University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics

                 It is said that records were meant to be broken, and that is what Altoona, Pa native Mr. John Fasola accomplished in his four-year Pitt-Johnstown baseball career.  When his collegiate playing days ended in 1982, Mr. Fasola, a two-time NCAA All-South Atlantic Region selection, held nearly every single season Mountain Cat offensive record and had offers to play professionally in both the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds organizations.
                The 1978 Altoona Area High School Most Valuable Player joined Pitt-Johnstown Hall of Famer Ken Keiper’s Pitt-Johnstown team and began to rewrite the Mountain Cat record books as a catcher, designated hitter, and first baseman.
                In 1980, Mr. Fasola was named Second-Team All-South Atlantic Region after finishing 10^th nationally in batting average in NCAA Division II at .425 and fifth in the nation in triples with five.
                The following year, his five triples ranked fifth nationally for the second straight season helping him to garner Honorable Mention All-South Atlantic Region honors.
                Despite an injury that hampered his senior season in 1982, Mr. Fasola concluded his stellar career atop the Mountain Cat single-season record lists for games-played (32), at-bats (105), batting average (.425), runs (25), hits (40), home runs (9), RBI (34), doubles (7), and triples (5).
                He also held the Pitt-Johnstown career records for triples (13), home runs (18) and RBI (90).
                After earning Most Valuable Player honors in the 1979 George B. Kelly Federation AAABA League, Mr. Fasola spent the next two summers playing for the Waynesboro Generals in the Virginia Valley League, one of just three Major League Baseball-sponsored collegiate summer leagues, where he finished second in the league with seven home runs in 1980.
                Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration in 1982, Mr. Fasola had offers to play professionally with the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates.  He signed with the Pirates as a free-agent and played one year in Bradenton, Fla. in the Gulf Coast Rookie League.
                For the last 37 years, Mr. Fasola has been an insurance professional in the Cleveland Area and is currently an Executive Vice President for the Oswald Companies.
                He is active in supporting several charities, including being a board member of both the Boys and Girls Club of North Eastern Ohio and the City Mission of Cleveland.
                A member of the St. Mary Catholic Church and a graduate of Leadership Cleveland Class of 2020, Mr. Fasola, and his wife of 40 years Teri reside in Hudson, Ohio.  The couple has three adult children, Jessica, Johnny, and Jayme. 
                “I am truly honored and blessed to receive the distinction of being named a member of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2024,” Mr. Fasola said.  Candidly, achieving this recognition now that I’m older is probably something I have a deeper appreciation for than maybe I would have when I was a younger man.  I would like to thank the Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame committee for including me in this class, my Coach while I played at Pitt-Johnstown and a fellow Hall of Fame member Coach Ken Keiper, all of my teammates during my four years here, and last but certainly not least my friends and family who supported me all along my baseball journey that culminates with this humbling achievement.”