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WHEELING — Two former high school athletes who led state championship teams and went on to major college stardom and professional play have been selected for induction into the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.
Tabbed for enshrinement from the decade of the 1960's are Al Salvadori from Wheeling Central and the late Ted Tomasovich from Weir High. They will be inducted at the 19th annual ceremony on Saturday, August 12 at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling. The OVAC Hall of Fame and Sports Museum are located inside WesBanco Arena.
Salvadori and Tomasovich will join previously announced inductees for the Class of 2023 in Warwood's Steve Doe; Woodsfield's Lance LaFollette; Barnesville's Tim McCrate, Jessica Hines and Jennie Castle; Bishop Donahue's Shawn Straughn; Martins Ferry's Fred Ray; Union Local's Koel Davia; Magnolia's Justin Fox; and Weirton Madonna's Max Nogay.
The OVAC Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Robinson Auto Group.
Here's a capsule look at the latest selections:
AL SALVADORI, Wheeling Central (Class of 1963)–The 6-foot-8 basketball pivot ranks among the best 'big men' in OVAC history and was the most honored player and top scorer/rebounder for the unbeaten (23-0) 1963 Maroon Knight team regarded as the best in school history. As a senior, he earned 1st Team all-class "Big" All-State, 1st Team Catholic All-State, 1st Team All-OVAC largest Class AAA, All-City and All-Catholic Class AA Tournament while averaging 18.6 points and double digit rebounds. He also was accorded Catholic schools All-America honors while Central was ranked one of the Top 10 Catholic teams nationally.
He led the Knights to back-to-back W.Va. Catholic Tournament championships, an OVAC largest Class AAA title as a senior and the overall No. 1 state regular season poll ranking by United Press International, the only state non-SSAC member to be ranked No. 1. The No. 2 ranked team was a Ron Williams-led Weir team which won the SSAC Class AAA title after two regular season losses to Central.
As a junior, he led the Knights to the state Catholic Tournament Class AA title while earning all-tourney, 2nd Team All-City and honorable mention all-class "Big" All-State.
A college D-I recruit, he accepted a grant to the University of South Carolina where he played on the freshman team before lettering, and starting, three seasons on the varsity. He was selected All-Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament as a senior. He scored 773 points in 69 games and led the Gamecocks in rebounding.
He was drafted by two professional leagues including the Baltimore franchise in the NBA but opted to play two seasons with Oakland of the American Basketball League.
The Wheeling Central Hall of Famer resides in Carnegie, Pa.
TED TOMASOVICH, Weir (Class of 1964)–He was a three-sport, three-year regular in football, basketball and baseball on top-record teams who became a Hall of Faner and two-sport, three-year regular at Georgia Tech and later a two-year professional baseball player.
In football, he quarterbacked three Red Rider teams including a 10-1 record state Class AAA championship team as a sophomore and an 8-2 record team as a senior.
Career-wise, he passed for 1,407 yards and 17 TDs for a run-oriented offense.
In basketball, the 6-foot-3 forward started on three Red Rider teams which became the only OVAC largest class school to advance to three straight state title games. He earned all-state tournament twice as a junior and senior as well as All-OVAC and All-State mention. Playing with charter OVAC Hall of Famer Ron (Fritz) Williams, the Red Riders ended 25-1 in 1962 with an OVAC Class AAA title and overall No. 1 state regular season poll ranking before ending state runner-up. A year later, Weir won the state Class AAA crown with a 19-5 record as Tomasovich earned All-OVAC and third team all-class "Big" All-State honors. As a senior, the Red Riders ended runner-up in the state 3-A tournament and he earned All-OVAC and honorable mention, all-class "Big" All-State. Tomasovich averaged double figures in points and rebounds for his career as Weir had a 62-8 record
In baseball, the pitcher-outfielder was an all-class All-State honorable mention choice as a senior.
The Weir High Wall of Famer received an athletic scholarship to Georgia Tech and became a two-sport, three-year regular in basketball and baseball. He played 76 basketball games with a career point average of 12.7 including 15 ppg as a senior. He was a pitcher, first baseman and outfielder in baseball and earned NCAA All-District as a senior when he batted .381 with five home runs and 38 rbis–all team bests. Career-wise, he started 48 games with a .366 batting average and 5-4 on the mound. He set a Tech career pitching record by allowing the fewest hits (54) with over 100 innings pitched. He was elected to the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
Tomasovich was drafted twice by major league baseball. The San Diego Padres picked him in 1968 before the Cincinnati Reds selected him in 1969.
He signed with the Reds and played two minor league seasons. He passed away in 2020 in Southern California.