PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Two men — a former Port Washington High School basketball star and former Port Washington Youth Activities president — have been inducted into the Nassau County High School Athletics Hall of Fame. The late William "Bill" Dumpson and Billy "Omo" Omeltchenko were honored Wednesday, Sept. 25, at a ceremony at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.

Dumpson and Omeltchenko were honored for contributions and accomplishments that exemplify exemplary sportsmanship, ethical conduct and moral character, the organization said in a news release last week. They join other famous athletes such as Jim Brown, Hank Bjorklund, Jay Fiedler, Matt Snell, Julius Erving, Wally Szczerbiak, Art Heyman, Sue Wicks, Danielle Gallagher and Al Oerter, 

Dumpson was a basketball star for Port Washington High School, helping his team win back-to-back championships in the late 1940s, while Omeltchenko, a Great Neck native who has lived in Port for 25 years, excelled in basketball, soccer and baseball.

William "Bill" Dumpson

Also known as "Myrt" at the time, Dumpson was a standout athlete playing football, basketball and baseball. More than 70 years later, he is still considered the greatest all-around athlete to come out of Port Washington High School, since renamed Paul D. Schreiber High School.

Dumpson starred in both football and baseball, the organization said, but he made a name for himself in basketball, leading the Vikings to consecutive county championships in 1946 and 1947. The team also won a Long Island championship, and the Vikings strung together a 35-game winning streak, a Nassau County record at the time. 

Dumpson went on to become the first black player to be named to the then-called Newsday All-Scholastic basketball team, earning the distinction in both his junior and senior years.

As a freshman baseball player at South Carolina State University, he pitched against the Homestead Grays of the Negro League and struck out 17 batters. The stellar performance earned him a spot on the team, and he left town that night as a member of the Homestead Grays, his son Darin, who accepted the award on his late father's behalf, said. 

As a player, Dumpson played with legends such as Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Buck Leonard, and Hank Aaron over three years in the league. He also played for the Indianapolis Clowns, the Philadelphia Stars and the New York Black Yankees.

After suffering an arm injury, Dumpson joined the Harlem Globetrotters for a brief sting before forming the Court Jesters, a local basketball team that traveled to high schools across Long Island to raise money for scholarships for underprivileged athletes.

Dumpson eventually became the director of an athletic program for the Nassau County Corrections Center. He died in 2014.

Billy Omeltchenko

As an exceptional three sport athlete at Great Neck North High School in the 1970s, Omeltchenko received nine varsity letters, three each for soccer, basketball, and baseball. He twice earned All-Long Island player in both soccer and basketball, and was also an All-Conference shortstop for two years. 

Omeltchenko, a center forward in soccer, graduated as the all-time goal scorer and lead his team to the playoffs every year. Omeltchenko also totaled more than 1,000 points over three years of basketball at the school, breaking a record set in 1969 by Phil Hankinson, who went on to play for the Boston Celtics. 

"He was beyond the level of being good, he was exceptional, one of the best – with Phil Hankinson – that we've had in my 17 years as a coach," high school mentor Bob Morrison said. 

During his senior year, Omeltchenko was named Great Neck North Athlete of the Year.

Despite being heavily recruited for soccer, Omeltchenko chose to play basketball at Princeton University. He earned captain and MVP honors as a member of the Tigers basketball team, graduating in 1978. He also earned All-Ivy honors twice and the team was consistently ranked in the top 20 for the three years he played on the varsity squad. The team won Ivy League championships in 1976 and 1977, and earned NCAA berths both those years.

After graduating, Omeltchenko briefly played professional basketball for teams in Italy, Spain, and Israel, as well as with the Tucson Gunners in the Western Basketball Association.

Omeltchenko has been a member of the Port Washington Youth Activities board of directors since 1998, serving four years as president starting in 2005. Prior to that, he spent two years as vice president, and was also a coach and commissioner for both basketball and baseball.