WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 1995

Written by Greg Walker

One of the best offensive guards in Mountaineer history, Gene "Beef" Lamone was a second-team AP All-American in 1953 and a third team AP All-American in 1954. Lamone also was the only unanimous choice for the 1954 all-Southern Conference team, and was selected to play in the East-West All-Star game in San Francisco. A two-way player, he lined up at guard and tackle on the defensive side of the line.

The Wellsburg, W.Va., native and teammates Dick Nicholson and Joe Marconi comprised West Virginia's vaunted "Triple Threat" on the 1954 football team that finished 8-1 and ranked 12th nationally in the final Associated Press poll.

Lamone, a letterwinner from 1951-54, played for Art "Pappy" Lewis and was team co-captain in 1954, along with Chuck Donaldson. During his four years on the gridiron, the Mountaineers were 28-7, and went to the 1953 Sugar Bowl.

During Lamone's sophomore season, WVU defeated George Washington, 24-0. That win began a string of 30 consecutive Southern Conference victories for the Mountaineers.

After being selected in the fifth round of the 1955 NFL draft, Lamone played for the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons and one for the Cleveland Browns before retiring from football.

Lamone moved to Wheeling where he was Linsly Military School's football coach for eight years. He then turned to the pipe fitting business with the Harsco Corporation of Columbus, Ohio, a company he has been with for the past 29 years. He started out with Harsco as a regional sales person and travelled all over the United States and the world. He was quickly promoted to an upper management position and is currently Harsco's Vice President for Marketing and Sales.

Born April 24, 1933, at Wellsburg, Lamone prepped at Wellsburg High School and became the first member of his family to attend college. He graduated from WVU in 1955 with a degree in marketing and business. He and his wife Marion, his high school sweetheart, have been married for 45 years. They have two daughters, Kelly Cockayne and Jill Ovies, one son, Brad, and seven grandchildren. Lamone will be joining his best friends, Joe Marconi and Sam Huff, in the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame.