Staten Island, NY- Longtime Wagner College football coach and athletic director Walt Hameline will officially be inducted into the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, November 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Hameline will be inducted with five other members of the 2019 class along with seven more in the 2020 class. Both previous ceremonies were postponed due to Covid-19. The ceremonies are free and open to the public. The event will take place at the CYO-MIV Community Center, 6451 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10307.

"It's a great honor to become a member of the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame," Hameline said when his class was announced in January of 2020. "Staten Island has been a big part of my life and I'm honored to have worked with many great people at Wagner College and in the Staten Island community throughout the years. I would also like to congratulate the five other individuals who will share this honor with me and look forward to a great ceremony."

Hameline has been at the helm of Wagner Athletics since 1982, which makes him the longest-tenured Division I AD with 39 years of service to his credit. During his marvelous 34-year coaching career as the Seahawks' head football coach, Hameline amassed a record of 223-139-2 (.615) on Grymes Hill. At the conclusion of the 2014 regular season, those 223 victories ranked fifth among active head Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) head coaches.

Hameline guided the Seahawks to the 1987 NCAA Division III national championship, along with a Lambert Cup, 5 ECAC titles, two Northeast Conference championships, and the school's first and only FCS playoff victory.

"After two years of cancellations, postponements, and Covid uncertainty, the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame will be playing catch-up when it celebrates the Classes of 2019 and 2020 in a first-ever induction doubleheader Nov. 19 at the CYO Rec Center on the grounds of Mount Loretto, Pleasant Plains," read a statement from the Hall of Fame's website.

"In addition to honoring the six inductees in the Class of 2019 – sportswriter Harvey Araton, boxer Tony Canzoneri, Wagner College coach Walt Hameline, high school coach Tony Rafaniello, and baseball stars Anthony Varvaro and Herb White – and seven more from the Class of 2020 – high school coaches Nick Bilotti and Karen Lynch, baseball pitchers Jack Hurley and Rich Scheid,  Dartmouth basketball great Larry Cubas, and boxer Frank Genaro – the Hall of Fame will present its inaugural Staten Island Icon Award to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which aids wounded members of the American military, first responders and their families in the name of fallen FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller."

Admission

Proof of vaccination is required for visitors over the age of 12 under the City of New York's 'Key to NYC' mandate. Face coverings for visitors 2 years old and up are required even if vaccinated. For more information on the event, email Lou Bergonzi, chairman of the induction committee at lbergonzi@verizon.net

Those that are interested in recognizing Hameline's induction are encouraged to make a contribution to the Wagner Athletic Seahawk Fund, visit wagnerathletics.com/give to make a donation on Coach Hameline's behalf.