Governors, athletic stars mingle at Pennsylvania Tailgate
By Annemarie Mountz

After attending meetings and work sessions all day during the National Governors' Association Summer Meeting, the nation's governors kicked back and relaxed Sunday night during a tailgate, Penn State style, followed by a Kenny Rogers concert.

The "Pennsylvania Tailgate" was held inside the Penn State Multi-Sport Facility at University Park, and featured an impressive lineup of Pennsylvania athletes and coaches.

"Dick Groat was one of my idols growing up," said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. "It's great to be able to see him here."

Groat, who played baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, and basketball for the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons, is considered by Sports Illustrated to be one of Pennsylvania's all-time Top 50 sports figures.

Also in attendance were Football Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik, Penn State volleyball standout Bonnie Bremner, Penn State football Coach Joe Paterno and a host of others.

"This is really great for Penn State, State College and Central Pennsylvania," said Paterno. "Tonight's a lot of fun. There are a lot of great athletes here. These events give people a chance to see what great things are going on in Centre County, and what potential this area holds."

Ridge said it made sense to have a tailgate for the National Governors' Association attendees.

"Athletics is part of the tradition of Pennsylvania. We have great pro franchises for baseball, football, basketball and hockey in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, auto racing in the Poconos, and also great collegiate teams."

Preparing food for the event was a hefty task that involved close to 125 people from Penn State Hospitality Services, including almost 100 on-site during the event.

"We prepared food for about 1,200 people," said Mike Conti, associate general manager for Penn State Hospitality Services. "Of course, you can't prepare the food in advance, so we had 25 chefs on the job at about 4 a.m."

Those chefs cooked up quite a spread: roughly 500 pounds of ground meat became hamburgers, which were served along with 350 pounds of hot dogs, between 75 and 100 pounds of cole slaw and potato salad, fresh roast pork, lunchmeat sandwiches, baked beans and a variety of snacks.

Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman never thought he'd ever find himself at a Penn State tailgate, but was enjoying himself nevertheless.

"This has been a great experience. I'm really impressed with the wonderful facilities Penn State has here," he said.

Siegelman also was taken in by the architecture of some of the older buildings both on campus and in Downtown State College, as well as the rural surroundings.

"The downtown area is very much like Tuscaloosa," he said. "Happy Valley is a beautiful place. I can see why people want to come here."

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Pennsylvania Tailgate attendees

u Bruce Baumgartner of Edinboro, a four-time Olympic medalist and two-time Olympic wrestling champion;

u Chuck Bednarik of Scranton, a Hall of Fame football player who played both offense and defense for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1949 to 1962;

u Bonnie Bremner of Lisle, Ill., co-captain and first team all-America, helped guide her Penn State volleyball team to the 1999 NCAA national championship -- the first in school history.

uRichard Chinapoo of Harrisburg, recently finished his second season as head coach of the National Professional Soccer League Harrisburg Heat;

uLoretta Claiborne of York County, named Runner's World magazine's "Special Olympics Athlete of the Quarter Century" and winner of the 1996 Arthur Ashe Award for Courage;

uBill Dorenkott of State College, second-year head coach of the Penn State women's swim team who led his 1999-2000 Lions to their best-ever Big Ten Championships finish;

uDick Groat of Edgewood, a four-time All-American in baseball and basketball at Duke University who played baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, and basketball for the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons;

uNick Haden of Pittsburgh, a three-year letterman, Hula Bowl All-American lineman and team captain of the Penn State football team before playing with the Los Angeles Raiders and the Philadelphia Eagles;

uRandy Jepson of Centre Hall, head coach of the Penn State men's gymnastics team, named National Coach of the Year by the College Gymnastics Association for guiding his 2000 Nittany Lions to the NCAA National Championship;

uBilly King of Philadelphia, entering his third season with the Philadelphia 76ers and his second as general manager, is the youngest general manager in the NBA;

uChar Morett of State College, Penn State field hockey head coach whose accomplishments include three Big Ten championships, four Big Ten Tournament titles, two Atlantic 10 Conference championships and three trips to the NCAA Final Four;

u Joe Paterno of State College, one of the most honored college football coaches of all time;

u Jake Raudabaugh of Carlisle, began his auto-racing career in 1985 racing go-karts and now competes in the Busch Grand National North Series of NASCAR in one of the fastest-growing, most competitive racing series in the country;

u Paul Spadafora of Pittsburgh, current International Boxing Federation Lightweight Champion with a record of 30-0;

u Dwight White of Pittsburgh, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers notorious "Steel Curtain" who played in all four Steeler Super Bowls in the 1970s; and

u Jon Whitman of Wrightsville, a football standout at Penn State and currently a fullback in his fourth season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.