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2024

Sports Legend

Ryan Gannon, Class of 2000

For Ryan, sports were always a big part of life growing up the youngest of three boys. He always looked up to his older brothers and wanted to play and compete with them any chance they would let him play with them.  Whether it was baseball, golf, or wrestling, sometimes being the youngest has its advantages, especially when you’re used to competing against older competition.

Ryan’s athletic start at Hamburg was in golf, as he was a 6-year starter on the Varsity Golf team from 7th through 12th grade. He was part of the Golf Team of Distinction- Dynasty (1988-1999), coached by Wall of Famer, Jim Henneberg, that was inducted into the Wall of Fame in 2017. Starting in 1998, Ryan was a 3-year Captain of the golf team, and in 1999, during his junior year, Ryan was invited to participate in the NYS Junior Invitational Tournament in Baldwinsville, where he would shoot a 74 on the second round taking 3rd place. Throughout his golf career at Hamburg, Ryan carried a 9-hole scoring average in the 30’s. Ryan still competes competitively in golf today, as he won the club championship at Orchard Park Country Club in 2023, after several close calls.

While Ryan also wrestled three years, it was lacrosse that became his passion. In 8th grade, Ryan traded in his catcher’s mitt and picked up a lacrosse stick for the first time, with the encouragement from legendary Hamburg Lacrosse Wall of Fame coach Ed Van Tine. He was a quick study and fell in love with the game and was pulled up to the varsity team his freshman year where he started for the next 4 years. At a midfielder, Ryan was one of the section leaders in WNY in ground balls and faceoffs, and he set the HHS record for faceoffs won until Chris Pieczonka broke his record the very next year. Besides doing the dirty work in lacrosse, he also scored over 100 goals for the purple and white, and was named All- WNY- 1st team his junior and senior year, after being named to the 2nd team his sophomore year. Ryan capped off his lacrosse career by being named MVP of the Senior All-Star game.

After pondering several offers to play lacrosse at the collegiate level, Ryan chose to play at Division I, Stony Brook, on a full scholarship. After his playing days were over, Ryan came back to Hamburg where he coached for 3 seasons, before joining the officiating ranks, where he officiated 12 seasons, working dozens of WNY playoff and sectional finals.

Ryan continues to make Hamburg his home, marrying his high school sweetheart and best friend, Heather, who he met in Mr. Jagoda’s 9th grade Earth Science class.  Today Ryan and Heather are the proud parents of three budding Hamburg athletic daughters, who play lacrosse and tennis for the Lady Bulldogs. Ryan is currently the General Manager at Hamburg Overhead Door.