Pete Horn was the head boys basketball at McCaskey for 20 seasons (1972-73 to 1992-93), during which the Red Tornado won eight Lancaster-Lebanon League section titles (1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989) and five league championships (1973, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1993). He finished with a 348-166 win-loss record at McCaskey, the fourth-most coaching wins in league history.
He was selected as L-L League section Coach of the Year six times. He also was athletic director at McCaskey from 1978 to 1998. He has the fourth most wins in the history of the L-L Basketball League. Horn also coached at Lancaster Country Day, The Hill School, Franklin & Marshall College, West Nottingham Academy, Freedom and at Washington and Ocean City, New Jersey, high schools. His overall coaching record is 495-180.
Horn was named the McCaskey coach on May 16, 1972. At the time, McCaskey had just completed its last season as a member of the historic Central Penn League, going 4-12 in league play and 10-12 overall in the 1971-72 season. The Tornado had not had a winning season since the 1950s.
In Horn’s first year the Tornado went 26-2 in the inaugural season of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. That year they won their first 26 games en route to the section and league titles. That season was also McCaskey’s last playing its home games on the stage in its auditorium.
Horn’s teams recorded seven 20-plus win seasons, including back-to-back 27-win campaigns (1981-82 and 1982-83).
Horn’s teams of the late 70s had epic battles with Sam Bowie-led Lebanon teams. In 1979, the Tornado dropped a heart-breaking 44-42 3OT decision to the Cedars in front of a sold-out Hersheypark Arena in the Section 2 championship game. McCaskey was the section first half champion, while the Cedars claimed the second half crown, requiring a playoff game to determine the overall section champ.
Horn attended P.S. Dupont High School in Wilmington, Delaware, and West Nottingham (MD) Academy, where he played football, basketball and baseball, earning 8 varsity letters. He then attended Muskingum College in Ohio and played one year of basketball and three years of golf.
Horn also has been inducted into the McCaskey High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Susquehanna Valley Sports Hall of Fame.