Across America, universities and colleges have their version of an athletic hall of fame to honor great athletes that are alumni of those schools. Slippery Rock University is no exception. Each year, the Slippery Rock University Athletics Hall of Fame Committee chooses former athletes to be honored with an induction into The Rock’s elite class of men and women who performed at high levels while attending the university.
The 2026 class, when announced, will be the 42nd class to be honored in a selection process that began with the first class in 1984. The inaugural class placed N. Kerr Thompson, Connie Palumbo, C. Vivian Stringer and Stan Dziedzic as the very first members of the newly-created Athletics Hall of Fame.
As any Rock alumnus knows, the football team’s stadium is named after Thompson, who was an SRU graduate in the class of 1908. Palumbo, who graduated in 1957, lettered in football, basketball, soccer, track and golf. She was perhaps the “Babe Didrikson” of Slippery Rock.
As for Stringer, who comes from the class of 1970, she was an outstanding basketball and field hockey player who would go on to have an extraordinarily-successful coaching career in college.
In all, there have been 301 inductees. This includes not just individuals, but teams honored as well, such as the 1998 Rock football team and the 1979 men’s track and field team. You can get insight to all 301 hall of famers by visiting the official Slippery Rock University Hall of Fame site at https://rockathletics.com/honors/hall-of-fame.
In reviewing the list of athletes so honored, and researching other former SRU athletes, there are at least 12 Slippery Rock alumni, five of which have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, that became professional or Olympic athletes, and one that was a star in track and field.
Bob Shawkey
To begin this list of 12, one name that pops out is Bob Shawkey. He was an outstanding Major League Baseball pitcher who was a standout with the Philadelphia Athletics and the pinstripes of the New York Yankees from 1913 to 1927. Shawkey spent his 1927 season with a Yankees team that is widely considered the greatest team in the history of professional baseball.
The right-handed pitcher is from Sigel, Pa. He was part of the dominant 1910 Slippery Rock team, when the school was still called the Slippery Rock State Normal School, before playing in an independent league prior to his time in MLB.
Matt Adams
Another baseball player who has not been inducted into the SRU Hall of Fame is Matt Adams. His final year playing for the Rock baseball team was in 2009, when he was named the Daktronics National Player of the Year. Adams is Slippery Rock’s career leader in batting average with a mark of .473, as well as having the best slugging percentage with a mark of .754.
He went on to be drafted in the 23rd round of baseball’s annual draft in 2009 by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he went on to hit 118 home runs in the major leagues, and won the 2019 World Series title with St. Louis.
Brandon Fusco
Of the Hall of Fame honorees that went on to a professional athletic career, one of the recent notables is Brandon Fusco. Fusco is a National Football League veteran, and was a member of the 2022 Hall of Fame class leaving the Rock in 2010. A big man at 6’4” and 306 pounds during his playing days, he graduated from Seneca Valley High School and played six years for the Minnesota Vikings. He also had one season with the San Francisco 49ers and one with the Atlanta Falcons.
Ricky Porter
In 1982, Ricky Porter was the star running back for the football team. He made it to the NFL and was honored by SRU’s Hall of Fame in 1993. Porter’s pro football career started with the Detroit Lions before spending time with the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Colts prior to playing in the USFL and Canadian Football League. Porter finished his career with one season with Buffalo back in the NFL. He was also on the coaching staff of two Super Bowl-winning Denver Broncos teams.
Troy Mild
Troy Mild is a member of the SRU Hall of Fame inducted in 1996. He played with The Rock for four years, averaging 17.9 points per game. Mild led the team in steals twice and led in points per game during his senior season.
When he left SRU, Mild was The Rock’s all-time leading scorer at 1,851 points, and was named a third-team All-American. The 1984 graduate started 78 consecutive games.
Charles Sanders
Charles Sanders, who came out of Slippery Rock after an outstanding career at the school, was drafted in 1986 by the San Diego Chargers. After not making it through training camp with the Chargers, the Pittsburgh Steelers gave him a chance. In two seasons with Pittsburgh, Sanders played in 19 games and rushed for 77 yards on 15 rushes for a 5.1 yards per carry average. Sanders’ induction year was 1997.
Stan Dziedzic
As mentioned prior, one of the first Hall of Fame inductees in the inaugural class was Stan Dziedzic. Now 76 years of age, Dziedzic graduated from SRU in 1972. He put together a storied wrestling career in freestyle wrestling. He won a bronze medal at the 1975 Olympics in Montreal, and a gold medal in the World Championships in 1980.
While wrestling for Slippery Rock in 1971, Dziedzic brought home the DI national title in the 150-pound class. In 1972 he finished second at 158 pounds. In the Division II championships, Dziedzic won the national title three straight years, from 1970 to 1972.
Lou Trivino
Trivino was drafted after his junior year at the Rock by the Oakland A’s in the 11th round of baseball’s draft in 2013. He debuted with Oakland in 2018 and played there four more seasons. From there, he played one season each with the Yankees, Giants, Dodgers and Phillies in 2025. This year, he is in the Phillies’ minor league system.
Greg Paterra
Greg Paterra’s college career began at Hartford Community College before transferring to Slippery Rock in 1986, where he would play three seasons. An 11th round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons, Paterra played for the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills with one season in between in the World League of American Football on the roster of the Montreal Machine.
Angel Baker
Over the past several years, women have begun to make more of an impact in the National Football League as coaches and field officials. Baker is no exception. Before finding a job in the NFL, the Rock alum played eight years with the Pittsburgh Passion in women’s professional football. In 2018, she was the team’s leading wide receiver with 854 yards on 57 receptions. In 2023, the New York Giants of the NFL hired Baker to be an offensive assistant.
Myron Brown
From 1987 to 1991, Brown took to the hardwood for SRU, and upon graduation, became a second-round pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves as the 34th overall pick in the NBA draft. Brown went on to have a 16-year professional basketball career playing for many teams in leagues such as the NBA, CBA, and playing overseas in Europe. When he left Slippery Rock, he was the school’s all-time leading scorer and was four time All-American.
Nikita Lewis
Perhaps the greatest track and field athlete at Slippery Rock was Nikita Lewis. Lewis was a four-time national champion, having won the long jump and triple jump titles at the 2000 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, then doing it again later that year in the outdoor championships. In 1999 and 2000, Lewis was tabbed with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player award for those year’s championship meets. She is also a seven-time conference champion. To this day, she still holds the Rock’s indoor and outdoor record for the long and triple jump. In addition, she was a member of Slippery Rock’s 1998-99 basketball team.
