Bryfogle excelled in basketball

Dave Bryfogle is a 1963 graduate of Jim thorpe High School where he earned seven varsity letters; three in football, two in basketball and two in baseball.

Bryfogle is one of the 2011 Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame inductees.

He was a member of both Jim Thorpe basketball teams that played for the State Championship in 1962 and 1963. In 1962, the Olympians won the State Championship playing Clarion in new Castle, PA, the only basketball team in the Carbon-Schuylkill area to ever win a State Championship. In 1963, the Olympians traveled to Bethlehem to appear in its second straight State Championship game, only to lose on a buzzer-beater to Rothrock High School.

In that 1963 season, Dave was named to the Honorable Mention All-State team along with teammates Larry Morris and George Armbruster.

He then attended West Chester State College and after graduating entered the Navy where he spent the next 43 years (21 on active duty and the remaining 22 working for Naval Intelligence in Suitland, Maryland.

He continued his playing and coaching career in the Navy, playing football for the Phillipine All-Stars in 1969 where his team was beaten for the championship by another Navy team quarterbacked by NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach.

Dave played basketball for the Naval Forces in Japan in 1970 and 1971 where he was captain of the team and named to All 7th Fleet Team and was named All-Navy Honorable Mention.

In 1983 and 1984, he coached Navy youth baseball, Navy youth soccer and the Yokosuka Japan "Green Machine" in basketball where they were Navy champs in both years.

Dave currently resides in Waterford, VA with his wife Hatsuko. They are close to his two sons, Thomas and Sean; his daughters-in law, Dawn and Celia; his two granddaughters, Kylie and Alexandria; and their five household pets.

The JIM THORPE AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME banquet will be held on Saturday, August 20 at Jim Thorpe Memorial Hall/ Coctail hour begins at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. The Induction Ceremony will take place at 7:15 p.m. with entertainment following at 8:30. Tickets for the Induction Ceremonies and the entire evening can be obtained by calling Craig Zurn at 570-325-3855 or 570-325-3363, Wilmer Redline at 570-325-4244 or Jack Kmetz at 570-325-4923.

During the next few Saturdays, The TIMES NEWS will be featuring highlights of the careers of each Class of 2011 inductee leading up to the banquet on August 20.