TREXLERTOWN, Pa. – Early Tuesday morning Valley Preferred Cycling Center Executive Director Marty Nothstein announced that the T-town Hall of Fame is increasing by two members this year.
Joe Saling and Bobby “The Bullet” Phillips are the two members of the 2016 induction class for the T-town Hall of Fame. A ceremony to honor and officially enshrine the duo is scheduled for an intermission during the Madison Cup/Air Products Finals on Aug. 26, the season finale of the 2016 World Series of Bicycling season.
“Joe and Bobby are very deserving of this honor,” Nothstein, who was inducted into the hall himself in 2012, said. “We received several nominations this year, but these two stood out above the rest in the selection process.”
Saling has done a little bit of everything in the sport of cycling from competitor, to coach, to bike shop owner, to race promoter, and now prominently race announcer. His involvement in the sport overall spans over half a century with just one underlying theme, regardless of what role he filled that day, to grow the sport of cycling.
He has left a mark on the sport on a grand stage as a state, national, and world champion, many of which he earned in T-town. Additionally, he was a U.S. national team coach during the 1981 New Zealand Summer games and again in 1983 in Trinidad. Locally, he and his wife Dottie, are the backbone of the legendary Somerset Wheelman club. To this day, Saling is still heavily involved in the sport, competing on the masters level and announcing at least 25 events each year.
Often viewed as the most winning active bike racer in America, Phillips has seen success on two wheels for decades. Here in T-town, he won multiple national championships across various disciplines including a pair of masters national medals in 2007. On a national stage, he raced for the U.S. team on the track in 1972 in Trinidad, place third in the Senior National Prestige Point Title in 1977, and earned a Mid-Atlantic Roller championship-veteran class in 1982.
Phillips won his first national championship on the midget level in 1956 and collected his most recent as a masters rider in 2012, making himself a threat on the national stage for over 50 years. To this day, Phillips is still an active racer and is a member of the Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team.
The T-town Hall of Fame was first introduced in 2003 with its inaugural class of inductees, which included founders, Bob and Ardath Rodale. Each year, at least one individual is inducted into the Hall of Fame and is honored with a ceremony during a World Series of Bicycling event.
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Information Provided By:
Tyler Trumbauer
PR/Communications Assistant
Valley Preferred Cycling Center
