Two of the greatest athletes to lace up their sneakers on a Palmerton High School basketball court are now part of Bomber history in yet another way.

A pair of new scoreboards in the high school gym were dedicated before Monday night’s boys’ basketball home opener to brothers Bill and Bob Mlkvy thanks to donations from Fred and Don Reinhard of Pencor Services Inc.

Bob Capasso, of Blue Ridge Cable TV, spoke on behalf of the Reinhards.

“Bill taught Fred how to play basketball on the Delaware School playground when he was just a kid,” Capasso said.

Bill, who will turn 93 in January, and Don Reinhard played on an independent team, the Hornets.

He went on to star at Temple University, scoring 1,539 career points, and spent one season in the NBA with the Philadelphia Warriors.

“It’s just a moving experience,” Bill Mlkvy said about the scoreboard in a BRC interview following the dedication. “It brings back memories with Bob.”

Mlkvy looked back at his experiences on a Palmerton court. He talked about the enthusiasm of the crowds. “It was an incredible experience,” he said.

Beth Coffey, Bill’s daughter, said he was “incredibly moved by Monday’s ceremony.”

“When we went out on the floor, one of the first things he did was ask for a basketball,” Beth said. “He wanted to shoot. It’s in his blood.”

Being able to share the night with his grandson Kyle was also very important to Bill, she added.

“When we went through town and Lehigh Street where he grew up, we drove past where the playground was where he used to play and the stories of he and my uncle Bob were flowing,” Beth said. “The entire ride home, which is around two hours, he could not stop talking about the night. He was so moved.”

Bob Mlkvy and Fred Reinhard played together on the 1955 Palmerton high school championship team, losing only to Allentown, Capasso said.

Bob, a 1957 graduate who passed away in 2016, scored 1,925 points in his Bomber career and led the team to three straight league titles. Palmerton also played for a state championship in 1956 against Farrell. A two-time all-state honoree, Mlkvy was named a Parade All-American in 1957.

Rob Mlkvy thanked Pencor on behalf of his late father. “He loved the town,” he said. “There is so much history here with the Mlkvy boys and we’re so pleased and honored Palmerton decided to do this. It’s a nice honor for my dad to be able to stay in this town forever.”

Bill Mlkvy, who attended the ceremony with his family, played at Palmerton from 1946-48 and led the Bombers to the 1948 Lehigh Valley League championship.

The district, earlier this year, approved a $22,064.50 donation from Pencor Services Inc. toward the purchase and installation of a scoreboard in the athletic stadium, and two $20,000 donations, one from Fred and Rosalie Reinhard and another from Donald Reinhard, for the purchase and installation of the two new high school gymnasium scoreboards, which now tally individual points for the players on the floor.

“The Mlkvys will always be a part of Palmerton,” Capasso said.

The two previous high school scoreboards are now in use in the Palmerton Junior High School gym and the Towamensing Elementary gym.