COMMACK -- Olympic bobsledding gold medalist Steve Mesler of Buffalo and six others were inducted into The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday in ceremonies at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center.

As a pushstarter, Mesler helped the four-man sled to the first U.S. gold medal in the sport in 62 years after breaking a 50-year drought in the World Championships. He has totaled 39 World Cup medals, the most ever by a U.S. push athlete.

Mesler, 33, today is a motivational speaker and has created a non-profit organization which allows Olympians and professional athletes to communicate through technology in the classroom.

Other inductees Sunday were: Harris Barton (football), Tal Brody (basketball), Jane Katz (swimming), the late Abe Pollin (former owner of the Washington Wizards and Capitals), Hal Richman (inventor of the Strat-O-Matic Baseball game) and Alan Seiden (basketball).

The Dick Steinberg Good Guy Award went to Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Marty Glickman Awards for Jewish Athletes of the Year went to University of Wisconsin football tackle Gabe Carimi and professional figure skater Loren Rabinowitz.