Hall of Fame
Mike Gresik, one of the Greater Johnstown area’s top athletes while he attended Bishop McCort High School, brought his talents to Pitt-Johnstown in 1981 and starred on the basketball hardwood, as well as the baseball diamond for four years. Mr. Gresik, who was able to accomplish the rare feat of excelling at two varsity sports while juggling a full academic load, graduated from Pitt-Johnstown in 1985 as the school’s second all-time leading scorer in basketball and a .468 career batting average for the Mountain Cat baseball team.
On the basketball court, Mr. Gresik, who played for Head Coaches Jim Basista and Clyde Horner, joined the starting line-up during his freshman term and went on to score 1,238 points and pull down 502 rebounds. His 1,238 career points were good enough for second on the Mountain Cat All-Time Scoring List when he graduated and he currently ranks 13th on the list.
Mr. Gresik, a two-time All-Mason Dixon Conference selection, led NCAA Division II in scoring for a two-week period during the 1984-85 season at 26 points per game. He scored in double-figures 58 times during his career, including three 30-plus point games and 21 20-or-more-point games. In one of his best collegiate efforts, Mr. Gresik poured in 23 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds as a senior against Mount Saint Mary’s (MD) College.
In 26 games as a senior, he averaged 17.9 points per game and shot 56.6% from the field and 79% from the free-throw line on his way to garnering all-conference honors.
After the winter snow melted, Mr. Gresik excelled for Pitt-Johnstown on the baseball field as a pitcher/first baseman. He posted a four-year record of 10-3 with a 2.51 earned-run-average, while batting .468 with 14 homeruns and 61 runs batted-in. In addition, Mr. Gresik wrapped-up his Mountain Cat career in style by hitting for the cycle as a senior against Grove City College, before belting a homerun in his final career at-bat.
Mr. Gresik graduated from Pitt-Johnstown in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business management. For the majority of his professional career, Mr. Gresik worked for Foot Locker, Inc. in various management and corporate positions, including as an operational manager during the Super Bowls in 1998, 1999, and 2000 where he achieved record sales for the company.
Mr. Gresik has three children, Amber, Ashley, and Ryan, who is a junior at William Patterson (N.J.) University where he is the school’s starting quarterback. Mr. Gresik resides in Branchville, N.J.
“I am honored and humbled to be inducted into the Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame,” Mr. Gresik said. “My sincere thanks to basketball coaches Clyde Horner and Jim Basista, and baseball coach Ken Keiper for giving me the opportunity to excel as a two-sport athlete.”
