Hall of Fame offers glimpse into sports' past

By HIRAN RATNAYAKE
Collegian Staff Writer

Located within the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex lies one of the lesser-known treasures of Penn State athletic lore -- the Penn State Football Hall of Fame. The mini museum is a tribute to Penn State football past and present, and contains pictures of every Nittany Lions All-American along with a plethora of trophies, game balls, newspapers, even a letter from former President George Bush.

"It's one of the No. 1 places to tour on campus in my opinion," Football Operations Coordinator Tom Venterino said.

In 1981, the Hall of Fame in the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex was built to accommodate the large number of trophies then being stored in Rec Hall. Now, the program's success is forcing history to repeat itself.

"With two National Championships and 15 bowl games played, you can imagine what happened with all the storage," said Kay Kustanbauter, executive director of the Nittany Lion Club. "A new Hall of Fame is under construction to take care of this problem."

Not only will this new Hall of Fame accommodate the football team's trophies, but it will also house trophies from other sports at Penn State. Funding for the project was allocated in part by the contributions of football coach Joe Paterno and wife Sue.

The current Hall of Fame will become part of an extension that will turn the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex into an indoor workout facility. The exact location of the new Hall of Fame isn't certain yet.

Said Kustanbauter: "It's just a good situation for all the teams here at Penn State."

The entrance to the Hall of Fame reveals a large glass case running alongside the entire wall of the showroom. Many footballs from past games and old shoes reside in the glass cases on the left side of the wall, and at the center wall a 1948 issue of the Daily Times Herald contains the front-page headline: "SMU, Penn State tie 13-13!" Framed on the right wall is a Sports Illustrated cover picture of Gregg Garrity's winning touchdown in the 1983 Sugar Bowl.

Resting in the center of the room are two tables. Atop the first is John Cappelletti's 1973 Heisman Trophy. The other table has the 1994 Big Ten Championship Trophy and recently acquired 1999 Outback Bowl Champion Trophy. At the exiting doorway is Penn State's most treasured award, The 1986 National Champion UPI Coaches Trophy, a glass football trophy attained by the 1986 National Championship squad.