Army Sports Hall of Fame to Add Nine Members

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army West Point Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Boo Corrigan has announced the 13th induction class into the Army Sports Hall of Fame today.

The Class of 2016 features wrestling coach Leroy Alitz, football star Tommy Bell, gridiron and men's basketball extraordinaire Townsend Clarke, men's and women's swimming letterwinners Anthony Clay and Colleen Criscillo, men's cross country and track field star John Hammack, football standout Ken Johnson, golf's first hall-of-famer Steve Pembrook and boxing great Joe Remus, comprise the Class of 2016.

The honorees will be officially inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 21. A special plaque unveiling ceremony will be held in the Kenna Hall of Army Sports inside Kimsey Athletic Center, with the formal black-tie Hall of Fame Induction Banquet set for Eisenhower Hall later that evening. The group will also be recognized during Army's West Point football game against North Texas the next day at Michie Stadium with a special photograph and autograph session planned on Black Knights Alley prior to the contest.

To purchase tickets for the dinner, please click here.

The Army Sports Hall of Fame is a subset of the Kenna Hall of Army Sports, a comprehensive museum displaying Army's rich and proud intercollegiate athletic program. It is located on the third floor of the Kimsey Athletic Center, Army's state-of-the-art football training facility.

The announcement of the Army Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2016 marks the end of a lengthy process that began in the spring. A selection committee, representing athletic administrators, academic administrators, former West Point athletes, graduates and representatives from the Association of Graduates, began the process of developing a workable list from the thousands of athletes, coaches and administrators that have represented the Academy on the "fields of friendly strife." Only individuals that graduated from or coached at the Academy and those 15 years removed from their playing and coaching days are eligible. The Hall of Fame Selection Committee voted and approved the change from five years removed to 15 last year.

Once the selection committee finalized its recommended list, the names were forwarded to West Point's Athletic Committee for review and ratification before being passed on to Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen for final approval. The 13th induction class into the Army Sports Hall of Fame brings the total number of inductees to 127.

Alitz, a 24-year presence on the Army sideline, mentored 10 All-Americans while coaching the wrestling program from 1954-1977. He produced Army's only national champion in Mike Natvig, who claimed national titles in 1962 and 1963.

He was inducted into both the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Iowa Wrestling Foundation Hall of Fame in 1992 and won 144 matches to rank second on Army's career wins list. In postseason competition, Alitz mentored five Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association champions and 74 EIWA placewinners.

Along with his service at the Academy, Alitz also chaired the NCAA Rules Committee for six years and worked on USA Wrestling's Governing Council for 12 years.

Bell, a four-year letterwinner on the football team, earned first-team All-America honors as a senior while serving as the foundation for Army's rebuilding effort during the 1950s. He became Army's first running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season when he finished with 1,020 yards in 1954. His 10.6 yards-per-carry average in 1954 is currently the third-highest single season average in Academy history.

A 1955 graduate, he rushed for 12 touchdowns in 1954, ranking tied for eighth in Army history and amassed 15 touchdowns during his career. He totaled six 100-yard rushing games in 1954, which stood as a school record and now ranks tied for 14th.

He rushed for a career-high 165 yards versus Virginia during his standout 1954 season.

Clarke was a first-team All-America selection at linebacker and served as team captain in 1966 when Army finished 8-2. A three-year letterwinner, he graduated in 1967 and played for teams that posted a 2-0-1 record against Navy.

He was selected for the Coaches All-America game following his senior season in 1966, and was also a two-year member of the basketball team.

Clay helped Army earn three Star victories over Navy during his four varsity seasons on the swimming & diving team. He collected four All-America honors, including in the 100 free in 1963 and in the 400 free relay during the 1963, 1964 and 1965 seasons.

A 1965 graduate, he anchored the Academy and NCAA record-setting 400 free relay team at the 1963 Army-Navy meet that was selected as the No. 2 seed at the 1963 National Championships.

He established Army records in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free, while contributing to Academy standards in the 400 free relay, 200 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay. A three-time competitor in the Eastern Intercollegiate Championships, Clay received West Point's Class of 1923 Award while swimming under Army Hall-of-Fame coach Jack Ryan.

Criscillo, a 1991 graduate, was an 11-time All-American selection in three varsity seasons in the pool. She earned six individual certificates and five from her performances as a member of a relay team. Criscillo captured four silver medals at the NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events during her career with the Black Knights.

She swam under fellow hall-of-famer Jack Ryan and led the women's swimming and diving team to its first and only Patriot League title her senior season in 1991 and is a member of the conference's 25th Anniversary Team. Prior to the Patriot League, she was an 11-time Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference Champion.

Criscillo graduated with five academy records, including the 200 breast which stood for 22 seasons.

Hammack graduated from West Point in 1949 and competed in four seasons and was a four-time individual Heptagonal Champion, including three titles in 1948. He led Army to back-to-back Indoor Heptagonal championships in 1948 and 1949 and helped the Cadets rebound from a second-place finish in 1948 in the Outdoor Heptagonal championships to capture the title in 1949.

A four-year letterwinner, Hammack was on a pair of relay teams that claimed relay wins at the prestigious Penn Relays. He was captain of the 1949 indoor and outdoor teams and most recently is a past chairman of the West Point Association of Graduates.

Johnson, a 1969 graduate and three-year letterwinner on the gridiron, was a first-team All-American choice in 1968. He was a part of three Army squads that went 23-7 during his career, including wins over Penn State, Stanford, Air Force, SMU and Virginia.

A local product from Newburgh, N.Y., Johnson starred in the 1969 Coaches All-America Game and Lions American Bowl, prior to competing in the North-South Shrine Game in 1968. He was a team captain in his final year and had seven career interceptions.

Army's first golfer to be named an All-American, Pembrook was a 1964 graduate that played four varsity seasons of golf at West Point. He was a four-time letterwinner and a team captain as a senior.

Pembrook was a three-time NCAA individual qualifier his last three seasons on the course and member of a pair of teams that finished second and third in the Eastern Intercollegiates.

Pembrook was a two-time medalist at the Eastern Collegiate Golf Championship (1962, 1964) and was the low qualifier in 1962. He was a finalist in the 1964 Eastern Collegiate Match Play Championship after finishing as a semifinalist in 1963 and a quarterfinalist in 1962.

A three-sport standout, Remus was a star in the ring for the Black Knights for three seasons. He was the first Cadet to win an intercollegiate boxing championship after capturing the 175-pound Eastern Intercollegiate Boxing Association crown in 1932. He earned an automatic berth into the National Collegiates and Olympic tryouts following the win.

Remus, a 1933 graduate, led the team to a 6-1-1 mark in 1932 and was elected captain in his senior season. He capped his final season by going undefeated in all regular-season bouts and helped the team to a 4-0-1 record. Remus earned class numbers in football, baseball and boxing, while taking home a major "A" following his junior and senior campaigns.

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Army Sports Hall of Fame to Add Nine Members

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