UPJ's Pecora enters Pittsburgh Chapter of National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
https://www.tribdem.com/sports/upjs-pecora-enters-pittsburgh-chapter-of-national-italian-american-sports-hall-of-fame/article_19ca05b4-fa2a-11eb-ab53-cb942a46b338.html
By Mike Mastovich
mmastovich@tribdem.com Aug 11, 2021
Pat Pecora recently was officially inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Chapter, his ninth hall of fame induction.
The Pitt-Johnstown wrestling coach and athletic director had to wait a year for the induction ceremony as the 2020 event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joining Pecora in the class was businessman Jimmy "Maggs" Manganello, who is credited with helping to keep the NHL's Penguins in Pittsburgh during the late 1970s.
The banquet was held at the LeMont Restaurant in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
"It was fun. It was a blast," said Pecora, who became the all-time winningest college wrestling coach in all divisions in February 2020. "The first person I saw was (boxer Ray) Boom Boom Mancini. I always loved the way he fought and boxed. It was a great night."
A previous inductee into the hall, Mancini and Pecora posed for a photograph that appeared on social media.
In 44 years at Pitt-Johnstown, Pecora has 618 career wins, including national team championships in 1996 and 1999. He has led 154 All-Americans and 14 individual national champions who have combined to win 22 national titles.
Pecora is a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame East Boro Chapter (1994), Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame (1998), West Liberty State College Hall of Fame (1998), Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame (2001), NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame (2003), Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame (2015), and the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (2016), and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2017).
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat.
Is this a relation to the Pecora's of Greenfield? John and Tom Pecora
Brothers