Peters Township pair to be inducted into WPIAL Hall of Fame
Peters Township products Brian Simmons and Ruth Ann Burke will be among those inducted in the WPIAL Hall of Fame May 27 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Greentree.
The pair are part of the Class of 2022, which includes 16 members across seven different categories.
The 15th annual class was revealed during a news conference held Jan. 19 at the Senator John Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum.
Simmons is one of eight inductees listed in the athletic category while Burke is included in the contributor category.
Simmons won 10 varsity letters in high school and was named The Almanac’s Athlete of the Year in 1992. An all-section performer in baseball and basketball, he also competed in the WPIAL golf tournament.
Simmons enjoyed 10 seasons in Major League Baseball after playing at the University of Michigan.
Drafted twice, 35th by Baltimore in 1992 and second by Chicago in 1995, Simmons played three years for the White Sox and later for the Toronto Blue Jays.
A coach and educator, Burke formed the league known as the WPGAL, giving high school girls the opportunity to compete in the 1960s. She was the first female member of the WPIAL Board of Control. She served on both the WPIAL and PIAA steering committees for girls sports.
The WPIAL Hall of Fame was organized as a means of recognizing, preserving and promoting the heritage of interscholastic sports in Western Pennsylvania. Many individuals have made extraordinary contributions and have achieved superb accomplishments in high school sports. The WPIAL Hall of Fame honors the contributions and accomplishments of these individuals who are worthy of recognition as examples for others to emulate.