Greg Posta - Coaldale - 2017 Hall of Fame Inductee
Greg Posta (Coaldale High Class of 1959)

Greg Posta was one of the finest two-sport athletes to come out of Coaldale, earning varsity letters in football and basketball in his career. In addition to being a gifted athlete, he excelled in academics.

Greg had been in the sports headlines coming out of SS. Cyril and Methodius School, where he excelled in basketball. In his first jayvee game as a freshman for Coaldale, he scored 42 points. In his junior year, he scored 39 points in one game for the highest single scoring performance in the Panther Valley-Carbon County area that year. He averaged 17 ppg and was gained First Team All Schuylkill County and Black Diamond League honors in the 1957-58 season.

Earning four varsity letters in football, he finished second in individual scoring in the Panther Valley-Carbon County Area in spite of not playing in the traditional Thanksgiving game against Lansford due to an injury. He was named to the First Team All Anthracite and All Panther Valley squads, and was an honorable mention All State nominee. He was also selected to play in the prestigious Schuylkill County Dream Game.

Greg was an outstanding quarterback for the Tigers and was the most sought-after schoolboy gridder in the area, receiving more than 30 football scholarship offers, including ones from each Ivy League school. Despite a career-ending injury in his senior year, Rutgers University honored its scholarship and he went on to earn a bachelor of science degree in political science from the university.

His business career started in New York, where he worked for Dun and Bradstreet. After being transferred to the West Coast, he met his future wife and went on to become a successful franchise owner of Burger King in his adopted state of Arizona. Having been introduced to the sport by his brother, John, he enjoyed racing and raising thoroughbred horses for many years.

Greg passed away on Dec. 10, 2011. He was predeceased by a sister, Marian (Posta) O’Donnell. His is survived by his wife of 38 years, BJ; his sister, Joan (Posta) Cutler of Coaldale; and his brother John of Westlake Village, CA.

Source: http://www.tnonline.com/2017/apr/08/coaldale’s-evans-hedes-posta-be-inducted

Evan Evans - Coaldale - 2017 Hall of Fame Inductee
Evan Evans (Coaldale High Class of 1961)

In between excelling in four sports as a teenage athlete in Coaldale and achieving a batting average of .350 as a 50-year-old softball star in Maryland, Evan Evans gained prestige as a player, coach and referee in the U.S., Western Europe and Middle East.

A four-year basketball letterman for the Coaldale Tigers, Evan, as a senior in 1960-61, led his Black Diamond League team in scoring (17 ppg), finished as the league’s second leading scorer, and earned the honor of playing in the all-star game.

During that 1960-61 basketball season, he made 12 consecutive foul shots to help beat Schuylkill Haven; scored 21 points to lead the Tigers back from a huge deficit against Summit Hill; and buried a clutch shot to beat Minerville as time expired.

In the 1959-60 basketball season, he was a key contributor (10 ppg) as the Tigers, under Coach George Greiner, went undefeated in winning the second-half title of the Black Diamond League and advanced to the District XI Championship game.

His four years of experience on Coaldale’s track and field squad culminated with a trip to the state finals as a senior member of the Tigers’ mile-relay team and with him winning a tie for the silver medal in the District XI high jump event.

He played halfback/cornerback on Coach Geno Poli’s 1960 Coaldale Tigers’ football squad, the feisty team which is credited with bringing Coaldale High football back to its usual prominence in the coal region following an unusual down period.

As a member of Coaldale’s last baseball team in the 1960 season, he continued to demonstrate the same keen batting skills that enabled him to win the batting title in 1958 as a member of the Coaldale Church League’s “Deacons” team.

While working in Maryland, he coached kids’ baseball and basketball and played competitive baseball in an “Over 30” league when, at the ripe old age of 50, in his final season, he batted over .350.

While working in the Netherlands, he played and coached baseball and basketball and refereed international basketball for many years. His women’s basketball team at the International School of Amsterdam beat the International School of Dusseldorf to win the championship of the league comprised of teams located throughout Western Europe. He also coached a boys’ high school basketball team, and was a key contributor as a player on the Phoenix Club (a local Dutch team), which won its league’s fastpitch softball championship.

While working in Iran, he coached the local boys’ high school basketball team to the league championship; played on the Bell Helicopter All-Star industrial softball team which competed across Iran; and averaged 20 ppg as a member of the Bell Helicopter industrial basketball team.

Evan also played college football at Ursinus and basketball and baseball at Wilkes College, until injuries shortened his playing career. He is currently retired and living the good life at Lake Hauto, but he can still hit a baseball and sink a jump shot.

Source: http://www.tnonline.com/2017/apr/08/coaldale’s-evans-hedes-posta-be-inducted

Ed Hedes - Coaldale - 2017 Hall of Fame Inductee
Ed Hedes (Panther Valley High Class of 1969)

Having grown up amid the memories and the exploits of the numerous sports legends produced by the Borough of Coaldale, Ed Hedes transformed his love and knowledge of all sports into becoming one of our region’s top sportswriters.

Over his 43-year career, he treated his loyal readers with lucid stories of many of the Coaldale and other local area athletes who have previously been inducted into the Carbon County Area Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

He covered many major sporting events, including the prestigious PIAA State Championships, the World Series in New York and Philadelphia, numerous regular season and playoff games of the Philadelphia Eagles, Phillies and Flyers, and, the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Haverford Township, PA.

In 1991-92 and 2007-08, he was honored by the Colonial League as its Print Media Person of the Year.

At Panther Valley High School (Class of 1969), he honed his analytical and writing skills while working as the chief statistician for Coach John Harkins’ basketball squad, which won three District 11 Class B championships and three Schuylkill League championships.

While working for two years as a member of the basketball team’s managerial staff at Lehigh-Carbon County Community College, he gained hands-on experience and knowledge of the logistics and functions required to coordinate the practice and playing schedules of a small college basketball team.

Upon completion of his formal education at East Stroudsburg State College in 1973, he began his paid career as a sportswriter for the Lehighton Times News, for which he covered all of the athletic teams at Panther Valley High School and Pleasant Valley High School.

His talent and expertise as a Lehighton Times News sportswriter were quickly recognized and he was rewarded with a promotion to Assistant Sports Editor in 1974 and then to Sports Editor in 1975.

In 1996, he was chosen to be the Managing Sports Editor for the eight weekly newspapers (East Penn Press, Parkland Press, Salisbury Press, Northwestern Press, Catasauqua Press, Whitehall-Coplay Press, Northampton Press and Bethlehem Press) that were combined under Pencor Services, Inc.

Having retired as Managing Sports Editor in May, 2016, he now works part-time for the Palmerton Area School District and does color commentary for high school games on WMGH 105.5 FM and WLSH 1410 AM.

Ed and his wife, the former Jodi Kleintop, reside in Palmerton. They have one son, Jarrad, and one granddaughter, Sophia Anne.

Source: http://www.tnonline.com/2017/apr/08/coaldale’s-evans-hedes-posta-be-inducted