Former Reading Eagle sportswriter Tony Zonca to be inducted into the Carbon County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
May 27—Former Reading Eagle sportswriter Tony Zonca is being inducted into the Carbon County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony Sunday at the Franklin Township Fire Hall in Lehighton.
Zonca, a Lanford High School grad who resides in Muhlenberg Township, spent 34 years (1968-2002) at the Eagle. During that time he had roles as an assistant sports editor, Sunday sports editor, columnist and writing coach. He ended his career as a member of the editorial board.
While in sports, he covered Penn State football, the Philadelphia Eagles, Big Five basketball, the Philadelphia 76ers, pro golf and tennis and the Reading Phillies and Philadelphia Phillies, as well as local high school and college programs.
As the boxing writer, Zonca covered Muhammad Ali when he trained at Deer Lake in Schuylkill County. He broke the story announcing Ali's return to the ring to fight then-champion Larry Holmes in 1980.
Following his retirement from the Eagle, Zonca wrote game and feature stories for the Reading Phillies website for eight seasons.
From 2002-19, he coached basketball at Reading High, Alvernia and for one season at Muhlenberg.
In 2021, he published a book on Reading High boys basketball, titled "60 Year of Reading High Basketball: Carril to Perez."
Zonca was a three-sport athlete at Lansford High. Following his discharge from the Marines Corps in July 1964, he joined the Lansford Evening Record as a photo-journalist. He became sports editor a year later.
In 2005, Zonca received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Reading-Berks Basketball Association. In 2021, he was inducted into the Berks County Tennis Hall of Fame.
