Full List of 2014 Philly Sports Writers Association Banquet Award Winners and Honored Guests

For 109 years, The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association (of which I am a board member) has recognized the accomplishments and character of the athletes we cheer for when they’re wearing their uniform, and we benefit from when they contribute to the community.

And this year is no different.

On Monday, January 27, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association will hold their 110th Annual Awards Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, NJ. The banquet, which is open to the public, opens its doors at 5:00 pm. Tickets are $95.00 per person and can be purchased at www.PSWADinner.com.

As usual, the dais will host some of the biggest names in sports, some of whom will be receiving awards (see the lists below) and others who have accepted invitations to be honored guests of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, such as Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr., Phillies skipper Ryne Sandberg, Phillies third baseman Cody Asche, La Salle University Men’s Basketball coach Dr. John Giannini, University of Pennsylvania Men’s Basketball coach Jerome Allen and former Philadelphia Union defender Chris Albright. Adding his humor and multiple impersonations to the night’s festivities will be banquet staple local radio personality and comedian Joe Conklin.

2014 Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Traditional Award Winners:

*Philadelphia Pro Athlete – Danny Garcia (Light welterweight boxer: Undefeated light Welterweight Champion )

*Outstanding National Pro Athlete: LeSean McCoy (Philadelphia Eagles running back)

*Native Son: Bo Ryan (head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers men's basketball team)

*Living Legend: Bill Barber (former Philadelphia Flyers forward)

*Athlete Good Guy: Jason Avant (Philadelphia Eagles receiver)

*Team of the Year: Boston Red Sox

*Amateur Athlete: Rondell White (West Chester University running back)

*Lifetime Achievement Award: Bernard Hopkins (Middleweight Boxer: multi-champion/belt holder)

*Ed Snider Lifetime Distinguished Humanitarian: Jim Murray (former Philadelphia Eagles general manager, founder of the Eagles Fly for Lukemia campaign, founder of first Ronald McDonald House)

*Penn Relays Frank Dolson Award: Emily Lipari (Villanova University)

*Army/Navy Game MVP: Keenan Reynolds (Navy quarterback)

*1973 & 1974 Stanley Cup Commemoration: Bernie Parent & Bob Clarke (former Philadelphia Flyers goalie and former Philadelphia Flyers captain)

2014 Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Special Achievement Award Winners:

*Wayne Hardin (Temple University & Naval Academy football coach, College Football Hall of Fame inductee)

*Tim Van Liew (Rutgers-Camden track & field: javelin)

*Denise Dillon (Head Coach, Drexel University Women’s basketball)

* Jay Greenberg (Philadelphia Flyers beat writer, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee)

*Eastern High School Field Hockey (14 straight N.J. State Field Hockey championships and this year won N.J. Tournament of Champions)

2014 Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Honored Guests:

*Lou Guzzi (PGA Teacher of the Year)


*Carolyn Gray (Philadelphia & Boston Marathon runner)


*Brandon Matthews (Temple University golfer)


*Michael Mills (University of Pennsylvania fencer)


*Alfredo Santana (La Salle University men’s track)


* John Robertson (Villanova University quarterback)


*Mo Hawkins (St. Joseph’s University women’s soccer)


*Ken Tribbet (Drexel University men’s soccer)


*Kristen Blye (Philadelphia University women’s basketball)


*Marcelin Withler (Rowan University running back)

Cole & Heidi Hamels Named Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Humanitarians of the Year

Photo provided by the Hamels Foundation

Twenty-four inches long by six inches wide. That’s the length and width of the rubber on a major league pitchers’ mound. And from this small space, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels can do great things. With his left foot pushing off that small rectangle during his delivery, he can be the Most Valuable Player of the 2008 World Series, baffling the lineup of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Or he can be the shining gem of this past, otherwise dismal, Phillies season, winning a career high 17 games and striking out 216 batters.

But the great things Hamels does from this tiny space have an impact felt far beyond the sixty feet, six inches—the distance from the rubber to home plate—where his foes face him. The impact doesn’t end there with the thump his fastball makes in a catcher’s mitt. It reaches the schools of Philadelphia and Malawi, Africa and the playgrounds of Turkmenistan and beyond.

Hamels, along with his wife, Heidi, have used the notoriety and money that have come from his pitching success to start the Hamels Foundation, a charity devoted to enriching the lives of children and giving them the tools to achieve their goals.

And for this, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association (PSWA)—the oldest organization of its kind in the United States, and of which I am a member—have named the Hamels their 2013 Humanitarians of the Year. 

The Hamels will be recognized at the PSWA 109^th Annual Awards Dinner January 28 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

According to Hamels Foundation Director of Operations, GN Kang, the Hamels Foundation, created in 2008, has donated over $660,000 to over 20 Philadelphia public schools. (You may have heard how the School District of Philadelphia has recently proposed closing three schools that have received over $400,000 worth of playground and library equipment donated by the Hamels Foundation.) They will also have donated-- by the end of this year-- over 1.8 million dollars to improve education worldwide, including the building of a school in Malawi, Africa, a country where HIV/AIDS have left a million children orphaned an living in extreme poverty. The school is expected to be finished in 2015. 

Along with tending to the education of children worldwide, the Hamels Foundation is also devoted to helping children…well…enjoy childhood. In Turkmenistan (formerly part of the Soviet Union) the Hamels Foundation has donated to a Peace Corps volunteer who had written to them enough equipment and uniforms for two whole youth baseball teams for both boys and girls.

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to attend decent schools and live healthy lives can only imagine the good the Hamels and the Hamels Foundation are doing for the tiny minds and hearts of schoolchildren everywhere they have touched.

But it shouldn’t be hard to imagine that the good is coming from Cole Hamels and his team. After all, he’s used to doing great things in small places.

*To learn more about the Hamels Foundation, visit TheHamelsFoundation.org. To learn more about the 109^th Annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Dinner January 28-including a list of this year’s award winners and ticket information (tix are $95.00), visit PSWADinner.com.

* Here's a list of athletes/sports people who will be there:

Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels centerfielder

Larry Bowa former Phillis shortstop and manager

Todd Herremans Eagles offensive lineman

Carli Llyod Women's US Olympic Soccer team

Heather Mitts Women's U.S. Olympic Soccer team

Charlie Manuel  Phillies Manager

Jimmy Rollins Phillies Shortstop

Speedy Morris college/high school basketball coaching legend

Danny Garcia Boxing champ

Ruben Amaro Jr. GM of the Phillies

Tommy Green  Former Phillie

Elena Delle Donne University of Delaware basketball

Keenan Reynolds Annapolis (Navy) quarterback MVP of Army/Navy game
Ed Snider Chairman of Comcast Spectacor which owns the Flyers