The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference, known informally as the Lehigh Valley Conference or LVC, was an athletic conference consisting of 12 of the largest

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s from Lehigh and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

counties in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

region of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It was part of District XI of the

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. The PIAA's main ...

(PIAA). In 2014, its teams were mostly assimilated into the

Eastern Pennsylvania Conference The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (known informally as EPC, EPC18 and East Penn Conference) is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono M ...

, an even larger 18-team league of the largest high schools in the Lehigh Valley and

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, W ...

regions of eastern and northeastern Pennsylvania.

History

Founded on November 14, 2001, the newly formed Lehigh Valley Conference (LVC) rejoined most of the 12 schools that formerly competed in the

at various times from 1976 to 1997, before five schools left in 1997 to join the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC). Phillipsburg High School had previously left the East Penn Conference in 1994 to join the

Skyland Conference The Skyland Conference is a New Jersey high school sports association under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The conference is made up of 22 public and parochial high schools covering Hunterd ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to be eligible for NJISAA football playoffs;

Northampton Area High School Northampton Area High School is a public high school in the Northampton Area School District and located in Northampton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area of eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had 1 ...

joined the MVC for the 1994–95 school year. Eleven of these schools reunited to form the LVC, along with

Nazareth Area High School Nazareth High School is a public high school located in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Nazareth Area School District and serves grades 9 through 12. Its mascot is the Bl ...

, which had previously competed in the

Colonial League The Colonial League is an athletic conference consisting of 14 high schools mostly from the Lehigh Valley portion of eastern Pennsylvania. It is part of District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The Colonial League is ...

before moving to the MVC in 1994. One additional former East Pennsylvania Conference school,

Bethlehem Catholic High School Bethlehem Catholic High School, more commonly referred to as Becahi or just Beca, is a parochial high school located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The school is within the Diocese of Allentown and is located at 2133 Madison Avenue in Bethlehem in t ...

, was admitted to the new conference in February 2002. Conference play began with the 2002–03 school year. In 2012,

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...

's two large public high schools, Allen High School and Dieruff High School, decided to join the MVC as associate members for football only. Then, on October 2, 2013, the LVC voted to invite six Monroe County high schools:

Stroudsburg High School Stroudsburg High School is a public high school located in Stroudsburg in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The school is part of the Stroudsburg Area School District. The school's mascot is the Mountaineers. As of 2021-22 school year, Stroudsburg Hig ...

Stroudsburg Stroudsburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It lies within the Pocono Mountains, Poconos region, approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence ...

East Stroudsburg High School North East Stroudsburg Senior High School North is a midsized, public high school located in Dingmans Ferry in Pike County, Pennsylvania. It is one of two high schools operated by the East Stroudsburg Area School District. As of the 2020-21 school ye ...

in Dingmans Ferry,

East Stroudsburg High School South East Stroudsburg Senior High School South is a public high school located at 279 North Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The school's mascot is the cavalier. The school is part of the East Stroudsburg Area Scho ...

in East Stroudsburg, Pocono Mountain East High School in Swiftwater,

Pocono Mountain West High School Pocono Mountain West High School is a large, rural high school located in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania in the Poconos region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Pocono Mountain West is part of the Pocono Mountain School District and opened in 2002 to ...

Pocono Summit Pocono Summit is a unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Parts of Pocono Summit are located in the municipalities of Coolbaugh and Tobyhanna townships. Geography Pocono Summit is located at ...

, and Pleasant Valley Area High School in Brodheadsville. The remaining MVC school, Lehighton Area High School, had already announced in 2012 they would join the Schuylkill League.

High schools

The 12 high school teams in the Lehigh Valley Conference (and their locations) were: *

William Allen High School William Allen High School is one of two large, urban public high schools of the Allentown School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The school provides public education for grades 9 through 12. William Allen High School is located at 106 North 17 ...

Canaries (

) *

Allentown Central Catholic High School Allentown Central Catholic High School (ACCHS) is a private, parochial school located at 301 North Fourth Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, ACCHS predominantly serves students from the Lehigh Va ...

Vikings (Allentown) *

Golden Hawks (

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

) * Dieruff High School Huskies (Allentown) *

Easton Area High School } Easton Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania. It is part of the Easton Area School District. As of the 2020-21 school year, Easton Area High School ...

Red Rovers ( Easton) *

Emmaus High School Emmaus High School is a large public high school located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The school serves grades nine through 12 in Pennsylvania's East Penn School District in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Emmaus High School is loc ...

Green Hornets (

Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...

) * Freedom High School Patriots ( Bethlehem Township) * Liberty High School Hurricanes (Bethlehem) *

Blue Eagles (

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

) *

Konkrete Kids (

) * Parkland High School Trojans ( South Whitehall Township) * Whitehall High School Zephyrs ( Whitehall Township) Former member of the East Penn Conference (predecessor to the Lehigh Valley Conference): * Phillipsburg High School Stateliners (

Phillipsburg, New Jersey Phillipsburg is a town located along the Delaware River in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located across the river directly east from Easton, Pennsylvania. Phillipsburg is the most populous municipality in Warren County w ...

) Dieruff High School and William Allen High School competed in all sports except

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

where, beginning in 2012, in the smaller Mountain Valley Conference. In 2013, the Lehigh Valley Conference invited the six

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

members of the Mountain Valley Conference to join the LVC. The schools accepted the invitation and formed an 18-school conference, called the

, that began play in the 2014–15 school year.

Records

Among Lehigh Valley Conference schools,

holds the record for most Pennsylvania state championships in all sports since the league's creation. Parkland High School holds the record for the most conference championships in all sports.

Television coverage

Lehigh Valley Conference

, boys and girls

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

games and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

matches were broadcast during the respective seasons on

Service Electric Service Electric is a group of affiliated cable television companies serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. Service Electric also offers broadband Internet and telephone services through two partner companies, PenTeleData and Alianza ...

's Channel 2 in the Lehigh Valley and other broadcast markets. RCN 4, another local television station, also broadcast the Lehigh Valley Conference's football, basketball and wrestling events. Service Electric also broadcast a weekly "Plays of the Week" segment, sponsored by

Yocco's Hot Dogs Yocco's Hot Dogs is a regionally famous hot dog and cheesesteak establishment with four restaurants, each located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Yocco's was founded in 1922 by Theodore Iacocca, uncle of Lee Iacocca. Its co ...

, which featured the best football, basketball, wrestling and other Lehigh Valley Conference sports highlights of the week.

Sports

Lehigh Valley Conference football

Lehigh Valley Conference football teams routinely ranked highly in the state and nationally in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

's'' annual ranking of the nation's top high school sports teams. In 2008, Liberty High School won the AAAA-level Pennsylvania state football championship, was ranked second in the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

and 20th among all high schools nationally. In 2002, Parkland High School won the AAAA-level Pennsylvania state football championship, was ranked fifth in the East and 11th among all high schools nationally. In 2007, Parkland High School also appeared in the AAAA-level Pennsylvania state football championship finals (losing to Pittsburgh Central Catholic). In 2008, Liberty High School won the AAAA-level state football championship to Bethel Park. Liberty also appeared in the AAAA state final in 2005 and 2006, but lost. In 2010,

won the AAA-level Pennsylvania state football championship, and was ranked fifth in the

. They were also ranked in the top 50 nationally, according to maxpreps.com. High schools currently in the LVC were dominant in local football prior to the conference's formation.

won state championships in 1988 (at the AA level) and 1990 (at the AAA level). Allentown Central Catholic High School won the AAA-class state title in 1993, 1998, and 2010. For 1993 they were ranked 10th among all high schools nationally. The conference also has been particularly successful in generating extremely successful collegiate and

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

talent. To date, 18 alumni of Lehigh Valley Conference schools have gone on to play in the NFL, and one of them,

Chuck Bednarik Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He has been ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history an ...

from Bethlehem High School (now Liberty High School), was named to the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

, the top honor afforded an NFL player, following his 1961 retirement from the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. Bednarik's tackle of

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

running back

Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...

on November 20, 1960, known as The Hit, has been regularly ranked as one of the hardest hits and best plays in NFL history.

Girls field hockey

The Lehigh Valley Conference was recognized nationally as one of the premier leagues in the nation for girls

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

. In 2010, the national sports web site, topofthecircle.com, ranked the Lehigh Valley Conference's

as the best girls field hockey team in the nation for the third time in the program's history. Since its inception, close to 200 members of the Emmaus High School girls field hockey team have gone on to compete on the collegiate level. Emmaus High School has won the Pennsylvania state championship in girls field hockey 10 times and won the District XI title in 22 consecutive seasons, as of 2010.

Wrestling

The Lehigh Valley Conference is also recognized nationally for its hugely successful

programs, which are widely considered among the most competitive and elite in the nation.

, and other Lehigh Valley Conference high schools are usually national powerhouses and each competes at prestigious national tournaments. Lehigh Valley Conference wrestling matches, especially those between rival Lehigh Valley Conference high schools, are among the Lehigh Valley's most popular athletic events, often selling out large indoor high school arenas with thousands of spectators. LVC schools have won numerous PIAA state individual wrestling championships and six team championships, including three straight 2A team titles for Bethlehem Catholic from 2010 to 2011 through 2012–13. A sign of its national stature, at one time in the early 2000s, the National High School Coaches Association had Easton Area High School, Nazareth Area High School, and Northampton High School all ranked in their "National Top 25" rankings simultaneously. Individual wrestlers from Lehigh Valley Conference schools are often a fixture in national rankings, and

collegiate wrestling Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and mi ...

scouts from around the nation recruit heavily among Lehigh Valley Conference wrestling teams. Division I collegiate wrestling is filled with wrestlers from the Lehigh Valley Conference, and the U.S. Olympic wrestling team also has often included wrestlers from the conference. Many Lehigh Valley Conference alumni have gone on to compete in

college wrestling Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and mi ...

. One alumnus,

Bobby Weaver Robert Brooks Weaver Sr. (born December 29, 1958) is an American former freestyle wrestler. He won a gold medal at 48 kg (105.5 pounds) at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He also won a silver medal at the 1979 World Championships an ...

from Easton High School, went on to win the gold medal in wrestling at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

. Lehigh Valley Conference high school wrestling was televised locally on

WLVT-TV WLVT-TV, virtual channel 39 ( VHF digital channel 9), is a PBS member television station licensed to Allentown, Pennsylvania. Owned by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation, it is a sister station to Philadelphia-licensed PBS ...

and other radio and television stations.

Lehigh Valley Conference professional and Olympic athletes

Current and former professional and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

athletes who played high school athletics at the schools currently comprising the Lehigh Valley Conference include:

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Former MLB players

Charlie Berry Charles Francis Berry (October 18, 1902 – September 6, 1972) was an American athlete and sports official who enjoyed careers as a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as an end and official in the National Football League. His fathe ...

, former

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

( Phillipsburg High School, Phillipsburg, New Jersey). * Pat Kelly, former second baseman,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

(

Catasauqua High School Catasauqua High School is a public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Northampton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. As of 2021-22, the school had 498 students, according to National Center for Education S ...

, Catasauqua). *

Gary Lavelle Gary Robert Lavelle (born January 3, 1949) is a retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1987. Career Lavelle grew up in Pennsylvania, where he attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania ...

, former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

and

( Liberty High School, Bethlehem). *

Matt McBride Matthew Hagerty McBride (born May 23, 1985) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics. McBride was drafted by the Cleveland Ind ...

, former infielder,

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

and

( Liberty High School, Bethlehem) *

Brian Schneider Brian Duncan Schneider (born November 26, 1976), nicknamed "Hoops", is an American former professional baseball catcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, New York Mets, and Philade ...

, former

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(

, Northampton). *

Curt Simmons Curtis Thomas Simmons (May 19, 1929 – December 13, 2022) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to . Along with right-hander Robin Roberts (a member of the Baseball H ...

, former

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

and

( Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township).

National Basketball Association (NBA)

Former NBA players

Aaron Gray Aaron Michael Gray (born December 7, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A heart condition forced him into early retirement in 2015. High school caree ...

, former

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

* Brant Weidner, former

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

( Parkland High School, Allentown)

National Football League (NFL)

Current and former NFL players

Saquon Barkley Saquon Barkley ( ; born February 9, 1997) is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to entering the NFL in 2018, Barkley played college football at Penn State for three seasons gain ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

( Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township) *

, former

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, member of the

( Liberty High School, Bethlehem) *

Keith Dorney Keith Robert Dorney (born December 3, 1957) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons in the 1970s and 1980s. He played college football for Pe ...

, former

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

(

, Emmaus) *

Jim Druckenmiller James David Druckenmiller, Jr. (born September 19, 1972) is a former American football quarterback. In his career, Druckenmiller played for the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League, as well a ...

, former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

(

, Northampton) *

Mike Guman Michael Donald Guman (born April 21, 1958) is a former professional football player with the Los Angeles Rams (1980–1988). Guman was a star running back at Bethlehem Catholic High School (where he was a high school teammate of future NFLer John ...

, former

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

(

, Bethlehem) *

Mike Hartenstine Michael Albert Hartenstine (born July 27, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Chicago Bears from 1975 to 1986 and the Minnesota Vikings in 19 ...

, former

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

( Liberty High School, Bethlehem) *

Dan Koppen Daniel Koppen (born September 12, 1979) is a former American football center who played for ten years in the National Football League with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. Prior to entering the NFL in 2003, he played college footba ...

, former

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

( Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township) *

Jonathan Linton Jonathan C. Linton (born November 7, 1974) is a former American football running back with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. Linton was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on November 7, 1974 and played high school football at Cat ...

, former

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

(

, Catasauqua) *

Tim Massaquoi Arnold Timothy Massaquoi (born July 8, 1982) is a former American football tight end. He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan. He is the cousin of fo ...

, former

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

( Parkland High School, South Whitehall Township) *

Ed McCaffrey Edward Thomas McCaffrey, Jr. (born August 17, 1968) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. McCaffrey played college football for Stanford University and earn ...

, former wide receiver,

and

(

, Allentown) *

Joe Milinichik Joseph Michael Milinichik (born March 30, 1963) is a former American football guard who played 10 seasons in the National Football League with the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, and San Diego Chargers. High school Milinichik began his football ...

, former

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

(

, Emmaus) *

Matt Millen Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is a former American football linebacker and executive. Millen played 12 years in the National Football League for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins, ...

, former

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

( Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township) *

Jim Molinaro James Anthony Molinaro (born April 27, 1981) is a retired American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the 2004 NFL Draft in the sixth round with the 180th overall pick. He ...

, former

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

(

, Bethlehem) * Bob Parsons, former

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

and

(

Pen Argyl Area High School Pen Argyl Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Pen Argyl Area School District. As of the 2021-22 school year, ...

) *

Andre Reed Andre Darnell Reed (born January 29, 1964) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Kutztown and was selected b ...

, former wide receiver,

and

( Dieruff High School, Allentown) * Mike Reichenbach, former

and

( Liberty High School, Bethlehem) *

Jim Ringo James Stephen Ringo (November 21, 1931 – November 19, 2007) was a professional American football player, a Hall of Fame center, and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was a 10-time Pro Bowler during his 15-year Early years Born in ...

, former

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and

, member of the

( Phillipsburg High School, Phillipsburg, New Jersey) *

Larry Seiple Larry Robert Seiple (born February 14, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He played professionally as a punter for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League (AFL) from 1967 through 1969, and the NFL's Dolphins from 19 ...

, former punter,

(

, Allentown) *

John Spagnola John Stephen Spagnola (born August 1, 1957) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, and the Green Bay Packers. Early life and education Spagnola was born in Bethlehe ...

, former

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

(

, Bethlehem) *

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

, former

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

(

, Allentown) *

Devin Street Devin Curtis Street (born March 30, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh. Early years Stree ...

, former wide receiver,

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

( Liberty High School, Bethlehem) * Kevin White, former wide receiver,

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, and

(

, Emmaus) *

Kyzir White Kyzir Rasim White (born March 24, 1996) is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia and was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth r ...

(

, Emmaus)"Eagles sign former Emmaus standout Kyzir White to one-year deal,"
WFMZ, March 26, 2022 *

Andre Williams Andre Williams may refer to: * Andre Williams (musician) * Andre Williams (American football) * Andre Williams, British DJ better known as Shy FX {{hndis, Williams, Andre ...

, former

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

and

( Parkland High School, South Whitehall Township) *

Joe Wolf Joseph James Wolf (born December 17, 1964) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Professional career He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the 13th overall pick of the 1987 NBA Draft, selecte ...

, former

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

(

, Allentown) *

Kenny Yeboah Kenneth Yeboah (born October 30, 1998) is an American football tight end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple and Ole Miss. Early years Yeboah was born in Providence, Rhode Island. ...

( Parkland High School, Allentown)

Olympics

Olympic cycling

Marty Nothstein Martin Wayne Nothstein (born February 10, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racer and track cyclist. He is a three-time world champion in track events and an Olympic gold and silver medalist. Nothstein ran unsuccessfully a ...

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

gold medal winner,

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

(

, Emmaus).

Olympic field hockey

Cindy Werley Cindy Werley (born February 26, 1975 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is a former Olympic field hockey forward from the United States, who made her international debut for the Women's National Team in 1994. She was a member of the American t ...

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

women's

player (

, Emmaus).

Olympic wrestling

gold medal winner,

(

, Easton).

Professional auto racing

Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART P ...

, former

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

driver (

, Nazareth).

Professional cycling

, former professional

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

(

, Emmaus). *

Nicole Reinhart Nicole Louise Reinhart (June 3, 1976 – September 17, 2000) was an American professional track and road racing cyclist who twice won gold medals in cycling at the Pan American Games. Early life Reinhart grew up in Macungie, Pennsylvania in ...

, former professional

(

, Emmaus).

Professional soccer

Gina Lewandowski Gina Loren Lewandowski (born April 13, 1985) is an American former soccer player. University career Lewandowski played her collegial soccer at Lehigh University, where she was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year (2004, 2005) and ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and defender,

NJ/NY Gotham FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

(

, Allentown).

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

Former WNBA players

Michelle M. Marciniak Michelle M. Marciniak (born October 29, 1973) is a former All-American collegiate and professional basketball player who played point guard in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). As a floor general, Marciniak competed for two nati ...

, former

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

, WNBA's

Portland Fire The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games a ...

and

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

(

, Allentown).

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

* Afa Anoa'i, Jr.,

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

( Freedom High School, Bethlehem). *

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

, former

( Freedom High School, Bethlehem). *

Billy Kidman Peter Alan Gruner Jr. (born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He is currently employed by WWE as a producer. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Champi ...

( Parkland High School, Allentown). *

Brian Knobs Brian Yandrisovitz (born May 6, 1964), better known as Brian Knobbs, is an operatic tenor and an American professional wrestler best known as half of the tag team The Nasty Boys with his partner Jerry Sags. Early life Knobbs was born on May 6 ...

, former

( Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township). *

Jerry Sags Jerome Saganowich (born July 5, 1964) is an American professional wrestler best known by his wrestling name Jerry Sags. He is a member of the tag team The Nasty Boys with partner and long-term friend Brian Knobbs. Early life and education Sags w ...

, former

( Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township).

Lehigh Valley Conference professional and collegiate coaches

Lehigh Valley Conference athletes who have gone on to athletic coaching and team management careers include:

College basketball coaches

, former assistant coach, University of South Carolina women's basketball (

, Allentown).

College football coaches

Chuck Amato Charles Michael Amato (born June 26, 1946) is a former American football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Akron Zips football team. He served as the head football at North Carolina State Universi ...

, former head

coach,

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

(

, Easton). *

Tim Brewster Tim Brewster (born October 13, 1960) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the tight ends coach for the University of Colorado. He also served as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for the North Carolina ...

, former head

coach,

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

( Phillipsburg High School, Phillipsburg, New Jersey). *

K. C. Keeler Kurt Charles Keeler (born July 26, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Sam Houston State University, a position he had held since 2014. Previously, Keeler was the head coach at his alma mater, th ...

, head

coach,

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

(

, Emmaus).

National Basketball Association (NBA) coaches

Pete Carril Peter Joseph Carril (July 10, 1930 – August 15, 2022) was an American basketball coach. He is best known as head coach of Princeton University for 30 years and for his use of the "Princeton offense". He also coached at Lehigh University an ...

, former assistant coach,

( Liberty High School, Bethlehem).

National Football League (NFL) coaches and management

, former president and general manager,

( Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township). *

, former head coach and offensive coordinator,

( Phillipsburg High School, Phillipsburg, New Jersey).

References

{{Lehigh Valley Conference Pennsylvania high school sports conferences Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Northampton County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Sports in the Lehigh Valley

History

High schools

Records

Television coverage

Sports

Lehigh Valley Conference football

Girls field hockey

Wrestling

Lehigh Valley Conference professional and Olympic athletes

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Former MLB players

National Basketball Association (NBA)

Former NBA players

National Football League (NFL)

Current and former NFL players

Olympics

Olympic cycling

Olympic field hockey

Olympic wrestling

Professional auto racing

Professional cycling

Professional soccer

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

Former WNBA players

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

Lehigh Valley Conference professional and collegiate coaches

College basketball coaches

College football coaches

National Basketball Association (NBA) coaches

National Football League (NFL) coaches and management

See also

References