717 Sports Media Podcast with Tom Getz
Tom Getz is the winningest high school baseball coach Lancaster-Lebanon League baseball history. He led the Black Knight program for 29 years (1977-2006).
During his time as head coach, Hempfield went 423-211 overall, claiming nine L-L League section titles and six L-L League titles – including four in row from 1996-99. His 2004 team went 25-5 overall and won the PIAA District 3 Class AAA (now 6A) title beating eventual state champion Chambersburg, 3-1.
It marked Hempfield baseball’s first-ever district crown. That year, The Knights advanced to the PIAA Eastern Final, where Chambersburg got revenge with a 4-1 win.
Over the final 10 years of that tenure, Getz also served as Hempfield’s head football coach from 1997-2006. His teams amassed a 63-40 record and won the L-L League Section One Title 1998 and 2005. He was honored as the L-L League’s Section One Coach of the Year in 2005.
His 2004 football team set a school record with six shutouts. The 2005 team was the only team in school history to finish ranked in the Top 10 in PIAA Class AAAA.
Getz also spent time as an assistant for both Hempfield programs, so when totalling the number of seasons coached at the school – the number is a whopping 62 seasons. He was inducted into the Hempfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
After retiring from 33 years of teaching at Hempfield in 2007, Getz joined Manheim Central’s football coaching staff as an assistant, contributing to his alma mater’s gridiron successes. Recently he has since hung up his cleats.
Getz is a ’67 Manheim Central HS graduate where he earned letters in football and baseball. He was the recipient of the 1967 Lancaster County All-Star Football Game college scholarship. Also,Getz is an elected member of the Susquehanna Valley Sports Hall of Fame.