Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame

Relive It All Again

Vin Scamardella

By

As a young man, Vin Scamardella was a dominating fast-pitch softball star, with 30 no-hitters and a perfect game to his credit, and a parade of suitors eager to acquire his services. But as good as he was in the circle, Scamardella’s lasting gifts to the game go far beyond strikeouts, wins, or losses.

A lifelong player, umpire, and ambassador for the game, he led the drive to build the first lighted softball field on Staten Island, and made the game accessible to a wider spectrum of players by standardizing the rules and providing legitimacy for the modified-pitch version of the game, earning a place in the ASA Hall of Fame as “The Father of Modified Pitch Softball.”
Softball
Class of 2024

Kevin Rooney

By

Kevin Rooney was a New York Golden Gloves champion, 21-4-1 as a professional — a record that includes a meeting with four-division champion Alexis Arguello — and heavyweight champion Mike Tyson’s trainer during the meteoric start and explosive prime of Tyson’s career.

With Rooney in his corner, Tyson was 35-0, consolidated the heavyweight championship, and fought seven successful title defenses. Without him, he lost all three titles, while Rooney turned his focus to training Vinny Pazienza through his comeback from a near-fatal car accident, a broken neck, and a 13-month layoff to a Super Middleweight title.

Boxing
Class of 2024

Dusty Rhodes

By

Before he was a World Series hero, Dusty Rhodes was a journeyman outfielder for the New York Giants, best known as a left-handed pinch-hitter and post-game partier.

But in the 10th inning of the opening game of the 1954 Series, Rhodes hit a walk-off, three-run homer to beat the American League champion Cleveland Indians, winners of a then-record 111 regular-season games.

The next day, he delivered all the offense the Giants needed with a run-scoring single and a late-game home run, then drove in two more runs in Game Three, setting the stage for a Giant sweep.

Baseball
Class of 2024

Sharon McAdams

By

Sharon McAdams, Moore Catholic’s first 1,000-point scorer, led the Staten Island Catholic League in scoring as a freshman, and set school records in scoring, steals, assists, and free throws at Moore and at St. Francis College, where she’s still the all-time leader in steals.

Back at Moore as a coach, the 1986 New York State Coach of the Year won three Staten Island Catholic League titles, two Archdiocesan titles, 3 Catholic Downstate titles, back-to-back New York State Federation championships, and 80 percent of her games.
Basketball
Class of 2024

Clare Guerriero

By

Clare Guerriero was a decorated two-sport star in high school — a two-time Advance All-Star in basketball and softball, an All-City pitcher and winner of the 1988 Jaques Award as the best basketball player on the Island, the Pegasus Award as the best PSAL senior and the Margaret Wigiser Award as the city’s best female athlete.

Then, she played it back at St. Francis College, where Guerriero was the Northeast Conference Newcomer of the Year; a three-year, double-digit scorer in basketball and old-school pitcher in the windmill era of softball, and an inductee of the St. Francis College Hall of Fame.
Basketball, Softball
Class of 2024