As the story goes, when Tony Dorsett was a sophomore at Hopewell, coaches did not think he was big enough to play running back.
You might have said the same thing based on an eyeball test: Dorsett was 147 pounds in 1970.
The next year, though, Dorsett took a screen pass 75 yards for a touchdown against Ambridge.
Suddenly, he wasn’t so small any more, and the rest was history.
More than five decades later, Dorsett is considered one of the top running backs to play the game, and his credentials have earned him an election to the National High School Football Hall of Fame.
The fourth class of the national hall was unveiled Wednesday in Brook Park, Ohio.
Also chosen for induction were longtime WTAE sports and news anchor Andrew Stockey, legendary East Brady and Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, and former Farrell star, Penn State All-American and NFL defensive lineman Randy Crowder, who will be inducted posthumously.
Dorsett, a Pro Football hall of famer, is one of only two players to win a Heisman Trophy, Super Bowl, NCAA championship and go into the college and pro football halls of fame. (Marcus Allen is the other.)
Stockey was selected for his contributions to the game in the media, his Friday night highlights so often a part of the WPIAL football fabric.
Other nominees, who will be eligible for next year’s class, included former Pittsburgh Steelers Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger, Terry Bradshaw and Ryan Clark; former WPIAL and NFL star quarterbacks Joe Namath of Beaver Falls, Dan Marino of Central Catholic and Pittsburgh’s Johnny Unitas; Cookie Gilchrist of Har-Brack; and Jeannette’s Adam Bostick and Dante Wiley.
“This class represents excellence, courage, leadership and the true spirit of high school football,” said LaMont “Showboat” Robinson, the national hall of fame founder and CEO and Jeannette alum. “From legendary athletes to groundbreaking coaches and historic contributors, these honorees have inspired generations.”
The induction ceremony will be July 11 in Brook Park. Admission is free to attendees.
The national hall of fame continues to grow and will take its place in a developing Ohio football hot spot.
A soon-to-be-built complex will house the hall and will sit next to the Cleveland Browns’ future $2 billion stadium, which also is in the works, in Brook Park.
Here is the full hall of fame class:
• Brian Bosworth – (LB) MacArthur HS, Irving, Texas
• Henry Butler – (HB) University School, Ohio
• Channing Crowder – (LB) North Springs HS, Sandy Springs, Ga.
• Randy Crowder* — (DL) Farrell HS
• Tony Dorsett – (RB) Hopewell HS
• Charles Follis – (HB) Wooster HS, Wooster Ohio
• Lou Groza* — (OL) Martins Ferry HS, Martins Ferry, Ohio
• John Heisman* – (OL) Titusville HS, Titusville
• Jim Kelly – (QB) East Brady HS, East Brady
• Vince Marrow – (TE) Cardinal Mooney HS, Youngstown, Ohio
• Terrence Metcalf – (OL) Clarksdale HS, Clarksdale, Miss.
• Ozzie Newsome – (TE) Colbert County HS, Leighton, Ala.
• Drew Pearson – (WR) South River HS, South River, N.J.
• Greg Pruitt – (HB) B.C. Elmore HS, Houston, Texas
• Sports Stars of Tomorrow – (Media)
• Andrew Stockey – (Media) Simsbury HS, Simsbury, Conn.
• Lee Tressel* (Coach) Mentor & Massillon High School, Massillon, Ohio
• Joe Vadini* – (Coach) Brecksville HS, Brecksville, Ohio
• Vince Young – (QB) Madison HS, Houston, Texas
*(Pioneer inductee)