INDUCTEE Although there have been 321 inductees into the Ed Romance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Ana Ditchey becomes only the 17th female to earn the honor. And earn it she did! As a four-year starter for Coach Steve Lapotsky, Ana excelled on the basketball court for MCA, leading them to a […]

INDUCTEE During its previous Championship runs, the Pittsburg Steelers were led by their “Bus” Jerome Bettis. Mount Carmel Area had its’ own “Bus” during its state championship era – Big Jon Else. Jonathan started 42 consecutive games at center for the Red Tornadoes, winning 39 of them. Along the way MCA picked up two state […]

INDUCTEE Just as he had done throughout his playing career, Bob “Buddy” Royer has earned his spot in the Ed Romance Chapter Class of 2018. Buddy was recruited out of Mount Carmel High School following his graduation in 1960 by Head Football Coach Earle Edwards to travel south to join the Wolfpack at North Carolina […]

INDUCTEE “Superman” – That’s what they called him. No, he wasn’t able to leap tall buildings at a single bound, he wasn’t quite as fast as a speeding bullet. Nick, though, was able to run 9 races over a two-day period to lead his MCA track team to the 1998 PIAA AA State Championship. He […]

INDUCTEE Today, Bobby Veach gets to join his father Robert as a member of the Ed Romance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, an exclusive fraternity within the Hall. Bobby spent four years with the Leopards of Lafayette College as a safety for Coach Bill Russo. Bobby helped to make history with Lafayette […]

INDUCTEE Stanley was a 1937 graduate of Kulpmont High School and immediately took off for New York City. There he trained as a middle-weight boxer at a time when the sport was booming. Stanley trained and fought in 18 fights with a 13-4-1 record. He did most of his work in the famous Gleason’s Gym […]

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Manus McCracken has had a breakout year as a linebacker for the Mount Carmel Area Red Tornado football team. As a result he has been named to a number of Pennsylvania All-State football teams. McCracken has distinguished himself as only the 10th player to record over 100 tackles in back to back seasons […]

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT The Romance Chapter generally recognizes athletes who have hit the 1000 point plateau or earned all-state in their sport. Nicole Varano has accomplished the first and has earned the second- twice! Nicole surpassed the 1000 mark on the basketball court last year and has since also surpassed the 1700 point milestone on the […]

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Dream it – they did! Expect it – not so much! After looking at the seed positions for the 1998 State Championship Meet, Coach Al Yackenchick and his team felt really good about their prospects as they made their way down Route 81 to Shippensburg. The Tornadoes had just come off of a […]

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT The road to the ’98 State Championship had begun on a cold and snowy day in November of 1997 as the Red Tornadoes lost the District Championship to South Williamsport by a 14-6 score. Right there on the muddy turf of the Silver Bowl where they vowed to never feel that way again. […]