WAYNE, N.J. – Five individuals and one team became the newest members of the William Paterson University Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame when they were inducted Oct. 18 at a ceremony conducted on the William Paterson campus. 

Gerry Gallagher '74, the Pioneers' football coach from 1989-96, was inducted along with Lesley Ann (Dube) Lubanski '03 (field hockey), Robert P. Matthews, Sr. '58 (men's basketball), Raymond Ortiz '02 (men's basketball) and Rebecca (Schirrman) Gruver '02 (women's swimming). For the first time in the Athletic Hall of Fame's history, a team also was inducted as the 1992 baseball team was honored for its national-championship season.

Gallagher remains the football program's leader in victories, amassing 35 wins during his eight seasons (1989-96) as his alma mater's head coach while securing William Paterson's only two postseason berths. In 1991, he led William Paterson to an 8-2-1 overall record and a 4-1-1 conference mark, garnering the program's first-ever postseason bid with a spot in the ECAC Playoffs. Two years later, he helped William Paterson achieve an 8-4 overall record to earn the program's first appearance in the NCAA Playoffs. For his efforts, he was named the 1991 and 1993 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Coach of the Year. A player on the University's first three football teams in the early 1970s, he scored the first varsity touchdown in school history. He coached three student-athletes who have already been inducted into the William Paterson Athletic Hall of Fame (Brian Leary '92, Craig Paskas '97, Altarik White '95), and he guided the Pioneers to three straight eight-win campaigns (8-2-1 in 1991, 8-2 in 1992, 8-4 in 1993) to establish the school record for single-season victories en route to a career record of a 35-46-1 (.433).

The first field hockey student-athlete to earn first-team all-America honors, Dube remains William Paterson's career goals (55) and points (128) leader after competing for the Pioneers from 1998-2001. She was selected to the 2001 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America First Team and the 1999 and 2000 NFHCA All-America Second Teams, was a three-time all-New Jersey Athletic Conference honoree and the 2001 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Offensive Player of the Year. Her 19 goals as a senior established a new William Paterson single-season record, while her 18 goals as a junior in 2000 currently rank as the third-best total in Pioneer history. Dube, who also was an all-region and all-ECAC selection during her illustrious career, helped lead William Paterson to a four-year record of 45-22, including the program's first NCAA Tournament bid in 2000 after a 14-4 season.

Matthews scored 1,320 points during his four seasons as a Pioneer, a total that was fourth on the career charts when he completed his playing days in 1958 (currently 11th). He scored a total of 680 points during the 1952-53 and 1953-54 seasons, and was the team's leading rebounder as a sophomore, before he volunteered and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War (1954-56). He returned to Paterson State College and scored 300 points during the 1956-57 season, and averaged 16.2 points per game in 1957-58, each year leading the Pioneers to a 14-7 record while pacing the team in rebounding. Matthews was the team captain and Most Valuable Player, as well as an all-conference selection, during each of his last two seasons in a Pioneer uniform.

Ortiz was a key member of the Pioneers' 1999 Final Four and 2001 national runner-up teams. A regional all-American and second-team all-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) selection after averaging 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game as a senior, Ortiz finished his four-year career (1997-2001) with 1,008 points, a total that currently is tied for 24th place in program history, and his 50.6 (42-83) percent shooting from three-point range during the 1998-99 season remains the top single-season mark at William Paterson. Ortiz, who averaged 11.9 points and 4.8 rebounds as a junior in 1999-2000, helped to lead William Paterson to a four-year record of 83-33 (.716), the 2000 and 2001 NJAC titles, the 1999 NCAA Tournament Final Four, the 2000 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and the 2001 NCAA national championship game. He finished his career with 412 rebounds, 162 assists, 57 blocked shots and 81 steals, shooting 49.2 (373-758) percent from the field, 44.2 (129-292) percent from three-point range and 77.3 (116-150) percent from the free-throw line.

Schirrman was one of the Metropolitan Conference's top sprinters during her four-year career (1998-2002), winning the 50 free title as a freshman in 1999 to earn the conference's Rookie of the Year award. Also a key member of the Pioneers' relay teams, she led William Paterson with 136.75 team points scored in 1998-99, was third for the Pioneers in points as both a sophomore (92.50, 1999-2000) and junior (117.25, 2000-2001), and ranked second on the roster with 155.50 points in 2001-02. All told, her 501.25 career points place her fourth on the career charts, and she helped to lead the Pioneers to an overall dual-meet record of 38-16 (.704). Schirrman finished her career by earning the 2002 Metropolitan Collegiate Swimming and Diving Conference's Dick Krempecki Outstanding Senior Award.

After three previous trips to the NCAA Division III College World Series, the 1992 William Paterson baseball team broke through to capture the school's first national championship by winning the final 12 games of the season en route to an overall record of 36-7. Ralph Perdomo made sure he and his teammates would not head home empty again, crushing a three-run home run in the top of the ninth to thwart California Lutheran, 3-1, in the national championship game in Battle Creek, Mich. It capped a memorable season for the program and for Perdomo, the World Series MVP who batted .359 with 47 RBI and 52 runs scored en route to earning all-America honors. Other standouts on that team were outfielder Keith Eaddy (18 2B, 61 RBI) and shortstop Troy McAllister (.349, 24 RBI), who were drafted by the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals, respectively, as well as outfielder John DiGirolamo (.399, 46 runs, 11 2B, five 3B, two HR, 30 RBI, 25 SB). Meanwhile, Scott Farber (8-0, 2.67 ERA), the championship game starter on the hill, and Bob Graham (7-0, 2.40 ERA) anchored the starting rotation. Along the way, the Pioneers won their eighth New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) crown and their third NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional title under the direction of head coach Jeff Albies.