Tom Fleming at one time was among America's greatest road racing stars.

He twice won both the Boston and New York City Marathons and has been honored on numerous occasions throughout his outstanding career.

But Fleming was brought to tears in the City of Wheeling on Saturday afternoon when he was inducted into the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Hall of Fame during the post-race banquet held at WesBanco Arena.

Fleming finished third in the inaugural Wheeling distance race in 1977 when he ran behind Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter.

He has been an important ambassador for the Ogden Classic over the years, spreading the word about the race and encouraging many of his fellow runners to come to Wheeling and run on one of America's most challenging 20K courses.

Yesterday, he told an audience, consisting mainly of 2005 race participants and fellow inductees, that he was humbled to be taken into a Hall of Fame that also included Rodgers and Patty Catalano Dillon. Rodgers not only won the initial Wheeling race, he also was the 20K champion in 1979 and 1981. Dillon was a two-time winner here and once owned the women's course record.

Rodgers and Dillon were inducted as hall of famers last year, and Fleming headed this year's class of 10. In addition, the City of Wheeling administration was honored for its support and contributions to the race during its 29-year history.

Members of the second Ogden 20K Classic Hall of Fame Class also included Dr. Lee Jones and Leo Miller, who were honored posthumously. Accepting on behalf of Dr. Jones, one of the founding fathers of the race, was his widow Betty Jones. John Miller, Leo Miller's son, accepted the plaque on behalf of his father, a long-time coach at West Liberty State College and race committee member.

Jones, as a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Elm Grove (now WesBanco) committed the bank to contributing half of the sponsorship money for the first race. He later served as the Ogden 20K's medical aid director for 27 years.

Miller was the race's first registrar, a position he and members of his family filled until his passing. He also used his coaching knowledge to tutor many of the race participants, including fellow hall of famer Frank Monteleone, who has run 18 Boston Marathons and never missed an Ogden Classic.

The Hall of Fame now includes four members of the exclusive Ogden Ironmen Club - runners who have competed in all 29 races. While Mitch Toto of Belmont, Ohio and Steve Habursky of Wheeling represented the Ironmen in the Class of 2004, this year's group included Monteleone, a Wheeling native now living in Massillon, Ohio, and the Rev. Robert "Bob" Cole. The 71-year-old Cole once served as a pastor at a church in the Friendly City. He is retired and living in Lost Creek, W.Va., near Buckhannon.

Other 2005 inductees are Wayne Barte, Howard "Ike" Calissie, Marti Stephan, Susan Mortakis and Herb Baker, also long-time participants in the Ogden Classic.

Barte and Calissie both have run this race 20 times, while Stephan has appeared in 26 of the 29 events. Mortakis began running the Ogden 20K in 1982, while Baker is another long-time participant who was the male masters division winner in 1980.