The WPIAL Hall of Fame class of 2008 was announced this morning and it includes one of the greatest two-sport athletes to come out of the league.

Dick Groat, who played basketball in the NBA and was an All-Star caliber major league baseball player, is one of the new members of the WPIAL Hall of Fame. This is the second year of the league's Hall of Fame and induction ceremonies will be at a banquet next month at Embassy Suites in Moon Township.

Groat played basketball, baseball and volleyball at Swissvale High School, which is now part of the Woodland Hills School District. He went on to become a star basketball player at Duke, leading the nation in scoring as a senior. His number is retired at Duke.

After college, Groat played one year in the NBA with the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons) and then nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the National League batting champion and most valuable player in 1960 with a .325 average. He later played on a world champion St. Louis Cardinals team in 1964.

Former Pitt basketball star Don Hennon, who played at Wampum High in the 1950s, also is part of the class. In 1958, Hennon was a first-team AP and UPI All-American. The other four players on the team were Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and Guy Rodgers. At Wampum, he played from 1951-55 and scored 2,376 career points, a WPIAL record that stood for 38 years.

Swin Cash, a WNBA player and former star at McKeesport High School, also is part of the class. In her career, she won a WPIAL title, an NCAA title at the University of Connecticut, a WNBA title and an Olympic gold medal.

The WPIAL picks Hall of Fame members in five categories: athletes, coaches, teams, officials and contributors.

The rest of the class is:

Athletes - Norm Van Lier, Midland High School (basketball and football); Ron "Po" James, New Brighton (football, basketball, baseball); Colleen Rosensteel, Greensburg Central Catholic (track and field); Candy Young, Beaver Falls (track and field).

Coaches - Chuck Klausing, Braddock, football; Ed McCluskey, Farrell, basketball; Sharon Watson, Norwin girls' volleyball.

Official - Cliff Fair.

Teams - Ambridge basketball, 1967; Donora football 1945; Shaler baseball 1980.

Contributor - Larry Hanley, former WPIAL executive director.