PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In less than a week, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will induct the class of 2026.
Saturday, Sept. 26, will mark the 63rd annual induction banquet honoring the 13 new inductees — five of whom hail from the Delaware Valley area.
Fans are sure to recognize the new hall-of-famers: legendary Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa, longtime NBA referee Joey Crawford, Saint Joseph’s University star forward/center Mike Bantom, Temple University basketball legend Marc Jackson, and Thomas Jefferson University’s longtime head women’s basketball coach Tom Shirley.
Jimmy Parrella, president of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, says it’s a long process to narrow down the candidates for who makes the final list.
“We’ll have a ballot of about 40 nominees,” Parrella said. “It gets trimmed down to 20 by the board of governors' vote… and that official ballot goes out to our membership across the state, which is about 7,000 people.”
This year’s induction dinner will be held at the Valley Forge Casino Resort on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold out.
Five of the 13 new hall-of-famers are sports legends from our area
Five of the 13 new hall-of-famers are sports legends from our area
