Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall Of Fame 2008 Inductees
Joseph Michael Kurey
A 1958 graduate of Monessen High School, Joseph M. Kurey excelled as an athlete on the basketball and tennis courts, an unusual combination at that time. Not only was Joe selected as an all-section player for basketball his senior year but he and his doubles partner, Jim Baker, also won the Pennsylvania State (PIAA) Doubles Title in tennis that same year.
Joseph Michael Kurey was born on March 14, l940 in Monessen, Pa. to the parents of Joseph G. and Mary Kurey.
Joe began his basketball career in the seventh grade at Monessen Junior High School. He then went on to play for the MHS Greyhounds, a very successful basketball team led by Coach Frank Janosik. Kurey was an outstanding starter for Monessen High School where, as a senior, he received the most valuable player award for the first annual Monessen Movie Club Holiday Tournament, as well as being selected for the All-Section 5-A First Team.
Kurey continued to be an outstanding student-athlete at Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia, from 1958-62, where he was a four-year letterman in both basketball and tennis. He started on the basketball team for three and a half years and, in addition to being a two-time All Presidents’ Athletic Conference selection, Kurey was the captain of the 1961-62 squad that went 17-1 and captured the school’s first PAC Championship. Following that remarkable season, Kurey was named the team’s MVP.
Joe began his tennis career while a sophomore at Monessen High School. Antoinette Valentine, the tennis coach at MHS, actually taught Joe and Jim Baker how to play tennis during the summer recreational program at Monessen City Park. In the second year as a tennis team, and in Joe’s junior year, Monessen won the Section 4 championship. The team would repeat as section champions in Joe’s senior year as well. Joe and Jim won the WPIAL doubles titles in both junior and senior years and capped their careers with a PIAA state doubles title at Penn State University.
In college Kurey was a standout on the tennis court, claiming seven conference championships and posting a 52-7 overall record for his career. Coached by Warner G. Peterson, Joe swept the PAC #1 singles title in his junior and senior years, while also claiming the singles title in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as a sophomore, junior and senior. In doubles, Kurey teamed with Steve Olster to also attain the PAC and WVIAC #1 title in Joe’s senior season.
After completing his outstanding careers, Kurey was selected as the outstanding Bethany College Athlete his senior year (1962).
When Joe Kurey was recruited to Bethany College to play basketball and tennis, he did not realize that the choice he was making would also determine his future life career. Following graduation from Bethany in 1962, Kurey began coaching stints at his alma mater. He was an assistant basketball coach under Harold Martin in the l963-64 season, when the Bison went 18-0, the only perfect campaign recorded in the 97-year history of the men’s program. Joe also served as the head men’s tennis coach from 1968-l983.
Kurey’s professional life at Bethany has not only taken him in the athletic coaching arena, but also numerous other position including: Assistant Dean of the Faculty, 1967-68; Registrar, 1968-83; Associate Business Officer, 1983-87 and Chief Business Officer, 1987-l992. In 1992 he was named Vice President for Finance and Treasurer, and in February of 2006 Kurey took on the additional duties of Athletic Director. Kurey was honored by his alma mater by being inducted into the Bethany College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978, the second class ever inducted, and by receiving the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award in 1985.
In between jobs, Kurey managed to obtain a master’s degree in interdisciplinary
studies from the University of Dayton in 1978. In the community, he was Mayor of Bethany from l975 to 1979, served as a member of the Brooke County Planning Commission and the Brooke County Parks and Recreation Commission and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley.
Joe is married to the former Carol J. Dupke of Washington, Pa. Carol’s father, Emil F. Dupke was head football coach at Washington High School during the fifties. Joe and Carol are the proud parents of two sons, Raymond J. Kurey and Kevin M. Kurey, both of Atlanta, Georgia and a daughter, Karen E. Kurey of Pittsburgh. Six grandchildren complete the immediate family.
John Francis Hewitt, Sr.
A 1957 Bellmar High School graduate, John was born on February 8, 1939 in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania. As a youngster John played little league baseball, football and basketball. In high school he played for Coach Bap Manzini’s Hurricanes wearing number 35 as a center and inside linebacker, and earned All Conference player honors in both 1955 and 1956. He was also awarded the 1956-1957 Fayette County Athlete of the Year presentation. John also played guard on the high school basketball team. Besides tonight’s award John was also in the first class for the Belle Vernon Area Football Hall of Fame award in 2000.
Coach Manzini recalled his years with John Hewitt in a telephone interview February 21, 2008. “He was the type of kid who comes along once in a generation. Not only was he a good student and outstanding athlete but a musician as well. I followed his career and attended his graduation from Annapolis.”
Hewitt attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School from the fall of 1957 to the spring of 1958. He participated in heavyweight wrestling and football. He began his studies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in June 1958. At the academy he participated four years in the Glee Club and Chapel Choir. He was president of his class for each of his four years. He was chairman of the Honor Committee his senior year.
John excelled in sports at the Naval Academy. He lettered all four years in both football and lacrosse. Despite his lack of weight, John earned a starting position on the football team in the middle of his sophomore year. During his senior year he was captain of the football team and had the honor of meeting President John F. Kennedy before the Army-Navy game. Hewitt was the first academy midshipman to play in thirty straight games. In an interview appearing in The Valley Independent, November 18, 1960, Hewitt was called a “Navy Standout”, weighing 178 pounds but hitting hard. Coach Wayne Hardin was quoted with saying, “The best 178 pound guard I’ve ever seen.” The coach later commented that, “Hewitt’s the one who springs Joe Bellino loose for most of the gains.” Halfback Joe Bellino would go on to win the 1960 Heisman Trophy.
Hewitt played offensive guard and linebacker on the Navy team. He was named First Team All-East guard and linebacker, and was awarded Honorable Mention All American in his senior year. During Hewitt’s tenure Naval Academy football defeated Army three times. Navy played in the Orange Bowl in 1961. John was presented the Robert M. Thompson award and the Cooke Memorial Football Award in 1962.
John played midfield on the lacrosse team and beat Army twice. The lacrosse team won the National Championship in 1960, 1961 and 1962.
Hewitt graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in general engineering. John was the defensive line coach for the freshman plebe football squad in the fall of 1962.
Following graduation John went to submarine school in New London, Connecticut. From 1963 through 1965 he was assigned to USS TIRU (SS 416), stationed in Hawaii. His duties included supply officer, communications officer, sonar officer, and electrical officer. His assignment included two deployments to Western Pacific, Special Operations and the Gulf of Tonkin. From 1966 through 1967 John was assigned to USS CUBERA (SS 347), stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. Besides previous duties, his added responsibilities here were operations officer, electronics maintenance officer, intelligence officer, classified material and registered publications officer.
Hewitt received his Master of Science degree in Physical Oceanography at the naval post graduate school in Monterey, California in May 1970. From June 1970 to April 1974 he was assigned to the USS GEORGE BANCROFT (SSBN 643) Gold Crew, stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. His duties included navigator, senior watch officer, operations officer, ship’s executive officer. He had a six month assignment as commanding officer. His assignment included four patrols in the Atlantic Ocean.
From April 1974 to December 1976 he was at the Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Submarine Training Center as the NAV/OPS Department Head for Officers and Enlisted Personnel in Charleston, South Carolina. From January 1977 to July 1979 Hewitt was an assistant weapons officer and navigations and operations officer, COMSUBRON Sixteen stationed in Rota, Spain.
From August 1979 to February 1982, John was at the Trident Training Facility in Bangor, Washington. His duties were those of Navigations and Operations Training Officer. LCDR John F. Hewitt, Sr. retired from the U. S. Navy in February 1982. Following his Naval career John worked in various capacities for private contractors in the state of Washington, most of which interfaced the business of the U.S. Navy. His final job was that of a residential loan officer for a mortgage banker in Silverdale, Washington until his retirement due to illness in early 1997.
John has three children, Laura, Deborah and JJ, and three step-children, Jami, Jahna, and Megan. John and his wife, Trena, live in Port Orchard, Washington.
James H. “Kayo” Adamson
Adamson, who died on March 25, 1982 at the age of 77, was born May 7, 1904 in Dunlevy, Pennsylvania and was the son of the late William and Sara Brown Adamson. James was still a boy when his father was killed in a coal mine accident and his family moved to California, Pennsylvania. For a guy who was a junior high dropout, James came a long way in life.
Anyone who has followed the fortunes of Mon Valley football over the last nine decades will recall Mr. Adamson as one of California’s earliest grid stars – in high school and college. His story, however, is most unusual inasmuch as he almost didn’t make it because of his decision to drop out of school.
“R.G. Dean was the high school principal at the time,” Adamson recalled in telling the story a number of times. “I had dropped out of school in the eighth grade to find a job and help my mother at home. I guess Mr. Dean had more to do than anyone with convincing me to go back to school. I’m so grateful he did. And Sonny Mills, our coach at the time, got a job for me at Nick Caruso’s pool room. That way, I could work and still go to school and play football. I don’t think I have to tell anyone who had the same experience what a struggle it was. But it was worth it, and I’m glad I stuck with it.”
There is more to the unique “Kayo” – he got the nickname as an amateur boxer – Adamson tale. He is probably one of the few gridders who ever played college football while still in high school in 1926. He was overage and ineligible to play for the Cubs, so he performed as a quarterback for California State College. He would play at Cal State for two more seasons before a 1928 early-season injury against Indiana ended his playing career. He graduated from Cal State in 1929.
While “Kayo” was at California High School, from where he graduated in 1926, Adamson helped his club win the first Mon Valley Conference championship and was selected to the initial league all-star team in 1925. “There wasn’t anyone more surprised with my selection than me,” he often smiled. “There were so many good players in the conference in 1925 and I didn’t think I had a chance to make it. Don’t forget, we had guys like Tom Parkinson and Bus Edwards in our backfield in 1924 and 1925. I always felt like that quarterback, Arnold Tucker, from Army who played at the same time as Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard.”
Adamson was always quick to credit those around him for his football success. “I was blessed with fine teammates,” he said in 1968 during his induction into the California Trojan Booster Club’s mythical Hall of Fame. “In those days, the quarterback called his own plays and you had to rely on your lineman to tell you where the holes would open. Our guys seldom made mistakes.” To prove his point, Adamson, who weighed only 120 pounds as a high school quarterback but used his weight well, recalled one game against Monongahela. “It was in 1924,” he reminisced. “Bus Edwards was out with a bad ankle after being injured in our 33-0 loss to Charleroi. It didn’t look too good for us against Monongahela. Late in the game we had possession of the ball on our own 20-yard line. Anton Koeninger, who was a great tackle, told me he could block his man out of the way to open a hole. I gave the ball to Pug Parkinson and you know… Koeninger was right. He and the other lineman blocked so well that old Parky ground out the 80 yards between us and Monongahela’s goal line in only four plays.”
Adamson, Parkinson, Koeninger, and Bernard “Tuffy” McManus, a guard, were California’s representatives on that first Mon Valley Conference all-star team a year later. Others chosen for the honor by Monongahela newsman Floyd France, who founded the Mon Valley Conference, were ends George “Beans” Chacko, Charleroi; and John Kuzma, Monessen; tackle Harvey Longhead, Charleroi; guard Clarence Stump, Donora; center Frank Maykovich, Monessen; and halfbacks John Martak, Donora and Harry “Yi” McCurdy, Monongahela. That indeed is select company, and “Kayo” Adamson, who lived in North Charleroi for many years before he and his wife Dorothy Nelson-Adamson, a long-time North Charleroi Elementary School teacher, moved to Florida, always took pride in being part of it. And so did their only son, James H. Adamson II. Seventy-years later “Kayo’s” grandson, Kyle Adamson, was an All-Conference quarterback at Benet Academy in Illinois and returned to the family’s home state to play at Allegheny College. Kyle was All Conference quarterback for two years and was a Hewlett-Packard All American (Division III). Two other grandchildren include James H. Adamson III and Jeannine M. McSwigan.
Adamson was equally proud in 1969 when California State College’s Board of Trustees decided to name the school’s new football stadium at the College Farm complex in his honor. It made him as happy as a schoolboy scoring his first touchdown. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am,” Adamson said at the time. “It’s quite an honor as far as I’m concerned, and it’s gratifying to know some people haven’t forgotten about me.” The formal dedication for the naming of James H. Adamson Stadium was held prior to a California-Indiana game on September 15, 1971. A rededication for the renovation of the facility was held in 1998.
You don’t forget a man like James H. “Kayo” Adamson. He carved an indelible niche as a Mon Valley football player, but his accomplishments went far beyond the playing fields of high school and college. He was a football and basketball official for more than two decades working with Tom Brown, Jim Hamer and Bill Parkinson. Adamson was also a member of the Charleroi School Board and the school district’s Building Authority, a North Charleroi Borough councilman, a Charleroi-Monessen Hospital director, Washington County Board of Education member, and a trustee at California State College.
Adamson taught school for one year in Perryopolis and then became a teacher and principal for 12 years at Fallowfield Consolidated School before joining the then-called Pittsburgh Steel Company in 1941. He retired in 1969 as supervisor of employee benefits at the Allenport Plant of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Co.
The list of accomplishments, which also includes selection as Charleroi’s “Distinguished Citizen of the Year” in 1965, goes on and on and on. James “Kayo” Adamson built a legacy that few men enjoy. His unique story is one that will not be forgotten.
Robert Taylor “Red” Worrell
Humble is an adjective used by many graybeards to describe “Red,” one of the most highly touted high school athletes to ever come out of southwestern Pennsylvania. Worrell went on to star as a freshman football player with Coach Earle Bruce at Penn State University, but unfortunately died December 22, 1957, after being electrocuted while home for Christmas break. In the single season he played fullback at Penn State, no defense could stop him. Red could outrun, outlast and outsmart the best.
“He was one of the most modest athletes I’ve ever known,” said Bob Petriello, sports editor of the Brownsville Telegraph for more than 40 years. “Anytime I wrote about him, he would thank me but would always add, ‘Bob, why don’t you write about the other guys on the team? They are the ones who deserve the credit for anything I do.’ Centerville had some great lineman and Red made a point of telling me to ‘write about Frank Korbini and Ted Zets and the other guys who do all the blocking.’”
“Worrell was never boastful, didn’t like to talk about himself,” said John Wolosky, who was the head baseball coach at Centerville. “He was a good leader, a guy who went out and did his job without making a big deal about it. He was one of the best I ever saw in all my experiences as a player and coach. He was big and strong and, like most of our guys in those days, played both ways, offense and defense. He had a great attitude and was just as tough on defense as he was running the ball. We generally had him at linebacker and he was a hell of a tackler. He could sense where the play was going and was involved in almost every one.” On John Wolosky’s baseball team Red was a strong contributor at third base. “He could hit the long ball. He struck out a lot, but when he connected look out.”
One teammate recalls a defensive player trying to tackle Red, riding piggyback as the running back kept charging downfield. Red’s junior high coach remembers a game when three defenders were knocked out of the game after trying to tackle him.
Born March 8, 1938, Worrell was the son of the late Thomas Eli “Woody” and Helen Bilpuch Worrell of Denbo, Pennsylvania. A bruising 6-1, 200 plus pound , all muscle fullback and linebacker, Worrell graduated from Centerville High School in 1957 after a celebrated four-year career as a starter in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He was a scholastic All-American football player courted by nearly 135 colleges, was named the top player in the WPIAL as a junior and senior and set WPIAL and PIAA records in track. Worrell has the distinction of being the first ninth grader to play varsity football in the WPIAL. “He was one of the best I ever saw, no question about it,” Bob Petriello said. “He was a kid in an adult’s body. He was far ahead of other players of that era.” Centerville’s head football coach during Worrell’s tenure with the Wildcats was Pete Daley, Sr. “He was the best back I ever coached. He was built like a bull, a combination of Jim Thorpe and Jim Brown in one body. He was so strong and every opponent he faced had a hard time stopping him.” Worrell’s wife Carol noted that Pete Daley, Sr. “always said he wanted to be buried next to Bob…that’s how much he loved him, not just as an athlete, but as a man.” Daley, who was only 48 when he died in 1969, is buried near Worrell at Lafayette Memorial Park.
A teammate, John Bozick, recalled, “The funny thing is Red never meant to hurt anyone. He was the quietest, gentlest guy you’d ever meet. And worst of all, he was bowlegged, so his legs didn’t move up and down when he ran. They worked in a circle, sort of. And if you caught a leg while it was swinging out, that was it.”
Because of Worrell’s presence and reputation, Centerville often had difficulty scheduling opponents. During Red’s sophomore year in a game against Mt. Lebanon, perennial contenders for the WPIAL title, he reeled off a long run the first time he handled the ball and gave Mt. Lebanon all they could handle. The final score was 7-6 but Mt. Lebanon scored its touchdown on a blocked punt and then blocked the extra point kick to hold on for the win. Red proved he could play in any classification and Centerville established itself as a good team at any level. In his junior year Red played in seven games, scoring eighteen touchdowns and seventeen extra points – a total of 125 points, an average of 17.8 per game. In one game, he rushed for 318 yards. By the time Worrell’s varsity football career ended in 1956, Centerville had posted a 24-3-5 record and had scored 834 points and given up 224. Worrell accounted for 376 of those points. And the total might have been higher had Worrell’s playing time not been limited in many games. Many times the coach would take him out of the game because the score was so lopsided.
Red graduated with honors from Centerville High School in 1957 in Washington County. He set a state shot-put record and was first to be named to four straight WPIAL All-Star football teams. He appeared on Scholastic magazine’s All-American high school team. He was the second Pennsylvanian – the first player from a Class B school – to be named to the prestigious Wigwam Wisemen’s All-American team. For that team, more than 3,000 sportswriters, broadcasters, game officials, and college scouts cast ballots. Soon after that, the state House of Representatives passed a resolution congratulating him on his accomplishments. He was selected to the 1957 Big 33 Pennsylvania team.
The Nittany Lions watched Red closely and freshman Coach Earl Bruce made sure Red kept an eye on Penn State as well. Red initially went with Coach Jim Tatum to Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Red was unhappy being so far from home and asked Earl Bruce if he could still come to Penn State. He did and had a spectacular freshman season.
Red was only 19 when he was electrocuted and died while helping his father put up a television antenna. His death stunned people throughout the area. Red left behind a daughter, Kim, and wife Carol McConnell.
Each spring since l958, a Penn State football player has received the “Red Worrell Award” for exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude, and improvement. Red Worrell exemplified the virtues of sportsmanship and humility.
John Wozniak
He was reared in Arnold City, Pennsylvania and played for Marion High School located in the Washington Township section in Fayette County. John attended the University of Alabama from 1944 to 1948. He was a sophomore guard on Frank Thomas’ 1945 Bama club that went 10-0 beating USC in the Rose Bowl. Wozniak was captain and a 1947 All-American guard. He was a professional football player from 1948 to 1956.
John Edward Wozniak was born on August 2, 1921 the son of Polish immigrants. He graduated from Marion High School in 1940 where he was a five sport letterman in football, basketball, baseball, track and soccer. In football he was an end. John was passionate about football. He had a lifelong love of the sport, and it was much more than a game to him. Football provided the perfect outlet for his amazing combination of physical and mental abilities. It also provided opportunities which changed his life. Throughout his life John had many nicknames that included Johnny, Big John, Shovel Chin and Old Hardrock.
When America entered World War II John was declared 4-F because of two perforated ear drums. According to his son, Brian, who lives in Birmingham, “This tore him up that he couldn’t fight like his brothers.” So he joined the Seabees (Navy Construction Battalion) and helped build bridges.
Because of the demands of the war, the University of Alabama’s future hall of fame coach Frank Thomas had been unable to field a team in 1943. He decided to assemble one in 1944 with freshmen and 4-Fs. Coach Malcolm Laney had a relative who lived in the Mon Valley and he recommended Wozniak to Coach Thomas. Johnny went to Tuscaloosa but became homesick. He packed up his things and went to the Greyhound bus station to leave; however, Coach Laney heard about it, hurried to the station and talked Johnny into staying. In September 1944 John was 23 years old, six feet tall, and weighed 180 pounds. Initially John was listed as a guard on the second team. At a scrimmage John was recognized for some nice work on kickoffs and practicing for points after touchdowns. In a game against LSU Wozniak kicked off 58 yards and had won the kicking job. On October 27, 1944 John was listed for the first time as a starter at left guard for the Kentucky game in Montgomery’s Crampton Bowl. Alabama won 41-0. Wozniak would now be starting left guard – on offense and defense – for the balance of his career at Alabama. The final conference game of the season was against unbeaten Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa. John was complemented on his play by the local papers. “Johnny Wozniak, although he played end in high school, has developed into a smart charging guard.” Bama shut out MSU 19-0 before a homecoming crowd of 32,000 which was the largest crowd ever. Alabama finished in fourth place in the Southeastern Conference with a 3-1-2 record; 5-1-2, overall and the team was invited to battle Duke in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1945. Duke’s 5-4 record included losses to powerful Army, Navy and North Carolina Pre-Flight. The Bama team of 37 made the trek to Baton Rouge by bus where they practiced the last few days in December. Before a crowd of 72,000, including 20,000 servicemen, Duke edged the underdog Bama 29-26 in the New Orleans’ thriller. Wozniak kicked off. It was the highest score ever in a Sugar Bowl. The nationally syndicated sports writer Grantland Rice wrote that it “must go down in the book as one of the great thrillers of all time. An often-cornered and harassed Duke team beat a civilian (non-military) Alabama squad that left 72,000 spectators gasping for breath that was packed with melodrama from the first to the final play.”
With the end of the war, over fifty players reported for workouts beginning on September 2, 1945. Seventeen were holdovers from the previous year, including seven starters. The Tide was SEC champions with an undefeated 9-0 season. Halfback Harry Gilmer and center Vaughn Mancha were named All-Americans. Bama was invited to play Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl. The game was 34-14 Tide rout before 94,000 fans. Zipp Newman, sports editor of the Birmingham News wrote on January 2, 1946 that “Jack Green and John Wozniak were both cagey guards, getting stronger as the game progressed.” He also quoted Coach Thomas who said that, “our guard play was exceptionally good. I don’t think Green and Wozniak ever teamed together better.” Johnny also recovered a fumble at the beginning of the third quarter, which set up the fourth touchdown. John participated in the annual Blue-Gray All-Star Team in 1946.
1946 was Coach Thomas’ last year and he had his worst season at 7-4. The first four games were wins. They were shut out by Georgia, in Athens, 14-0. Newman wrote that three linemen, including Wozniak “played well on the line for Alabama. It was Wozniak’s outstanding game.” He noted that Johnny’s opening kick went over the goal line and early in the game, “Wozniak, on second down, broke through and spilled Charlie Trippi for a 14-yard loss.” They next traveled to Baton Rouge and lost to LSU 31-21. Next was a November 16th 12-7 win over Vanderbilt at Legion Field before 25,000. Newman wrote that “John Wozniak played the best game of his three years at Alabama. He was breaking into the Vanderbilt backfield all afternoon.” He added in his column on November 18th that, “It was by far the best game that Johnny Wozniak has played at guard for the Crimsons. It was the best game I have seen any guard play this year. Johnny was smashing in the Vanderbilt backfield all afternoon.” Thirty-six players flew in two planes to Boston for the Boston College game on November 23rd. They lost 13-7. It was the first four game loss for the Tide since 1927. Newman wrote that, “Bob Hood and John Wozniak played great defensive ball in the line.” The final game was a 27-7 homecoming victory against Mississippi State before 25,000. Wozniak’s three kicks were “in the end zone,” two were 60 and 57 yards. “Guess who scored the second touchdown?” Newman wrote, “Johnny Wozniak, one of the great guards of the conference overlooked by most all-conference pickers, made the second touchdown on his own. He blocked Spook Murphy’s punt on the 38, caught the ball on the first bounce and sold out. The score came during the middle of the third period.”
On December 2, 1946, Naylor Stone, sports editor of the rival Birmingham Post, wrote a piece with the headline, “Wozniak Turns into Great Lineman.” “If Alabama,” he wrote, “had gone through unbeaten, and had received a bowl invitation, John Wozniak surely would have been All American this season. We’ve made most of the pilgrimages with the Tide and a couple with the Auburns, and we haven’t seen a lineman to date served to even carry Wozniak’s shoes. That young man from Pennsylvania is not good – he’s great.”
Coach Thomas’ record at Alabama was 125-24-7, including six bowl appearances and two national championships. However, the 1944-45 team was his favorite. “Oh, how I loved those war babies,” he said, “they were just kids but they gave everything.”
Wozniak’s senior year, 1947- 48, began when he was named captain by the lettermen on the team. Harry Gilmer, the All-American halfback, was named alternate captain. Newman wrote in his regular column that, “Wozniak is one of the most popular players on the campus at Alabama.” He was elected president of the “A” Club by varsity members of the squad – a first for a non-Southern. He was also named to the University of Alabama’s list of “Who’s Who in America” in1947. S.E.C. coaches named Wozniak one of the outstanding guards of the conference in polling their pre-season All-Star team. Bill Stern, the nationally known sportscaster, named him to his pre-season All-American second team.
Coach Thomas, now athletic director, chose as his successor his long-time assistant Harold “Red” Drew who had coached the past year at Ole Miss. His first year as coach he produced an 8-3 record. In his first win, 34-7, against Mississippi Southern before 32,000 at Legion Field on September 20th, Wozniak is listed as weighing 208 pounds. He continued to boom his kickoffs downfield. The Tide next went to New Orleans and suffered a 21-20 loss to Tulane. Newman’s account the next day included, “Captain Johnny Wozniak’s recovery of Ed Price’s fumble at the 36-yard line, set up the third touchdown.” The next week, October 4th, Alabama lost 14-7 to Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Then Alabama won their last six games. Returning to Tuscaloosa, they defeated Duquesne 26-0 on October 11th. The next week they shut out Tennessee 10-0 at Legion Field. Newman’s description included, “Captain Johnny Wozniak and Denver Crawford met in the center of the field for the toss-up. Captain Wozniak won the toss and chose to defend the south goal. It was the first time all season that Alabama had won the toss.” Johnny then kicked off 52 yards.
On October 25th, they went to Athens and defeated Georgia 17-7 before 43,000. The coach used only 23 players. Three days later Newman, in his column wrote, “Earl Whitworth, who starred for Alabama in the Crimsons’ 1931 Rose Bowl victory, and one of the best line coaches at Georgia in the business, was high on Captain Johnny Wozniak’s guard play. ‘Wozniak showed us something about guard play,’ said Whitworth in discussing the line play. ‘We couldn’t do anything with him. Give that boy plenty of credit. He’s as fine a guard as I have seen all year.’” The next week, they defeated Kentucky 13-0 in Lexington. On November 15th they defeated Georgia Tech 14-7 at Legion Field. Johnny continued his long kickoffs. Newman wrote that, “Captain Wozniak was not only an All-Southern guard but an All-American guard.”
The last conference game and the last home game for those who had played since 1944, were the November 22nd 41-12 victory over LSU at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Wozniak routinely continued to kick-off. Newman wrote that, in the first LSU series, “Richeson and Wozniak threw Y.A. Tittle, trying to pass, for an eight yard loss.” In his summary, he added, “Alabama’s line of heroes included Captain Johnny Wozniak, one of the best offensive guards in the country.”
With a 5-2 conference record, 7-2 overall, they finished in third place. Alabama was invited to play in the Sugar Bowl; the opponent to be named on November 29th. On November 26th, the Birmingham News listed the AP’s 1947 Southeastern team. Gilmer and Wozniak at 210 pounds were named to the first team (there were three). Included were photos of the two seniors. Johnny was named All-American Honorable Mention by the Associated Press. Alabama was also ranked sixth nationally in the AP poll. However, they had one more game to play. They were flown to Miami and, on November 28th, defeated the Hurricanes in the last scheduled game of the year, 21-6. Texas was named to be their opponent in New Orleans.
On December 15th, in public relations prior to the bowl, a photo of the starting offensive team in their starting positions, with their names, appeared in the Birmingham News. On December 16th, Johnny was named second team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. On December 31st, there were two large photos of linemen – one was of “Captain Honest John Wozniak.” The anticipated battle between Gilmer and Texas’ Bobby Lane did not materialize; the latter won handily, 27-7. The season’s final tally was 8-3 as Johnny’s collegiate career ended on a sad note. However, his foot and hand prints are enshrined in concrete in front of Denny Chimes Stadium as the captain of the 1947 team! Johnny participated in the 1948 All-Star Team that lost to the Chicago Cardinals in their annual summer classic.
John married Flo Davis of Foley, Alabama in December 1947. The couple had three children, Dawn, June and Brian. John graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelors degree in 1948 and later earned a Masters degree from the university.
Wozniak was a third round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers and was one of three players drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American Football Conference. On December 30th, the Charleroi Mail noted that the Pittsburgh Steelers had, “reached an understanding” with him. However, according to the Valley Independent of January 16, 1948, he chose Brooklyn, “for more money.” Johnny played for them 1948-49. In 1950, he went with the New York Yankees in the AAFC for two years and moved with them when they became the Dallas Texans in 1952.
In 1953, Wozniak joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League. He was named to the All-Star team in 1953, 1954 and 1956. In 1955 he suffered a broken leg in the third game. The Canadian Football News, on October 23, 1954, opined that, “Wozniak is without doubt the most versatile lineman in western football today. At various times he can be found playing offensive center, offensive guard, offensive tackle, defensive tackle and linebacker, but he takes all the changes in position in stride. He knows that they are necessary for the welfare of the club.” To highlight this versatility, one of the 1954 Players At A Glance publications wrote of him, “Position: Center, Guard, Tackle, Linebacker or any other place that he is needed.” From an August 21, 1956 Roughrider game program John was described as, “A tower of strength with the Riders since 1953. Big John can play center, guard or tackle on offense and is the best center linebacker in the business on defense. The Rider stock tumbled when Old Hardrock broke his leg in a game at Edmonton early last year. An All-American guard at Alabama, the 240 pound, six footer, was an easy selection to the defensive All-Star team in the West his first two seasons.”
Following his professional football career, John worked full time for Reichold Chemical Company as a regional sales representative. The company had given him time off to play football during his sports career. Wozniak had no formal training in chemistry, but utilized his innate intelligence and determination to study the industry. He became extremely successful in his business career.
In 1974, Tom Landry, coach of the Dallas Cowboys, phoned Johnny and tried to get him to join his staff to coach the down line, primarily the offensive line. Instead, he became the Southern Division Sales Manager for the chemical company he worked for until his untimely death on August 26 1982 of a heart attack.
Wozniak was inducted into the Belle Vernon Area Football Hall of Fame on September 1, 2000 and the Saskatchewan Roughriders Hall of Fame in September 2005.
Clem Gryska, a former teammate at Alabama, remembered, “Johnny was the boss from the dorm to the practice field – all the time, in every situation.” Harry Gilmer remembered Johnny as, “one who loved to kid around.”
(Grateful acknowledgement to J.K. Folmar I professor emeritus of history, California University of Pennsylvania, for his research on Mr. Wozniak.)
Donna DeMarino Sanft
Possessing one of the longest and most diverse tenures in the University of Pittsburgh’s Athletic Department, Donna De Marino Sanft serves as Pitt’s executive associate athletic director. Appointed to this position in January of 2008, Sanft works directly with Athletic Director Steve Pederson on all administrative aspects of the department.
Reflective of her broad-ranging responsibilities at Pitt, Sanft’s association with the University includes time as a student-athlete, head coach and, for the past two decades, administrator.
In her previous position as senior associate athletic director, Sanft was significantly involved in the department’s strategic planning and the professional development of its staff. She additionally was responsible for coordinating Pitt’s compliance and NCAA rules, education programs and overseeing the Panther Game Plan, a student-athlete life skills program.
During the fall of 2007, she was appointed interim athletic director by Chancellor Mark Nordenberg. In making the appointment, Chancellor Nordenberg commented that Sanft “has been a major figure in Pitt athletics since she arrived on campus as a student-athlete.”
“Donna is known throughout the country for her professionalism and has long been a highly regarded representative of the University of Pittsburgh,” Nordenberg said. “Within the athletic department itself, no one enjoys a higher level of respect than Donna Sanft. She has responsibilities that touch on virtually every aspect of the work of the athletic department, and she has played a central role in advancing our overall agenda and in strengthening the student-centered values that guide our department.”
In 2007 Sanft was honored as a recipient of the Chancellor’s Awards for Staff Excellence in service to the University. The awards selection committee lauded Sanft’s commitment and dedication to Pitt and its student-athletes as “truly exceptional.” She was also praised for her volunteer work on assignments outside her typical job duties. Those endeavors included organizing and staffing the “Panther Zone,” an alcohol-free social gathering for student football fans, and “PAWS,” which gives young people in the Oak Hill Community an opportunity to attend weekly sports clinics and life skills educational programs led by Pitt student-athletes.
The selection committee also noted Sanft’s management of the University of Pittsburgh’s successful NCAA certification project in which the NCAA peer review team described many areas of Pitt’s program as “models for others to follow.”
While coaching the Panthers’ gymnastics team for 12 years (1974-1986), Sanft compiled an 82-50-1 record and was twice selected the Eastern Collegiate Coach of the Year. During her tenure, she helped produce Pitt’s only NCAA champion in women’s gymnastics, Lisa Shirk.
A 1974 graduate of Pitt with bachelor’s and master’s degree in health and physical education, Sanft was a member and three-year captain of the gymnastics team. She was named Pitt’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1974. In 1999, Sanft was honored by the Pitt Varsity Club as an “Awardee of Distinction,” becoming the first female to receive the award.
A 1970 graduate of Monessen High School, Sanft performed on the girl’s gymnastics team from 1966 to 1970 with the team winning a few state championships. Sanft also was a member of the Monessen Sokols from 1962 to 1970.
In reflecting on her life recently, Sanft remarked, “I love the University of Pittsburgh and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I have been given as a student, athlete and staff member at Pitt. Through the leadership of the Chancellor and the hard work of hundreds of people, Pitt continues to achieve extraordinary things everyday and it is an honor to be part of this outstanding institution.”
Donna and her husband Elliott have two daughters, Liza Barbour and Leah. The family resides in Wexford, Pennsylvania.
Gary V. Hogan
When Valley people think of the great area football teams over the years one is hard pressed to find a better squad than the 1959 Charleroi “Dream Team” Cougars. That entourage was led by quarterback Gary Hogan. A gifted passer with a nose for the goal line, Gary would go on to Purdue University and was the starting quarterback before the arrival of future NFL Hall of Famer Bob Griese.
At Charleroi High School Gary participated in varsity football, basketball and baseball earning three varsity letters in each of these sports. Gary played as the catcher his three years in high school baseball for Coach George Chacko. “Catching lefty Carl ‘Absy’ Witmeyer was the toughest,” remembered Gary. Absy hit home runs and also played for the Charleroi Magicians. Gary played right field on the occasions when Joe Kalish was inserted into the lineup as the catcher.
It was in football that Gary would make his name immortal in Mon Valley folklore. He won the following honors on the gridiron: All-Conference 1st Team, Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph All WPIAL 1st Team, Pennsylvania Big 33 All Star 1st Team, 1959 National High School All American 1st Team, 1959 Senior Athletic Award, 1959 Pittsburgh Bicentennial Sports Award, All Big 6 First Team, and the United Press International Honorable Mention Team All Pennsylvania Team. In 1989 Hogan was inducted into the Charleroi High School Football Hall of Fame.
As a high school junior Hogan was regarded “as a promising junior quarterback who looks better with each workout and it must be pointed out that he was on target most of the time but his receivers dropped three of four passes.” A newspaper clipping read of Hogan in 1958, “He is the 185-pound veteran, cool-headed quarterback who is behind the pass connection, and is the big gun in the Charleroi attack.” He came into his own prowess against the Donora Dragons with a 39-6 rout using a powerful ground game augmented by pin-point passing.
The Cougar football team went into the 1959 season ready to prove their superiority on the gridiron. Pre game analysis saw Gary looking better than ever and hitting the target with amazing accuracy on pass patterns. He was heralded, “As a fine sharp-shooting quarterback who could hit bull’s eyes on his passes and handing off with near-perfection. The 5-11, 185 pound signal-caller also looked impressive on defense as a free safety. Joe Barcelona, one of his coaches, remembers Gary as the “brains of the defense.” He requested two-way duty despite being a quarterback. Coach “Rab” Currie said of Hogan, “He’s got a good head on his shoulders and he always did have desire and determination. He is one of the most daring quarterbacks I’ve ever coached.” As a safety Hogan had six interceptions during the regular season and one key interception in the WPIAL title game to stop an Aliquippa drive in the third quarter.
In a key game against Uniontown the commentary went like this, “Hogan handing off with the finesse of a slight-of-hand artist and firing strikes in key situations, to say nothing of his always stellar defensive work.”
In the pivotal game against the mighty Clairton Bears, Hogan kicked a field goal (23 yards) and later faked one and passed for a touchdown to give Charleroi a 9-6 victory over “Papa Bear” Brown’s Clairton squad in a battle of WPIAL Class AA title contenders at Clairton’s field.
Gary remembered the game at Clairton and recalled, “Coach Currie knew we could win in adverse weather conditions. Clairton didn’t want to play. That was the game that showed we could win it all. First of all, nobody ever beats Clairton at Clairton. To make matters worse, the mud on the field was ankle deep and you could hardly stand up. As they ran past us before the game started, I could see they were big and powerful and I knew we were in for a long, long day. But we prevailed with our ability to turn a broken play into a touchdown. We were good, but our line made us look great.” Hogan probably thought he’d never get to throw a pass for that wasn’t Coach Currie’s kind of game.
The 1959 Cougars had a perfect season with 10 wins and no losses. Charleroi earned a spot in the Class AA WPIAL playoff against Aliquippa at Pitt Stadium. In the final league game it was quarterback Gary Hogan of Charleroi versus Redstone quarterback Fred Mazurek. The score ended 7-6 in Charleroi’s favor with Hogan again kicking the extra point to win the game.
In ten games, the power-laden Cougars ground out 2,287 yards in 397 running attempts for a handsome 5.5 average per try. They scored 241 points to rank as one of the top offensive teams in the WPIAL and compiled an impressive defensive record at the same time yielding just 60 points in ten games for an average of 6.0 per game.
In the passing department for the perfect season, the Cougars posted an impressive 43.3 percentage after completing 42 tosses in 96 tries for 754 yards and seven touchdowns. Hogan engineered all seven TD passes, tossing 89 in all and completing 39 for 731 yards. He had only four passes intercepted. As a starting quarterback for Charleroi, after taking over when Butch Cosner suffered a season ending injury in mid-season, from Hogan’s 1957 sophomore season through the 1959 championship game, Hogan’s record was 23 wins, two losses and one tie.
Known as an offensive team, the Cougars were tested on both dry and sloppy fields throughout the campaign. They had the determination when they knocked off mighty Clairton 9-6 at mid-season and again when they preserved their perfect record by nipping an upset-minded Redstone team 7-6 in the final game of the regular season. And in each instance it was Hogan - and his talented tootsies – that made the difference. In spite of a torn ligament injury to his left ankle received at the end of the first quarter, the classy quarterback completed the job by booting the all-important extra point that took the measure of Aliquippa and brought the title back to Charleroi after a lapse of 23 long years. The Charleroi Cougars beat Carl Aschman’s Quips 13-12. The “Dream Team” prevailed in 1959! And Gary Hogan was the heart and soul of the team.
On June 15, 1960, Gary attended a baseball tryout at Forbes Field for the Pirates. The tryout went well and after hitting two home runs and bouncing some balls off the left field wall, he was offered an immediate position in the minor leagues with a verbal promise to be up in “the Big Leagues” before the end of the season. Gary chose college football instead.
Gary graduated from Charleroi High School in 1960 and earned a scholarship to Purdue University. There he earned three varsity letters while playing at Purdue and was named College Player of the Week in 1962 in a game against Iowa. Gary played in the Challenge Bowl All Star Game sponsored by the AFL during its infancy years in Corpus Christi, Texas. The coach was Al Davis and teammates included Matt Snell and Bill Parcells. Hogan was never able to overcome the torn muscle in his upper thigh which occurred late in his senior year. At Purdue Hogan continued his winning in all three years of eligibility (1961 with a 6-3 record, 1962 with a 6-2-1 record, and 1963 with a 6-3 record). One of Gary’s fondest memories with Purdue was kicking the winning field goal in the 1961 Orange Bowl game when the Boilermakers beat Miami 3-0. Hogan was succeeded at Purdue with future NFL Hall of Fame personality Bob Griese. Although Gary was not able to accept invitations to NFL tryouts, because of a lingering leg injury, he received letters of interest from 16 different US and Canadian professional football teams. Invitations even came from Dallas Cowboys’ Gil Brandt and Greenbay Packers’ Coach Vince Lombardi. Hogan graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Management and Economics in 1964.
Hogan is self employed as the president of Hogan Enterprises, Inc. in Massachusetts. He is married to the former Gerry Bello of Monessen and the couple has four children, Gary Jr., Leslie, Marcy, and Brian. Four grandchildren complete the immediate family.
Charles “Billy” Russell
From Bill Russell’s humble boyhood beginnings in the grimy, soot-filled atmosphere of a small Pennsylvania Steel town, the story of his life has been a saga of achievement, both as a scholar and an athlete. Reared by his loving parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Russell, emphasis in the household was that education was the key to getting ahead in the world and away from a future as a common mill hand in Bill’s hometown of Donora, Pennsylvania.
In his high school days, Bill showed promise in both the classroom and the athletic field, excelling in baseball, football and track, as well as getting high marks in his studies.
Billy was an All Western Pennsylvania high school star in his senior year for Donora football coach James Russell. Donora’s flashy backfield standout was All Big 6 and a Washington County All Star. In 1953 he was the leading scorer (96) in the Mon Valley Football Conference, and this from a youngster who stood 5'8" and weighed 160 pounds. Billy’s 1953 football squad was the Mon Valley Big 6 Conference Champions and WPIAL class AA co-champions. Donora and Har-Brack played for the WPIAL crown to tie with no one scoring. The brilliance of the Donora backfield of Ron Bozik, Jim Lewis, Winslow Sloan, and Billy Russell had been overshadowed all year by the Dragons’ great defensive record which showed only four touchdowns scored against it all season.
This proclivity for excellence was not to go unnoticed, and in his senior year, Bill was observed by a University of Detroit football coach who was scouting for promising talent. As a result, Bill received a four-year scholarship. Bill was following in the footsteps of his popular uncle, “Deacon” Dan Towler.
At Detroit, Bill distinguished himself as All Missouri Valley halfback and leading scorer in the All-Catholic All-American Football Conference. He was again the smallest member of the team but was called “the big gun.” The media referred to Bill’s college play as “sensational.” As a sophomore in a game against Wichita, Russell scored three touchdowns and caught three passes for 69 yards. In a game against Villanova, Russell scored the only touchdown in the game with a 21-yard pass from quarterback Jim Lobkovich. Line coach Ken Stilley, a 1965 Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee, was a Detroit coach while Russell attended.
Other members of Bill’s family followed in his athletic and scholarly pursuits. Brother Dave, a 2003 Mon Valley Hall of Fame inductee, won a baseball scholarship, and brother Joe captured a basketball scholarship, and brother Tom excelled in football and baseball. A sister, Mary Kathryn, became a legal secretary for a corporation in Dallas, Texas.
Bill received his bachelor’s degree in 1959. In 1970 he received a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Wayne State University. In 1994 he received his educational specialist certification in administration from the same institution.
Professionally Bill became a Detroit school teacher in Highland Park, Michigan. After 16 years in that position he assumed the principalship of Ferris Middle School from 1974-1990. In 1990 he was appointed Director of Special Education and Student Services in Highland Park, a position he held until 1995, when he was appointed Director of Southfield Youth Services. Bill has been continuously recognized for his programs in helping students at risk.
Mr. Russell has been heralded for initiating many new and innovative projects, including “Code,” a national program administered by the National Association of State Boards of Education and the American Medical Association Student Assistance Program. Through his efforts, Highland Park was one of eight districts nationally to receive the honor. He has been instrumental in the district receiving numerous grants, including the Schulman and Kellogg Foundations, National Association of State Boards of Education and Wayne State University/Detroit Pistons Mentoring Program Grant.
Russell has extensive experience in the areas of parental involvement, student services, the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Programs, policy development, and curriculum design. He has been Highland Park’s leader of collaborative partnerships with businesses, industry, corporations, universities and agencies on behalf of a brighter future for all children and families. He also developed numerous youth programs on the district and middle school level, as well as for school employees, WSU’s medical students, Highland Park’s Department of Social Services and General Motors’ Legal Department. Russell has also been actively involved with youth through limited work experience programs for handicapped youth and young adults with Family Services of Detroit, Wayne County and the Boy Scouts’ Learning for Life program. His many honors include the Leadership Award from Michigan Middle Cities Association and the Booker T. Washington 5th Annual Principal’s Award.
Today, Bill lives in Henderson, Nevada with his wife Darlene whom he married in 1988. Bill has two children, Terry a behavior specialist who is deceased, and Carla a social worker and psychologist.
Past Inductees
Read about our past Inductees here!