Athletics

Five selected for Centre County Chapter of Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame

Emery, Fultz, Fisher, Sichler Moerschbacher, and Williams to be inducted Oct. 7

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. — Five former Penn State standouts have been selected for induction into the Centre County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. The chapter’s second class, which includes 11 honorees, will be inducted on Oct. 7 at the Ramada Inn in State College.

Among the inductees are former Penn State student-athletes Cal Emery (baseball), Carol Fultz (women’s basketball and softball), Nan Sichler Moerschbacher (softball) and Jim Williams (football) and legendary broadcaster and Penn State ambassador, Fran Fisher.

Cal Emery
A standout on the diamond, Calvin "Cal" Emery excelled for the Penn State baseball team during his two seasons with the squad. From 1957-58, he won 18 games, which still stands as the ninth most in program history.

Emery made his mark on the program with an exceptional 1957 campaign that concluded with him earning College World Series MVP honors despite Penn State finishing as the runner-up. During the year, he helped Penn State post a 22-2 record, as he teamed with fellow ace Ed Drapcho to record each of the team's 22 victories that season. Emery went 10-1 with 96 strikeouts. His 10 wins and eight complete games are tied for the third-most in a single season in program history. He also limited opposing offenses to just 4.85 hits per nine innings, which is still the fifth lowest rate by a Nittany Lion.

Dominant throughout the season, he was even stronger in the playoffs. Against the nation's toughest competition in Omaha, Nebraska, Emery was simply sensational in the College World Series. In his first start, he tossed a three-hitter against Texas before scattering three more hits against California, who eventually claimed the National Championship.

After winning eight more games the following year for Penn State, Emery signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies and embarked on a 14-year professional career.

Spending most of his time in Triple-A, he did appear in 16 games for the Phillies in 1963.
Following his playing days, he became a highly-respected manager and served in the Philadelphia and Cleveland farm systems. He won a league championship in both organizations, including the Reading Phillies' first-ever title in 1973. Emery also served as the hitting coach for the Chicago White Sox in 1988 before turning his focus to scouting.

Emery passed away in November 2010 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Fran Fisher
The long-time radio voice of the Nittany Lions, Fisher began his five-decade association with Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics in 1966, joining the Penn State Football Radio Network as an analyst, and calling some of the Nittany Lions’ most memorable football victories, including the 1983 Sugar Bowl. He was promoted to the Nittany Lions’ play-by-play voice from 1970-82 and returned to the booth from 1994-99, working alongside analyst/sidekick George Paterno for the final six seasons.

Fisher also served as Executive Director of the Nittany Lion Club from 1982-88. He was an Assistant Athletics Director when he retired from Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics on December 31, 1988.

During his sports broadcasting career, Fisher produced and hosted sports specials for WPSX-TV, the public television station licensed to Penn State, including the popular TV Quarterbacks program featuring Joe Paterno and former Director of Athletics Jim Tarman. Fisher also hosted the Nittany Lion Hot Line radio call-in show on the Penn State Sports Network.

In his role as Assistant Athletic Director, Fisher was responsible for the promotional, public relations and fund raising activities of Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. He also was a Penn State Athletics representative as a speaker at hundreds of functions, including high school sports banquets and Penn State Alumni Association Chapter events.

Fisher was an honorary member of The Penn State Football Letterman’s Club and became an Honorary Life Member of the Penn State Alumni Association in 2008. He died in State College in May 2015 at the age of 91.

Carol Fultz
A two-sport standout from 1982-85, Fultz joined the Penn State women’s basketball and softball programs after a standout prep career at Penns Valley High School. Fultz was recruited to Penn State to play softball, but saw success on the hardwood and softball diamond, finishing her career ranking among the top-10 in numerous categories, while continuing to hold one school record for the Blue and White.

Fultz helped the softball program to its first two national postseason berths, appearing in the NCAA Tournament during the 1983 and 1985 campaigns. The teams she played on improved in wins during each of her four seasons, winning 17, 25, 27 and 34 games, respectively. Fultz lettered four times and earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Northeast Region and NSCA Academic All-America during her senior campaign. Her career and single season numbers continue to rank among the best in school history, as well. Her 19 triples are tied for No. 3 on the career charts, while her .333 batting average ranks No. 11 in program history. Her nine triples during the 1983 season remain as the Nittany Lions’ single season standard.

In three seasons as a walk-on on the hardwood, Fultz scored 314 points, handed out 224 assists, grabbed 136 rebounds and collected 81 steals. She was a part of the first two conference titles in Lady Lion history, as the Blue and White won the Atlantic 10 Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1982-83 and 1983-84, earning the program’s first NCAA Elite Eight appearance.

Nan Sichler Moerschbacher
Nan Sichler was a member of the Penn State softball team from 1985-88, where she etched her name into the record book 19 times during her standout career. Sichler was a four-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Northeast Region honoree and was a three-time All-Atlantic 10 honoree, while being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team in 1985 and 1988. She capped off her career being named the Atlantic 10 Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Pitcher.

Sichler ranks among the best in Penn State softball history writing her name in the Nittany Lion laurels nine times in the single season record book. She ranks first all-time with 49 runs batted in, while ranking second in single season records with 74 hits and eight triples. The four-year starter also ranks fourth in single season records, hitting .413 in her senior campaign, while sitting fifth with 115 total bases.

In her four seasons on the diamond, Sichler batted a program-best .369, while ranking second all-time with 355 total bases, 229 hits, 118 runs batted in, and 22 triples. She also is No. 5 all-time with five sacrifice flies and No. 6 in Penn State laurels with 115 runs scored, and 37 doubles.

Jim Williams
A native of State College, Williams was a two-time letterman for the Nittany Lions as a center and linebacker in 1962 and 1963. After a highly successful career as the head coach at State College Area High School, where he won five-straight Western Conference titles and posted a 65-13 record, Williams joined the Penn State coaching staff in 1977. He spent 16 seasons working with the defensive line and another 12 years as an administrative assistant. In his role with the defensive line, Williams mentored numerous NFL standouts, including Walker Lee Ashley, Bruce Clark and Matt Millen. During Williams’s tenure, the Nittany Lions won National Championships in 1982 and 1986 and appeared in 14 bowl games, including five appearances in the Fiesta Bowl. He graduated from Penn State in 1963 with a degree in business administration.

Editor's note: Information from the Centre Daily Times was used in this story.

Last Updated February 19, 2018