AFA Hosts Successful 39th Annual Minor League Hall of Fame Inductions
Media Contact:
Dave Burch
President
Phone: (877) 624-4485
Email address: Amerfoot@aol.com

BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK JUNE 27, 2019
For the seventh consecutive year, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio was the site for the American Football Association's 39th Annual Semi-Pro/Minor League Hall of Fame Induction Dinner on Friday, June 21st. Twenty two individuals representing semi-pro/minor league football teams across the country were enshrined as 'legends' of their level.

This year's enshrinement festivities began on Thursday evening, June 20, 2019, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH with the annual AFA/HOF Alumni Huddle cocktail party. The "Huddle" provided attending HOF Alumni an opportunity to meet and greet the new group of semi-pro/minor league football legends before they were inducted.

On Friday evening, the Class of 2019 was honored by AFA Alumni, family, and friends as they received their commemorative Minor League Hall of Fame recognition plaques. Craig Ochoa (Class of '03) served as MC, while former teammates and/or family members presented the new inductees to the dinner crowd. Each inductee provided very sincere and touching testimonies about their backgrounds and careers. The induction dinner event webcast was viewed by over 1000 friends, family, and fans worldwide. This webcast video is now available for viewing at  AFA Hall of Fame Induction Dinner.

The American Football Association is proud to present the names of those who will be enshrined into the AFA Minor League Football Hall of Fame as the "Class of 2019" (names in parentheses indicate sponsors of the new inductees).....
Coaches Category: 
Angel Lopez - Milwaukee, WI (Bob Harrison/Brian Carder/Tom Hawkins)
Jerry Schliem - Milton, WI (Bob Harrison/Brian Carder/Tom Hawkins)
Edward Zbikowski - Arlington Heights, IL (Roman Strzala/LarrySchmidt/Ron Hansen)

Media Category: 
Don Wadewitz - West Allis, MI (Jordan Kopac) 
Rob Krone - Adams, NY (George Ashcraft) 

Officials Category: 
Larry Vecchio - Hagaman, NY (Bill Higgins/Joe Friers)

Player Category:
Bryan Pallone - Fort Lauderdale, FL (Mary Lockhart)
Terrence L. Rollins - Norristown, PA (Bob Kubiak)
Byron Culver - Southfield, MI (Robert Hunt)
Kirk Haywood - Bolingbrook, IL (Jack Ball)
Ramon Burroughs - St Cloud, MN (Todd Western)
George Annang - Lynwood, IL (Larry Johnson)
Manuel Johnson - Erie, PA (Thomas Robinson)
Kevin Prietti - Boynton Beach, FL (Joe Hall)
James Bernard Nelson - Dorchester, MA (Larry DeVoe)
Mark Trudel - Waukesha, WI (Phil Micech)
Brian Davis - Manlius, IL (Brent Bordenkircher)
John Van Buren - Wantaugh, NY (Tom Manny/Mike Carneval)
Joseph Lombardi - South Easton, MA (Larry DeVoe) 
Timothy "Ted" Ryan - Charlestown, MA (Bob Beckwith)
Jamie Davis - Scottsville, VA (Bob Yurachek)
Wendell Mosley - Lawrenceville, GA (Fred Robinson)

The enshrinement of this year's class of 22 new hall of famers will see the association's 39-year total number of inductees expand from 777 members to 799 members. Since the inaugural enshrinement in 1981 (including the Class of 2019) the AFA has recognized 487 players; 111 coaches; 89 executives; 34 officials; 25 pioneers; 23 media/historians; 13 trainer/equipment men; 6 associated with youth football; 6 involved with international semi-pro; 4 from the women's level; and even 1 'super fan'. 
 
Links to key event archives:
- 2019 Hall of Fame Dinner Program
- 2019 AFA HoF Logo Wear
- 2019 Official Photos Hall of Fame Inductions 
- 2019 Hall of Fame Induction Webcast; Copies of this webcast can be obtained by contacting Steve Weed @ 315-782-8383 Office or 315-783-2171 Cell.
Our sincere thanks to the following dinner program sponsors:
- Sadler Sports & Recreation Insurance
- Red Cloud Food Services (Robert Harrison)
- International Production Specialists, Inc. (Jordan Kopac)
- Watertown Red & Black
- Empire Football League
- Upstate New York NFL Alumni Chapter
- Elmhurst Travelers
- Roman Strzala
- Larry Schmidt
- Ron Hansen
- Lombardi & Son Builders
- Peter O'Kane
- Brent Bordenkircher
- Phil Micech
- Bryan Pallone
- Dave Fleck
- Mike Robochik
- Frank DeMarco
- Upstate New York Semi Pro Football Alumni Group
- Restoration, Inc.
- T.L. Kindt Insurance Agency, Inc.
- Professional Football Researchers Association

Major sponsors above will receive digital billboard advertising in Times Square....
It's not too late to signup as an AFA Times Square Billboard Takeover Day sponsor and receive digital billboard advertising.
American Football Times Square Giving Tuesday Billboard
Previous AFA Times Square Billboard Takeover Day

The AFA Times Square Takeover is an opportunity to:
- See your organization (or yourself) on the most iconic billboards in the world on an important.  Position your brand amongst the world's best.
- Connect and engage with people you want to know about you in an impactful way.
- This placement when posted to social, digital, and public relations channels has proven to increase engagement - sales, donations, and loyalty - by over 500%!
 - Use the video or a picture of your placement on annual reports, investor, or shareholder materials.
- Display the video or picture of your placement in your office, location, or on your website to memorialize your moment in one of the most iconic advertising placements in the world.
 
FIRST COME FIRST SERVE - LIMITED AVAILABILITY. To book your placement, please contact us at amerfoot@aol.com

During our event, a lot of you expressed an interest on how one could help the AFA going forward. Click on any of the following opportunities to further assist the organization:
About the American Football Association: American Football Association is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax exempt corporation in its 39th year of operation, and is dedicated to the advancement of adult (semi-pro) football from coast-to-coast. Our slogan is Semi Pro & Proud®. We are not affiliated with any other national semi-pro/minor league organization. The AFA, Hall of Fame, American Football News™ and AFA logo design are registered trademarks of the American Football Association. All other AFA-related trademarks are trademarks of the American Football Association.
 | American Football Assn | (877) 624-4485 | (801) 838-0175 | Amerfoot@aol.com |www. A mericanFootballAssn.com
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