Ted Williams batting with Mickey Vernon on deck. 1956
In 1956, Ted Williams and Delco’s own Mickey Vernon enjoyed outstanding years for the Boston Red Sox. Each made the American League All-Star Team and at the conclusion of the season, each was 38 years old. The two men were at the top of their game. Jim Vankoski 610-909-4919 vankoski21@comcast.net www.delcosportsmuseum.org
Mickey Vernon 1956 Spring Training
Aston’s Bo Ryan
Rich Pagano, of the Sports Legends Of Delaware County Museum, nomination letter, in support of Bo Ryan. Bo, is a finalist to be enshrined into the Basketball Hall Of Fame in Springfield, Ma. April of 2024 is when the results will be made public. We wish Bo good luck on this monumental achievement. Jim Vankoski president SLDC Inc
Richard Pagano
208 Jackson Ave.
Milmont Park, Pa. 19033
Dear Mr. Colangelo,
I am writing to endorse the Nomination of William Francis “Bo” Ryan to the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ryan has been very active in attending events at our
museum and helping us in any way he can, even bringing his University of Wisconsin basketball
team to the museum when they came east to play Temple University in 2003.Delaware County and our museum consider Ryan to be one of the best basketball
coaches our county has ever produced. He became the second basketball coach from our county
to be inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. The legendary Jack Ramsay was
the first to be so honored.With the recent passing of Bobby Knight who had an outstanding record at Indiana,
it dawned on us that Coach Ryan’s lifetime Big Ten record of 172-68 represents the best winning
percentage in Big Ten Basketball History. He also has a .904 winning percentage at Wisconsin’s
Kohl Center.Ryan, whose coaching style could be best described as old school, led Wisconsin-
Platteville to four Division III National titles. During his tenure at Platteville, he was the winningestNCAA men’s basketball coach of the 1990’s in all divisions with a 266-26 (.908) record. Signifying
his importance there, the Pioneers now play on “Bo Ryan Court”.
The “Clair Bee Coach of the Year” and four-time “Big Ten Coach of the Year” coached the
Badgers to the NCAA Final Four two years in a row, falling to Kentucky, 74-73, in the 2014
semifinals, and to Duke, 68-63, in the championship game in 2015.
Ryan, who has written three books on basketball, led the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament
every season as head coach. Wisconsin had only been to a total of seven NCAA Tournaments
before Ryan’s arrival. He also owns all four of Wisconsin’s 30-win seasons.
We realize that Coach Ryan was a finalist to be considered for election in the Class of 2015
for the Naismith Hall of Fame. However, maybe this year, he will finally make the grade.Sincerely,
Richard Pagano, SLDC Board Member“OH, Those Skirts!”
Photographer Linda Braceland
“There is no crying in Baseball”! www.delcosportsmuseum.org Gertie Dunn page.Reproduction of “Gertie” Dunn’s 1952 AAGPBL South Bend Blue Sox uniform created by Carol Sheldon. Coming March 1, 2024 to the Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum located at 301 Avenue Wayne, Pa 19087. The jersey is part of the museum’s Women History Month display. Museum hours are Monday through Friday 9am to 3pm. For more information contact Jim Vankoski 610-909-4919 vankoski21@comcast.netThere is always a Delco Connection
For those that have read the book, Boys in the Boat, and plan on seeing the movie with the same title due out this Christmas, below is information that is a reminder that there is always a Delco connection.This image shows Delaware County’s own Dan Barrow, left, receiving his bronze medal for single skulls rowing in the 1936 Olympics, which were held in Berlin, Germany. Germany’s Gustav Schaefer, center, won the gold medal and Austria’s Josef Hasenohrt, right, took silver. Dan Barrow earned a mention in Boys in the Boat, the award winning novel by Daniel James Brown. Besides Yeadon’s Dan Barrow participating in the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin, Germany three other Delco residents had a part in those games. Fred Luehring of Swarthmore was the chairman of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Committee and Carson Thompson pitched for the U.S. in the exhibition baseball game played in front of 126,000 fans in Berlin Stadium. Also Media’s Ted Meredith, who had won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics, returned to Berlin in 1936 as the head track coach of the Czechoslovakia team. Photos and information about the other eighteen Delco Olympic medal winners are on display at the Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum located at 301 Iven Avenue Wayne, Pa. Curator Jim Vankoski 610-909-4919A National Treasure
Bobby Shantz 98 year old 1952 American League MVP shown here with Delco Sports Museum curator Jim Vankoski. Photo was taken this past weekend. Bobby is one of a handful of WW II veterans with major league experience still living.
Gertie Dunn
Gertrude “Gertie” Dunn, one of Delaware County’s greatest athletes of all time, graduated from Sharon Hill High School in 1952. Later Gertie attended West Chester University and graduated with the class of 1960. The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum has commissioned sculptor Jennifer Frudakis Petry to create a twenty-four-inch bronze sculpture of Gertie playing for the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, made famous by the 1992 film A League of Their Own.
At the conclusion of her first season with the Blue Sox in 1952, Gertie was named Rookie of the Year after leading her team to the championship. She went on to play and coach field hockey and lacrosse and was eventually named to the US Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and posthumously inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2007.
The photo above shows a work-in-progress clay model. Once completed, it will be sent to the foundry, where a bronze statue will be constructed. For more information on Gertie’s athletic achievements, visit www.
delcosportsmuseum.org and clic k on the Gertie Dunn page in the upper right hand corner. Or contact Jim Vankoski at (610) 909-4919 or vankoski21@ comcast.net. George Sydnor
Of the 140 players in this video only Willie Mays is still living. Greatest Baseball video ever filmed!
The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum is saluting the golden age of baseball and this country’s “Greatest Generation” with a DVD called “Ballfield to Battlefield and Back–From FDR to JFK”. The DVD features sixty minutes of color footage of WW II and Korean War-era major league players from 1939 through the 1950s. More than eighty players in the DVD who served in the military, including 40 members of the Hall of Fame, are identified, along with their branch of service. Among the Hall of Fame veterans featured are Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Bob Feller, Warren Spahn, Hank Greenberg, Jackie Robinson, and Yogi Berra. All of those featured were professional ballplayers prior to WW II, served their country during WW II and then returned to the ballfield–Ted Williams was called to serve again during the Korean war. The DVD also features four presidents (FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and JFK) “throwing out the first ball” in Washington DC. There is also color footage of Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium in 1947 and of the legendary Honus Wagner when he was a coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This national treasure was filmed and narrated by two former major league players, George Case (six-time stolen base champion and four time all-star) and Mickey Vernon (two-time batting champion and seven -time all-star). For information on how to obtain this DVD for that special fan of the WW II and Korean War era, contact Jim Vankoski at the SLDC Museum at 610-909-4919 or email. vankoski21@comcast.net
SLDC Museum
Mickey’s Horsehide Club
Living Members of “Mickey Vernon’s Horsehide Club. As of September 30, 2023
