Allderdice High School's motto, prominently displayed in its auditorium, says: "Know something, Do something, Be something."

Since the Squirrel Hill school opened in 1927, many of its more than 50,000 graduates have followed that advice. Some have followed it to the very top of their professions.

This spring, Allderdice will honor four exceptional graduates by placing them in its new Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a banquet and their plaques will go up in the school's first-floor hallway.

The plan is to select four graduates each year for induction.

Nominations for the first class of the Allderdice Hall of Fame began seven weeks ago and will end Jan. 5.

A nine-person selection committee made up of the principal, two faculty members, two students, three alumni and a parent-teacher representative will not have a shortage of candidates, but will have a monumental job trying to reduce the list.

"It's going to be very difficult picking just four from an institution like Allderdice that has put out many, many amazing people in just about every category of life," said Jeff Rosenthal, 55, president of the Allderdice Alumni Association and a member of the selection committee.

"No matter who we decide on, there will be opposition because of so many success stories. Who do you pick? What trumps what -- a medical doctor who has affected millions of people with a cure and treatment or a world-class athlete?"

Allderdice's Hall of Fame selection committee will begin to make those difficult choices when it meets next month.

Here are some alumni who have been nominated:

• Myron Cope, class of 1947 -- Born Myron Sidney Kopelman. Was the Steelers' radio analyst for 35 years. Inducted into National Radio Hall of Fame. Was an award-winning feature writer for Sports Illustrated. Inventor of the Terrible Towel. Proceeds from the Terrible Towel have raised more than $2 million for charity. Cope died Feb. 27, 2008, at age 79.

• Dr. Bernard Fisher, '36 -- A pioneer in the biology and treatment of breast cancer, he is considered to have been one of the most important people in the world in improving the outlook for women with the disease.

• Rob Marshall, '78 -- Renowned film and television director and choreographer. Received international acclaim for directing and choreographing the 2002 film "Chicago." The movie received six Academy Awards, including best picture.

• Curtis Martin, '91 -- Running back who played with the New England Patriots, 1995-97, and New York Jets, 1998-2005. Martin is the fourth-leading rusher in NFL history with 14,101 yards.

• Larry Lucchino, '63 -- A graduate of Princeton and Yale Law School, Lucchino is president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox.

• Marty Allen, '40 -- Born Morton Alpern., he was a successful standup comedian and actor. The bug-eyed Allen and comedy partner Steve Rossi made 44 appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. Perhaps their most famous appearance there was when they had the unenviable task of following the Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" -- Feb. 9, 1964.

• Howard Fineman, '66 -- Newsweek magazine's chief political correspondent and senior editor. Mr. Fineman has done extensive work on television and is an NBC news analyst.

• Edna Campbell '86 -- A Parade magazine girls' basketball All-American at Allderdice, Ms. Campbell, a guard, played seven seasons in the WNBA, 1999-2005.

• Richard Caliguiri, '49 -- Served as mayor of Pittsburgh from 1977 until his death in 1988.

Allderdice Principal Bob Scherrer, 34, said some of the nominees have "wowed" him. But Mr. Scherrer and Mr. Rosenthal believe there are other exceptional graduates who have not been nominated yet.

The idea for an Allderdice Hall of Fame surfaced about a year and a half ago.

Mr. Scherrer, a Baldwin High School graduate in his second year as Allderdice's principal, believes the Hall of Fame will serve two important purposes.

"It is a way to connect with our alumni. It creates a legacy for those who came before us. And we want to connect it with our current students. The Hall of Fame plaques will be displayed in a hallway where students will see them each day as they walk to the cafeteria.

"We want them to understand that these are people that walked the same halls as you and look at the good things they've accomplished."

Mr. Scherrer is hopeful of having Hall of Fame inductees come back to the school and speak to the students.

Allderdice has 1,425 students in grades 9-12. It used to graduate 600 to 700 students a year.

But Allderdice students continue to excel in the classroom. The school has a long tradition of National Merit finalists and students being accepted to Ivy League schools.

Last year, Allderdice received "silver" status by U.S. News & World Report in its rankings of the top public high schools in America, placing it among the top 505 nationwide.

Only four other local high schools achieved that honor -- Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Hampton and North Allegheny.

A date for Allderdice's Hall of Fame banquet and the induction of the first four selections, will be announced later.

Nominating ballots for the Allderdice Hall of Fame can be obtained by going to the school's Web site -- allderdicehs.pghboe.net -- then following the links at the bottom of the page. Questions can be addressed to the alumni president, Mr. Rosenthal, at Jeff2827@aol.com.