JOE GORLA CLASS OF '92 YEAR OF INDUCTION: 2018 No one is sure of the exact moment, but they've been talking about Joe Gorla's leadership skills forever. Maybe he was just a toddler, but certainly by the time he got to Nottingham Little League, his ability to lead was already apparent. He has thrived in his role throughout the years and Steinert High School has been one of the main beneficiaries of Joe's wise-for-his-years perspectives. Smack dab in the middle of the photo of the 1992 state champion baseball team from Steinert is Joe Gorla. Also known as "Manny" – a nickname spawned from being called a "man-child" due to his size, he excelled in baseball and football. The Spartans were a talented baseball bunch that year and Joe helped set the tone for a squad that went 31-1. As a catcher, Joe loved to be involved in every play, or as many plays -- and conversations -- as possible. "He's one of the great leaders that I've ever been around," said Rick Freeman, the longtime leader of the Hamilton Post 31 American Legion Baseball program. "This is in addition to his talents as a player." "A lot of kids have negative memories of high school," Gorla said. "And I can honestly say it was all good. It was a tremendous time to be walking in my shoes." The early 1990s were indeed special years for Gorla and Co. The Steinert and Post 31 baseball programs have been good for a very long time and Joe was one of the players that helped make that happen. "I remember 'G' (ultra-successful coach Rich Giallella) predicting us to be very good," Gorla said. "As juniors, he told us if we didn't win a state championship next year, we failed. I turned to Danny (Graziano) and said 'he must think we're going to be really good next year.' " The Spartans set a Mercer County record for wins in a season, won the NJSIAA Group III championship, hit .332, averaged 8.3 runs per game, had a team ERA of 1.78 and struck out 238 in 216 innings. After winning the MCT, Steinert showed its true mettle in the states, rallying from a 4-1 deficit for a 6-4 victory over Ocean in a first-round game, then winning the next two handily to win Central Jersey Group III. In the state semifinals, the Spartans scored three in the 7th to beat powerful Toms River South 5-3. In the finals, the Spartans trailed 3-0 against Hoboken after the first inning, but battled back to a 5-4 win. Gorla moved on to Lehigh University where he played baseball for all four years. Highlights there included another great senior season batting .377 including seven home runs. He had 49 hits and 38 RBI in his final year of organized baseball. RETURN TO THE HALL OF FAME MEMBERS PAGE