Jun 11, 2022 4 min read

Laila Brock has been in full sprint since the last two years of her incredible track career at Washington High School in the mid-1990s.

The late Marty Schottenheimer forged a reputation as one of the NFL’s greatest coaches.

Schottenheimer and Brock have been elected to the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Both are members of the Washington-Greene Chapter’s Hall of Fame.

They are the 32nd and 33rd members of the local chapter to be elected to the state Hall of Fame.

Dale Hamer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, said the class of 2022 will be honored Oct. 29 at the Doubletree Hilton, Reading.

In addition to Brock and Schottenheimer, others elected to the state Hall of Fame include:

Kelly Mazzante, a Penn State and WNBA basketball star; NFL Hall of Fame coach and Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau; Pitt football player Jim Cunningham; Dennis Douds, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s all-time winningest basketball coach from East Stroudsburg; Al Jacks, Clarion University football coach; Jerry Marks, a football player and wrestler and wrestling coach from Southern Columbia; Dee Kanter, a Pitt product and first female official in the NBA; James Roth, football coach at Southern Columbia; Stu Johnson, an NBA executive, and the late professional baseball player coach Bobby Del Greco.

This year’s class is the 59th in HOF history.

“Of all the honors and Hall of Fames Marty is in, this would be really special for him,” said his wife, Pat Schottenheimer. “He loved playing at Fort Cherry, going to Pitt and being from Pennsylvania. He always talked about that, told everyone about Pennsylvania.

“He would be so proud of this and we’re all proud for him and exited for him to be inducted. Marty was a Pennsylvania boy at heart.”

Brock is the second female from the Washington-Greene Co. Chapter to be elected to the state Hall of Fame. Mary Ellen Jutca, a graduate of the former Immaculate Conception High School and Villanova University was inducted in October for her excellence in basketball and tennis.

Brock is a graduate of Washington High School and Penn State.

“I was shocked, humbled and overwhelmed,” said Brock. “I cried a little, but it was total joy. I’m so proud to make the Hall of Fame and to make people feel good.

“I never really grasped at the time what I did (in 1986) winning that combination of races. My coaches told me I could do it and I believed them. It is still overwhelming.”

In 1996, she won the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes and the 4×100 relay by anchoring her Prexies team. The combination of winning the four races had never been accomplished by any female sprinter in the 23 years that the PIAA contested its championship to that point. She also helped Washington to the girls Class AA PIAA championship.

In all, Brock won six sprint/relay PIAA gold medals as a junior and senior. As a junior in 1995 she won the WPIAL 100- and 200-meter dashes and anchored the 400-meter relay.

At Penn State she ran relay races and was captain of the Nittany Lions’ track team.

Since graduating from Penn State, Brock has continued in sports as an executive working for sports-related enterprises, including the College Football Playoff’s senior staff and currently serves as vice president of sponsorships, sales and operations for Pitt Sports Marketing through JMI Sports.

“It was a life-long dream to work in sports and be successful,” Brock said. “Honestly, I’m still in shock over this.”

Schottenheimer played football and basketball at Fort Cherry High School and played football at Pitt.

He played in the Big 33 game and was a member of the 1961 Rangers’ PIAA champion basketball team.

He played professional football for the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots. He was an AFL All-Star for Buffalo in 1964.

In 1980, he was defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Schottenheimer then became the Browns’ head coach (1984-1988), leading Cleveland to a pair of AFC Championship game appearances. He also coached the Kansas City Chiefs (1989-1998), Washington Redskins (2000-2001) and San Diego Chargers (2002-2006).

Schottenheimer was named AFC Coach of the Year in 1986 and 2004 and the NFL Coach of the Year in 2004. He is a member of the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame.

Schottenheimer is the only NFL Coach with at least 200 wins who is not in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Former Steelers coach and CBS commentator, Bill Cowher – who was inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame last year – is pushing for Schottenheimer to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Cowher was an assistant coach under Schottenheimer at Cleveland and Kansas City.

“We’re still hoping,” Pat Schottenheimer said. “Everyone has their own criteria.”