The Blair County is continuing its tradition of welcoming nationally-recognized speakers.
Hannah Storm, a pioneer in sports broadcasting who has worked for all the major networks, will be the guest speaker at the Hall of Fame’s 21st induction ceremony and banquet on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at the Blair County Convention Center.
Storm joined ESPN in 2008 and serves as an anchor for Sports Center, NFL Live, the Rose Parade and the New York and Boston Marathons.
She became the first woman ever to do play-by- play for the NFL for an entire season, which she did for four years on Amazon Prime. In addition, Storm was the first play-by-play voice for the WNBA on NBC.
Storm has also worked for ABC News and co-hosted The Early Show on CBS, covering major news events and conducting interviews with top newsmakers and entertainers.
Prior to that, at NBC Sports, Storm became the first woman in American TV history to act as the main network host of a major league sport, when she hosted NBC’s Major League Baseball coverage, the NBA on NBC and the Olympic Games. She was also the first female host of CNN Sports Tonight.
Born with a port wine stain underneath her left eye, Storm created the Hannah Storm Foundation to raise awareness and fund surgeries for children suffering from vascular anomalies.
In addition, Storm provides journalism internships at Notre Dame, her alma mater (1983 graduate), and due to a recent breast cancer diagnosis, has become an advocate for women’s health including early detection and testing.
She is a mother of three daughters with her husband, Dan Hicks of NBC Sports.
Storm follows a long line of distinguished sports figures to appear at the Hall of Fame, including Joe Paterno, Terry Bradshaw, Bob Knight, Dick Vitale, Bobby Bowden, Hines Ward, Chris Fowler, Ben Roethlisberger, James Franklin, Cael Sanderson, Doug Flutie and, most recently, Julius Erving in 2024.
“We have a wonderful history of bringing a legendary guest speaker to our event, and that is thanks to tremendous business and community support all the way back to 1987,” Hall of Fame president Neil Rudel said. “Hannah Storm is a giant in the broadcasting field and one of the most known women in TV sports history. She’s also a philanthropist with a touching message, and we look forward to her appearance.”
The 2026 HOF class includes former women’s basketball standouts Kristi (Little) Kaack and Lori (McConnell) Elgin, the first official to be inducted in Cathy (Cronin) Beam, former long-time area high school football coach Dave Baker (Central, Williamsburg) and ex-Tulane University football player George Geishauser.
Altoona Area High School’s girls basketball teams of 1995 and ’96, both PIAA champions, are the team inductees.
The 2026 banquet will bring the total number of inductees to 110 and teams to 13.
Bob Moore, who spent 35 years with the Kansas City Chiefs as director of public relations and then as the team’s first historian, will receive the HOF’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Pittsburgh broadcaster Bob Pompeani returns as the Hall of Fame’s master of ceremonies.
Tickets are priced at $100. Orders are now being taken, and tickets will be mailed by March 20. Checks should be made out to the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame and mailed to P.O. Box 162, Altoona, Pa. 16603.
Questions can be directed to Kathy Millward at (814) 312-4753 or [email protected].
Following is a list of past speakers to appear at the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame:
- 1987: Joe Paterno
- 1988: Paul Evans
- 1989: Terry Bradshaw
- 1990: Roy Firestone
- 1992: Bob Knight
- 1994: Dick Vitale
- 1996: Joe Theismann
- 1998: Mary Lou Retton
- 2000: Rick Majerus
- 2002: Bobby Bowden
- 2004: Jim Boeheim
- 2006: Greg Gumbel
- 2008: Hines Ward
- 2010: Chris Fowler
- 2012: Ben Roethlisberger
- 2014: James Franklin
- 2016: Jay Bilas
- 2018: Cael Sanderson
- 2022: Doug Flutie
- 2024: Julius Erving