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Sports stars shine at PSWA dinner

When M.N. Rawlins became the first president of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association in 1904, roads were unpaved, the Wright brothers had just gotten a plane into the air for 40 seconds and the newspaper was emperor of the information empire.

A lot has changed.

Streets have since been paved, planes are now the safest way to travel and newspapers have been tossed aside for their flashier, younger cousin, the Internet.

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the PSWA’s annual dinner banquet, commemorating the previous year’s Philadelphia sports standouts.

The 107th PSWA dinner was held Jan. 31 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ with more than 1,000 people in attendance.

The main award at each banquet is for professional athlete of the year. This year was no different, with 2010 National League Cy Young award recipient Roy Halladay being named the winner.

Halladay was not the only professional Philadelphia sports star to receive an award, however. He was joined by fellow Phillie Shane Victorino and 76er Elton Brand who received the Humanitarian of the Year award and the Good Guy of the Year award, respectively.

In one of the most memorable speeches of the night, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel claimed the best part of his evening was when he got to meet Matt Hoffman, a Rowan University football player who donated stem cells to a 58-year old man suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2009.

Manuel’s speech was filled with some humor as well.

“I thank the PSWA for allowing me to speak, and quite frankly, I don’t think they could have chosen a better speaker,” Manuel quipped.

Other honorees included Texas A&M sprinter Gabby Mayo, Navy football player Wyatt Middleton, Temple University head basketball coach Fran Dunphy, Philadelphia University head basketball coach Herb Magee and legendary Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey.

When the banquet doors opened at 6:30 p.m., people started shuffling into the large ballroom, most of them trying to find their assigned tables before the ceremonies began.

As guests began to find their seats, some used this as an opportunity to try and get a photo of their favorite Philadelphia sports figures. The area in front of Halladay, Victorino, Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. was by far the most crowded.

Newly appointed president of the PSWA Rich Westcott gave the opening address in which he thanked everyone in attendance for continued support of the PSWA.

Flanking Westcott were the night’s honored guests.

PSWA member Joe Pellegrino then led the entire room in the singing of the National Anthem followed by an invocation delivered by the Rev. Edward Casey.

KYW’s Larry Litwin served as master of ceremonies and introduced the first award of the evening: Team of the Year. It should come as no surprise that this year’s winner was the Philadelphia Flyers, due to their astonishing run in last year’s NHL playoffs, culminating in an Eastern Conference championship.

Ian Laperriere accepted the award on behalf of his teammates.

The next major award of the night was for Humanitarian of the Year.

Because of his work with his foundation, the Shane Victorino Foundation, Victorino joined the company of previous winners such as former Phillie Dickie Noles, former Eagles lineman and current New Jersey Congressman Jon Runyan, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand for their effort to fight childhood cancer.

“It’s a great honor to be here with all these tremendous athletes,” Victorino said. “I can’t thank the PSWA enough. I also thank you, the fans. I wouldn’t be here without all your support and in 2011 we’re going to bring back a World Series.”

For a little change of pace, the next speaker was not an athlete, a PSWA member or a journalist. Comedian Joe Conklin took to the microphone and, to the chagrin of Bergey, started doing impressions of some of Philadelphia’s favorite sports figures.

First up was Manuel. Conklin’s rendition of the Virginian manager was so adept it resulted in hysterical laughter from everyone in attendance, especially from Victorino who could be seen grabbing his face and laughing uncontrollably. Cole Hamels was next, followed by Eagles head coach Andy Reid, Phillies and Eagles PA announcer Dan Baker, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, former 76ers Allen Iverson and Charles Barkley and finally – Bergey.

“[Bergey’s] going to get up here and say he doesn’t talk like this,” Conklin said in his best Bergey voice. “But he does. You’ll see.”

Ironically, after Conklin finished his act, it was Bergey’s chance at redemption as he received the next award of the evening. As he took the stage after being named the winner of the 2011 Living Legend award, his first words were not those of thanks, but “Joe Conklin – you suck. I do not talk like that.” He went on to thank all his former teammates and then took a moment to acknowledge his wife of 41 years. He received the second loudest ovation of the evening.

The loudest ovation of the night came before the final award of the 2011 PSWA dinner when Halladay was presented with his Cy Young award by Westcott.

After the crowd settled, Halladay was then awarded the Professional Athlete of the Year award and every guest in the packed ballroom again rose to their feet to applaud the ace of the Phillies pitching staff. Halladay thanked the Phillies organization, but mainly the fans of Philadelphia.

“The Phillies organization is the best from top to bottom,” Halladay said. “But I really just have to thank the fans. They are by far the best in baseball right now and I can’t thank them enough for coming out and selling out every game. We’ll see you in April.”

Contact Andrew Wiley at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

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