. His playoff record is 21-8-1.

Marv Foley -- The only manager to win Triple-A titles in three different leagues, he led the Red Wings to the 1997 Governors' Cup championship in their first season at Frontier Field. Compiled a 363-349 record, second only to legendary Joe Altobelli (502) for wins since Baltimore became Rochester's parent club in 1961.

Glenn Hagan -- A standout guard at Cardinal Mooney, Hagan was named one of the greatest players in Section V history by a blue ribbon panel six years ago. He went to St. Bonaventure University and averaged 6.4 assists per game while leading the Bonnies to the National Invitation Tournament title in 1977-78. Selected in the second round of the 1978 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Hagan saw limited time at basketball's highest level before heading to the CBA, where he became a superstar, averaging 23.4 points and 7.4 assists for the Rochester Zeniths.

Cathy Morse -- A Pittsford-Sutherland graduate, Morse was the first Rochester-area golfer to compete on the LPGA Tour. She spent 16 years on the tour, winning $771,694 before retiring in 1993. Highlights included a victory in the 1982 Chrysler- Plymouth Charity Classic and a hole-in-one at the 1983 Rochester International. Before turning pro, Morse had a distinguished amateur career, twice winning the New York State Women's Amateur.

Jeff Weston -- A former All-State two-way lineman at Cardinal Mooney, Weston starred on Notre Dame's 1977 national championship football team. He played four seasons with the New York Giants before a knee injury ended his career in 1982. After retiring from football, he worked as a U.S. Secret Service agent for eight years. He is now a U.S. Marshal in Honolulu.

Amateur sports

Rick Aronberg -- A seven-time swimming All-American at Fairport and a four-time All-American at Clemson University, he still holds the ACC record for the 1,650-yard freestyle. He participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1998 and competed in the Maccabiah Games in Israel in 1985 and '89, winning 11 medals. Has coached the Nazareth men's and women's swim teams for the past seven years.

Cleveland Cooper -- A star running back at Madison High, Cooper went to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he became the third leading rusher in Midshipmen history. Cooper was at his best in the annual Army-Navy game. The Middies won two of the three games Cooper played in, including a 51-0 victory in 1973 that saw him rush for 135 yards and three scores. He received a game ball for his efforts. After fulfilling his military commitment, Cooper joined Xerox, where he became an executive.

Bill Scharr -- Generally regarded as the greatest quarterback Section V has ever produced. While at Canandaigua Academy in the mid-1980s, Scharr established a New York state high school record for career touchdown passes (73) while leading the Braves to a 33-1 record and three sectional titles. Scharr turned down scholarship offers from Notre Dame, Miami and UCLA to attend Syracuse University, where he tied the school record for most touchdown passes in a game (4) and finished sixth in the nation in passing efficiency in 1989.

Amateur coaches

Jeff Fitch -- Retired last March with a 459-219 record in 33 seasons as Fairport High's boys basketball coach. He led the Red Raiders to one Section V title and 12 Monroe County League championships.

Ann Nealon -- Started the RIT women's tennis program in 1971 and is still the coach, compiling a 189-87-3 record. Nealon is a longtime teaching professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association and for the past 22 years has been the head tennis pro at Oak Hill Country Club.

George Steitz -- Recorded 408 wins as Penfield's boys varsity soccer coach from 1954 to 1984, ranking among the top five winningest coaches in the nation. Led the Chiefs to six Section V titles. He won more than 300 games in baseball and also coached softball, basketball and skiing. He is a charter member of the Penfield Athletic Hall of Fame and a member of the Ithaca College and New York State Coaches halls of fame. Now 77, he lives in Penfield.

Media

Lanny Frattare -- A former standout athlete at Charlotte High School, Frattare recently completed his 26th season broadcasting Pittsburgh Pirates games, leaving him just two seasons shy of Bob Prince's club record. Frattare began his broadcasting career making public address announcements at Charlotte swim meets. After graduating from Ithaca College, Frattare spent two seasons doing play-by-play for the Rochester Americans.

Bruno Sniders -- A controversial sports columnist for the Times-Union and Democrat and Chronicle from 1969 to 1980, he won the Rochester Press-Radio Club's Charlie Wagner Award for sportswriting excellence in 1978 and was president of the club in 1979.

Chairman's choice

Rochester War Memorial -- The longtime home of the Rochester Americans has hosted the Harlem Globetrotters, Ringling Brothers circus, Section V basketball tournament, 1956 NBA All-Star Game, Kodak Classic (featuring Syracuse and Georgetown), figure skating exhibitions, pro wrestling, boxing, Olympic gymnastics qualifying and Knighthawks and Brigade games.

Team for the ages

1950-51 Rochester Royals -- Claimed Rochester's only major sports championship when they defeated the New York Knicks 79-75 in Game 7 of the NBA finals at the Edgerton Park Sports Arena. The Royals were co-owned and coached by Les Harrison, and featured future Basketball Hall of Famers Bob Davies, Bobby Wanzer, Red Holzman and Arnie Risen. Defeated the George Mikan-led Minneapolis Lakers to reach the finals. They were named Rochester's sports team of the century by the Rochester Press-Radio Club in 1991.