The WPIAL again will honor its own tomorrow (Friday) as some of the organization's greatest sports personalities earn deserved recognition.

The second annual WPIAL Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony is taking place at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Moon Township.

The Class of 2008 is a collection of standout athletes, coaches, officials, teams and contributors.

The group includes Gateway star swimmer Michelle Chow, Swissvale three-sport star Dick Groat, Pitcairn and Braddock football coach Chuck Klausing, former football and basketball official and Penn Hills resident Cliff Fair and former Gateway athletic director and WPIAL executive director Larry Hanley.

Chow, who now lives in Texas with her husband and children, won eight PIAA individual gold medals in the 50 and 100 frees, the most a swimmer could win in a career.

The 1986 Gateway graduate also brought home WPIAL gold seven times and led the Lady Gators to state titles in 1985 and 1986.

"(Gateway Sports Hall of Fame Chairman) Tony Petrocelli e-mailed me, and the subject line said "Guess what?" and I knew he was bringing me good news even before I opened the e-mail," Chow said.

Chow still swims at the masters level and won national titles at the U.S. Masters Swimming Short Course National Championships in May.

"The most meaningful thing for me is that I was Gateway's sole athlete nominee last year and this year," Chow said.

"Not many schools would select a swimmer as its first nominee. Gateway has shown a lot of loyalty to me. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family, friends and coaches. The fact that I still swim competitively and am successful in my career reinforces the great job they did."

Chuck Klausing started his coaching career as a junior high basketball coach and the head varsity football coach at Pitcairn in 1948.

He is best remembered for coaching Braddock High School to six WPIAL football championships in a row (1954-59). He's the only coach ever to accomplish the feat.

Klausing's coaching career included head coaching tenures at Carnegie Mellon and IUP and work as an assistant coach at Rutgers, Army, West Virginia and Pitt.

"This is a great honor for me," said Klausing, who celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary with his wife, Joan, on May 9.

"I learned to coach in the WPIAL, and it gave me a 46-year coaching career. My time in the WPIAL was a great foundation."

Klausing joined several of the other inductees at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum when the Class of 2008 was announced May 13.

"It was impressive to be with the others to be honored," he said.

Many people remember Dick Groat as a member of Pittsburgh Pirates, especially the 1960 World Series team.

What might not be as well know is that Groat was a three-sport star at Swissvale High School. He played basketball, baseball and volleyball.

He set a school record with 37 points in a basketball game and led WPIAL basketball in scoring in 1948.

He went on to play basketball and baseball at Duke and led NCAA basketball in scoring as a senior at 26 points per game.

Groat played one year in the NBA with the Fort Wayne Pistons.

In 26 games, he averaged 11.9 points, but his basketball career was cut short because of military service.

Cliff Fair, a Penn Hills resident for the past 25 years, served as a WPIAL football and basketball official for 25 years.

He also officiated Division I football and basketball in the Northeast.

"I was worried about preparing a long speech, but I was told we only get three minutes," Fair quipped.

"I was on the board for the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for a number of years, and we would always tell the inductees to keep their speeches to about five minutes. I know what that's all about."

Fair went on to become the first WPIAL Quad-A supervisor of football officials in 1981 and served as the assigning secretary of the West Penn Basketball Officials Association from 1967 to 1970.

"At my age, you don't get too many invitations like this," Fair said.

"Sometimes, people forget about you when you get to be my age."

Fair said this hall of fame induction is a great birthday present. He turns 90 on Wednesday.

Larry Hanley began his involvement in high school athletics as a baseball and football player at Crafton High School (now Carlynton).

His first coaching positions were in the football and baseball programs in the Gateway School District.

Hanley was a football assistant under legendary Gateway football coach Pete Antimarino from 1969 to 1973.

In 1973, he was appointed assistant principal and athletic director at Gateway High School.

As athletic director, Hanley helped add several new sports to the district's program, including boys and girls soccer, girls track and cross country and boys and girls volleyball.

By the time he retired, he was overseeing 23 sports and 60 coaches.

While serving as Gateway athletic director and as an assistant principal, Hanley was active in the WPIAL.

Hanley, a resident of Murrysville, became the executive director of the WPIAL in 1997, a post he held until his retirement in March 2006.