Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame
J.R. Holden ‘98 was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 2008. The Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame, established in 1979 to honor the very best in the history of Bucknell athletics, welcomed six new members this fall when the Class of 2010 was inducted during ceremonies on Homecoming Weekend. This year’s induction brings to 217 the number of outstanding student-athletes, coaches, administrators and friends of Bucknell whose contributions to Bison athletics are forever preserved in the Hall. Hall of Fame plaques are displayed on the second floor of Gerhard Fieldhouse. Among the members of the 2008 Hall of Fame Class was the 45th and most recent member of the Bucknell basketball family to be inducted: J.R. Holden ’98. Holden has gained fame in recent years for his heroic exploits with CSKA Moscow and the Russian National Team, particularly after he hit the game-winning shot in the championship game of the 2007 European Championship, giving Russia a spot in the 2008 Olympics. But his Bucknell career was also noteworthy, as he transformed from a lightly recruited guard into a two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection. A two-time team MVP, Holden scored 1,327 career points, which ranked ninth in program history when he graduated. He is one of only three players in school history with 1,000 points and 300 assists. His best year came as a senior, when he led the team in 11 statistical categories, including scoring (18.2), assists (4.1) and steals (1.5), and he led the Patriot League in assists and ranked second in scoring that year. Bill Courtney, a 2007 inductee, was one of the top scorers in program history. As a junior he set the school single-season scoring record with 619 points — a record that still stands — and he also led the team in assists that season. His 1,499 career points ranked fifth in school history at the time of his graduation and now ranks eighth. A First Team All-Patriot League selection in 1991 and 1992, Courtney’s 14.6 points-per-game average ranks 10th in program history. Patrick King, one of the more inspiring student-athletes to be enshrined in the Hall, was inducted in 2006. A walk-on to the Bison men’s basketball squad, King made his way through the junior varsity ranks, eventually earned a starting forward position and as a senior was named Patriot League Player of the Year after averaging 20.3 points per game. An Academic All-America selection in 1992, King is the school and Patriot League-record holder for field-goal percentage in
a season (.670 in 1990-91) and career (.638). In 2005 Harvey Carter ‘73 and Mike Bright ‘93 were inducted. Carter was a three-year starter and two year captain of the Bison basketball team. He was a First Team All-Middle Atlantic Conference selection as a senior in 1972-73, when he led the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game under coach Jim Valvano. He logged 1,013 points and 783 rebounds in his career, making him one of only 13 players in school history to collect 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Bright was a top player on Bucknell’s outstanding teams of the early 1990s. He was the Patriot League Player of the Year as a senior in 1993, when he led the Bison to a 23-6 record and the league’s regular-season title. Outstanding in all phases of the game, Bright is Bucknell’s No. 3 all-time scorer with 1,670 points, trailing only fellow Hall of Famers Al Leslie (1,973) and Bob Barry (1,809). Mike Joseph, a member of the Class of 1990, was a 2003 Hall of Fame inductee. Joseph was a three-year starter and a member of two East Coast Conference championship squads that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. He was a two-time All-ECC selection and set nine Bucknell records, including the marks for career assists, free throws, free-throw percentage and 3-point percentage. Now Bucknell’s No. 6 all-time scorer, Joseph’s .884 career free-throw percentage ranks 14th in NCAA history. Former basketball stars Ted Aceto and Mike Butts, both of the Bucknell Class of 1989 were members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2000. Aceto lettered four times in basketball and three times in baseball (he missed his junior year with an injury). He scored 1,118 points in his career on the hardwood, and helped the Bison earn their only two trips ever to the NCAA Tournament in 1987 and 1989. On the diamond, he was a first team all-conference shortstop in 1989 when he led the league and ranked 12th in the nation with a .444 average. His .408 career batting average still stands as a Bucknell record. Following graduation, he played two years in the New York Mets system. Butts was the leading scorer on both the 1987 and 1989 NCAA men’s basketball teams for the Bison. He is one of just two players in Bucknell history with over 1,300 (1,355) points and 850 (860) rebounds in a career. He continues to hold game, season and career blocked shot records for the Orange and Blue, and was a two-time All-ECC First Team honoree. As a senior, he was honorable mention All-East and honorable mention All-America. In addition, he excelled in the classroom and was a two-time Academic All-America selection. Bill Gravely ’77, a former track and field standout and basketball player, was inducted in 1998. Gravely, who still holds indoor and outdoor triple jump records, played basketball for three seasons, averaging 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in his career. In 1997, former Bison basketball players Ellis Harley ’59 and Pete Fry ’32 were inducted into the Hall. Harley starred in both basketball and baseball, and at the time of his graduation, ranked fifth in school history with 757 career points. He co-captained the Bison as a junior and senior, and played on three straight teams that won 16 games. Harley has been a Lewisburg resident for more than 30 years, served as Bucknell’s associate vice president for finance until his recent retirement. Fry, who died in April 1997, played four sports at Bucknell. He was a leading scorer on the hardwood for the Orange and Blue, a back and end with the football team, a star pitcher and outfielder with the baseball team, and a member of the track and field program.
Longtime Bucknell coach Charlie Woollum was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995. Woollum coached from 1975-94 and had a 19-year record of 318-221. That victory total is higher than that of any other coach in any one sport in Bucknell’s intercollegiate athletic history. Woollum recently retired after serving six seasons as head coach at William & Mary. Alvin F. “Doggie” Julian is another member of the Hall of Fame. Julian is also a member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition to a distinguished career as an athlete at Bucknell, Julian was a highly successful coach at Muhlenberg, Holy Cross and Dartmouth, and his 1947 Holy Cross team, led by Bob Cousy and George Kaftan, won the NCAA title. Other members of the Bucknell Hall of Fame include Mal Musser ’18, who played and coached at Bucknell and is the only basketball coach other than Woollum and Pat Flannery to win more than 100 games with the Bison; George Haines ’43, Joe Gallagher ’52, Joe Steiner ’62, Jim Wherry ’70, Bob Barry ’80 and Al Leslie ’81, all of whom held the school scoring record when they graduated; Hal Danzig ’59, the career rebounding leader; and John Anderson 1905, who scored 80 points in a single game. Perhaps the most famous member of the Hall of Fame is Christy Mathewson, an outstanding athlete at Bucknell who is also a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Following is a complete list of former Bucknell basketball players and coaches who have been inducted into the Bucknell Athletic Hall of Fame: Hall-of-Famer............................................. Year Inducted Theodore P. Aceto ’89.............................................................. 2000 John C. Anderson 1905............................................................ 1983 Jaye Andrews ’85.................................................................... 1991 Robert R. Barry ’80.................................................................. 1989 Michael C.L. Bright ’93............................................................ 2005 Michael B. Butts ’89................................................................ 2000 Joseph J. Buzas ’41.................................................................. 1981 Harvey D. Carter ’73................................................................ 2005 George W. Cockill ’05............................................................... 1984 William L. Courtney ‘92........................................................... 2007 Harold M. Danzig ’59............................................................... 1983 Harry O. Dayhoff ’23................................................................ 1981 C. Edwin Farver ’69.................................................................. 1981 John D. Filer ’37....................................................................... 1986 Harry G. “Pete” Fry ’32............................................................. 1997 Joseph A. Gallagher ’52........................................................... 1981 William H.Gravely ’77.............................................................. 1998 George F. Haines ’43................................................................ 1980 Edward H. Halicki ’29.............................................................. 1983 F. Ellis Harley ’59..................................................................... 1997 Lawrence K. Hathaway ’65...................................................... 1993 J.R. Holden ‘98......................................................................... 2008 Owen W. James ’34................................................................. 1982 Michael R. Joseph ’90.............................................................. 2003 Alvin F. Julian ’23.................................................................... 1981 Robert C. Keegan ’44............................................................... 1982 George H. Kiick ’40.................................................................. 1984 Patrick C. King ‘92.................................................................... 2006 William H. Lane ’45................................................................. 1979 Albert V. Leslie ’81................................................................... 1986 Christopher Mathewson Jr. ’02................................................ 1979 Harry E. McCormick ’04........................................................... 1979 Martin P. McKibbin ’52............................................................ 1985 Thomas E. McLean ’78............................................................. 1983 Malcolm E. Musser ’18............................................................ 1979 Arthur B. Raynor ’50................................................................ 1984 Christopher M. Seneca ’87....................................................... 1992 John J. Sitarsky ’36.................................................................. 1985 Stuart M. Smith ’38................................................................. 1980 Joseph B. Steiner ’62............................................................... 1986 Donald W. Strassner ’52........................................................... 1994 Thomas A. Thompson ’60........................................................ 1986 John S. Webber ’52.................................................................. 1993 James L. Wherry ’70................................................................ 1987 Charles R. Woollum................................................................. 1995
2010-11 Bucknell Men’s Basketball • 110 • www.BucknellBison.com