Eight Stars Inducted in 2021 Hall of Fame Class  (11/8/2021)

In November 2021, the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame (GSSHOF) enshrined eight new members and recognized a Team of Honor. The new class includes Tyvon Branch (football), Ed Carlin (wrestling), Tim Connolly (hockey), Tori DeSilvia Beardsley (swimming), Pat Driscoll (official), Jennifer Hughes (soccer), Tim O'Hara (lacrosse), and Paul Pasqualoni (coach). The 1982 and 1983 Liverpool High School football teams were recognized as the Team of Honor.

The Class of 2021 are recognized at the Hall of Fame Showcase at Drivers Village in Cicero, NY. 

The addition of the Class of 2021 brings the GSSHOF honoree total to 255 men and women since the first induction ceremony in 1987. 

Tyvon Branch - Nottingham and Cicero-North Syracuse High School football and track and field star athlete who went on to further stardom at the University of Connecticut and then to the National Football League with the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, and Arizona Cardinals.

Ed Carlin - High school and Syracuse University wrestling standout who became the most successful wrestling coach in Syracuse University history.

Tim Connolly - Baldwinsville High School graduate who became the fifth overall pick in the 1989 National Hockey League draft by the New York Islanders and played in the NHL for 11 seasons with the Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Tori DeSilvia Beardsley - Nottingham High School swimmer who gained national attention as a teenager by becoming the fifth-fastest swimmer in the US at age 16 and later earning All-America and All-Southeastern Conference honors at the University of Tennessee.

Pat Driscoll - Bishop Ludden High School product who went on to become a top-rated NCAA D-I basketball official and has worked four Final Fours, as well as the 2015 National Championship game in front of 71,149 fans in Indianapolis.

Jennifer Hughes - All-State high school soccer player at East Syracuse-Minoa HS who also was the first at ESM to top the 1,000-point career scoring mark in basketball.  She went on to star in soccer at Colgate where she earned numerous all-conference, ECAC, and tournament honors. She became the head women’s soccer coach at Amherst College in 2004 where she has led her team to 11 NCAA tournaments in 17 years.

Tim O’Hara - West Genesee High School and Syracuse University lacrosse star who was a three-time collegiate All-American while setting scoring records that stood for more than a decade and paved the way for the success of future Orange teams.

Paul Pasqualoni - Former Syracuse University football coach (four as an assistant and 14 as head coach) whose .644 (107-59-1) winning percentage is the best in the 130-year history of the program. He was named ECAC D-I Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1995 and ECAC/Lombardi Foundation Coach of the Year in 1996. In addition to coaching the Orange, he was the head coach at Western Connecticut and the University of Connecticut, and was an assistant coach for the Cowboys, Dolphins, Bears, Texans, and Lions in the National Football League.

Please join Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors as we welcome the Class of 2021 and honor all the athletes, coaches and administrators who have contributed to Syracuse’s proud sports heritage.