Bucknell University Athletics
Eight Elected To Bucknell Athletic Hall Of Fame
10/28/2000 8:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 28, 2000
LEWISBURG, PA --- The Bucknell Athletic Hall of Fame, established in 1979 to honor the very best in the history of Bucknell athletics, welcomed eight new members today when the Class of 2000 was formally inducted during ceremonies on Homecoming weekend (Oct. 28).
Those recently elected to the Hall of Fame's Class of 2000 are standout basketball and all-conference baseball player Ted Aceto '89, all-conference and Academic All-America basketball player Mike Butts '89, three-time NCAA District cross country participant Gabrielle Czaja '85, two-time Little All-American honorable mention quarterback Bob Gibbon '85, three-sport standout Pam Heller Shassian '78, honorable mention lacrosse All-American Tom Sanders '79, former men's and women's golf coach and athletic department administrator Brad Tufts, and all-conference basketball and softball star Lynne Walshaw '89.
Aceto, who lettered four times in basketball and three times in baseball (missed his junior year with an injury) while at Bucknell, scored 1,118 points during his career on the hardwood, and helped the Bison earn their only two trips ever to the NCAA Tournament in 1987 and 1989. On the baseball diamond, he was a first team All-East Coast Conference shortstop as a senior when he led the league and ranked 12th in the nation with a .444 batting average. His .408 career batting average still stands as a Bucknell record. Following graduation in 1989, he played two years in the New York Mets organization.
Aceto came to Bucknell from Radnor High School in Villanova, Pennsylvania. He is currently the manager of The Quarter Deck restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Mike Butts was the leading scorer on both the 1987 and 1989 NCAA men's basketball teams for the Bison. He is one of just two players in Bucknell history with over 1,300 (1,355) points and 850 (860) rebounds in a career. He continues to hold game, season and career blocked shot records for the Orange and Blue, and was a two-time All-ECC First Team honoree. As a senior, he was honorable mention All-East and honorable mention All-American. In addition, he excelled in the classroom, graduating as a two-time Academic All-America selection.
Butts, currently employed as the Supervisor of Outage Management and Computer Support at Baltimore Gas & Electric, came to Bucknell from Baltimore, Maryland and Dundalk High School.
Gabrielle Czaja won 12 letters as a standout for the cross country and track & field teams. During the fall, she led the cross country team to three ECC crowns and improved her individual finish at the championship meet each season (16th, 6th, 3rd, 1st), capping her career with an individual title in 1984. In indoor track, she set school records in the 3,000 and 5,000, and still holds the fourth fastest 1,500 time at Bucknell. She was on the ECC Championship distance medley relay in 1983, won the two-mile in 1984, and captured the mile and two-mile in 1985. In addition to her accomplishments in cross country and indoor track, she placed first in the 5,000 at the 1985 outdoor championship meet.
Czaja, who currently owns a physical therapy practice in the Washington D.C. area, came to Bucknell from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.
Bob Gibbon was the Bison starting signal caller in 1983 and 1984, and earned Little All-American honorable mention at the conclusion of both those seasons. He set 13 school passing records, including the career completion percentage mark of .604, which still stands, and was named the team MVP both years. Despite playing only two years, Gibbon still ranks sixth in career passing (3895) and total offense (3947) yards.
Gibbon is currently employed as a Marketing Manager for Prudential Healthcare in Roseland, New Jersey. He came to Bucknell via Hazleton High School in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and is the 64th football player to be inducted into the Bucknell Athletic Hall of Fame.
Pam Heller Shassian played field hockey, basketball and lacrosse for the Bison. As a senior, she was a member of the field hockey Mideast Regional Second Team in 1977. Heller played on the basketball team her freshman and sophomore years, and tallied 236 points during her two seasons on the hardwood. She was one of the pioneers of the women's varsity lacrosse program at Bucknell, and served as the teams co-captain her senior year.
Heller currently resides in Rye Brook, New York, and is a part-time teacher in the Port Chester School District.
Tom Sanders was the starting goalie for the lacrosse team for four straight years. He had a terrific senior campaign, earning All-ECC First Team and HM All-American honors. Sanders turned in several stellar performances in goal, including a 29 save outing vs. Army and 22 vs. Delaware that season. He held Bucknell records in saves in season (201) and a career (664), and still owns the mark for saves in a game (34).
Currently the Vice President of Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd. in New York City, Sanders came to Bucknell from Dobbs Ferry, New York, and the Hackley School.
Brad Tufts served the Bucknell athletic department for over 30 years as either coach or administrator. He was the men's golf coach from 1967-75, and led his teams to Middle Atlantic Conference championships in 1967 and 1973. His men's teams posted an 80-38 dual-match record. Tufts became the first-ever coach of the varsity women's golf program in 1998 and retired from coaching, and Bucknell, following the 2000 spring season. He served in various administrative roles, including sports information director, associate director of public relations, director of information services, assistant and associate director of athletics, and finally, interim director of athletics. In addition, Tufts chaired the Hall of Fame Committee for nine years.
Tufts and his wife Betty currently reside on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
Lynne Walshaw was an All-ECC selection in both basketball and softball. In the gymnasium, she scored 1,209 points and grabbed 678 rebounds over the course of her career, and holds Bucknell season records for field goal and free throw percentage. With 316 steals, she remains the school's all-time leader. On the softball diamond, Walshaw set eight school career marks, and still owns the single-season slugging percentage record at .702 (1988). She batted .307 over the course of her career, and was an all-conference outfielder.
Walshaw, who is currently employed at the Ritz-Craft Corporation in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, played her scholastic basketball and softball at Shikellamy High School in Sunbury, PA.
This year's induction brings to 157 the number of outstanding student-athletes, coaches, administrators and friends of Bucknell whose contributions to Bison athletics are forever preserved in the Hall. The formal induction ceremonies were held at a breakfast ceremony during the Homecoming Weekend festivities on Saturday, October 28, and the inductees were also honored at halftime of the Bucknell-Fordham football game later that afternoon.
