Inductees 2014
Meet the 2014 Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame Inductees
The inductees were honored at the June 20 Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame Banquet at The Willow Room in Rostraver Township.
Seated from left: Maurice Mathieu, Heather Ferrari Milkent, Ed Zuraw
Standing from left: Larry Papini for Tony Segzda, Chuck Smith, John Maczuzak, Jr. for his deceased father John, Milfred “Bubby” Holmes
Milfred “Bubby” Holmes
What does Monessen’s Milfred (Bubby) Holmes have in common with former Pittsburgh Steeler, NFL coach and current NFL analyst Tony Dungy?
They were teammates at the University of Minnesota. Holmes was a running back with Dungy the Gophers’ quarterback.
“Tony lived next door to me in college and had dinner a lot of times at my place,” he smiled. “And we always watched Monday Night football.”
Injuries in college, however, prevented Holmes from putting up numbers with the Gophers like he did breaking rushing and scoring records with the Greyhounds as a 1973 MHS graduate.
At Monessen, Holmes ran for 3,746 yards and scored 304 points. Representative Ted Harhai, a teammate of Holmes, believes “his record does speak for itself and he was a good guy on top of the athletic achievements.”
He came within four points of becoming the only three-time Mon Valley Conference scoring champion.
After finishing second as a sophomore with 92 points behind Laurel Highlands’ Bill DeShields’ 96, Holmes tallied 136 points as a junior to beat runner- up Thomas Jefferson quarterback Jimbo Cramer by 30 points.
In Holmes’ senior season, he scored 76 points for a 30 point advantage over Ringgold’s Paul Timko.
Holmes had 1,320 yards as a sophomore and 973 yards as a senior when the Greyhounds’ fullback was Tony Benjamin who went on to play for the Seattle Seahawks.
Holmes rushed for 1,453 yards as a junior starting out with 208 and 216 in his first two contests against Laurel Highlands and Brownsville.
Against a Ringgold team which had been unscored on in its first two Big 10 Conference games, Holmes ran for 167 yards on 12 carries and scored four touchdowns in a 52-6 rout in a Saturday afternoon contest at Legion Field in Donora with two other TDs being nullified – one on a penalty and the other when he fumbled into the end zone for a touchback.
The following year Holmes gained 117 yards on 19 carries and scored one touchdown in the 34-34 tie with Ringgold at Memorial Stadium which was Joe Montana’s first varsity start at quarterback for the Rams.
Holmes’ initial varsity start was also a memorable one in a win over Brownsville.
“With my cousin Howard Holmes in the backfield, it meant a lot to me,” he said.
Holmes’ best game as a Greyhound was in a 34-20 victory at Charleroi in 1971 when he gained 307 yards in 27 carries with four touchdowns including scoring runs of 76 and 80 yards.
Holmes’ last game in a Monessen uniform was a 14-14 tie against Jeannette at Three Rivers Stadium in the WPIAL Class AA playoffs.
Holmes had to leave the contest with eight minutes left in the first half after fracturing four vertebrae in his back.
He had eight carries for 20 yards against the Jayhawks with a 63-yard touchdown run in the first quarter called back by an offside penalty.
Jeannette was awarded the victory by outgaining the Greyhounds, 254- 177, with total offense yards being the tie-breaker.
Holmes was a rare three-time Mon Valley Conference selection and made the Big 33 team the same year as Tony Dorsett.
At Monessen, Holmes also ran track and played basketball.
He made Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” at the age of 14 in the Oct. 27, 1969, issue when he scored nine touchdowns in two games on 17 carries at Monessen Junior High.
Coach Joe Gladys recalls “Bubby” “as tough, durable, consistent and a spectacular performer. He could electrify a crowd. When Monessen football is mentioned to future generations the name of “Bubby” Holmes will be synonymous.” Coach Gladys honors “Bubby” with his presence tonight.
Holmes received offers from 150 colleges including all the Big Ten schools and made visits to Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Miami, Arizona State and Pitt which had just hired Johnny Majors as coach.
“Majoring in business administration I thought Minnesota afforded me the best opportunity career-wise,” he said.
As a freshman, Holmes was used mostly as a kick and punt returner. A broken ankle in pre-fall practice wiped out his sophomore campaign.
Holmes led the Gophers in all-purpose yards as a junior with 760 including 537 rushing with 100 yard games against Ohio University and Oregon.
With seven pro teams showing interest in Holmes, his senior campaign turned out to be a nightmare.
In the season opener against Indiana, Holmes suffered a broken elbow after catching a pass from Dungy.
“It was heartbreaking,” recalled Holmes. “The moment I got hit I knew I had a religious experience. I knew it wasn’t meant for me to be playing football and God wanted me to go in a different direction.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Holmes went to Bristol Myers Squib for seven years before going to the Mars Candy Company.
“I retired at 50 before starting my third career in law enforcement as sheriff deputy in Dakota County for five years,” he said.
With a Masters of Arts in Human Services from Concordia University, Holmes is now on the staff at the Associated Clinic of Psychology in Minneapolis which presents diagnoses and treats mental health issues.
Holmes owns some horses and had a horse farm at one time.
Living in Invergiore Height in Minnesota, Holmes was married for 24 years to Monessen native Karen Howski and they remain good friends.
They have two children, Shontay Butler, a fashion designer at Macy’s in New York and Jason, a graduate student at St. Thomas University in Minnesota.
Jason’s daughter, Jayden, is a point guard in the Minnesota traveling basketball league and also a soccer player.
(Grateful acknowledgement to selection committee chairman Brian Herman for his The Valley Independent article in Mid-Mon Valley Sports Memories July 5, 2013)
John A. Maczuzak
It was, as curricula vitae are concerned, standard form detailing the experience and qualifications of the man.
But there was much more to the life of John Anthony Maczuzak, an Ellsworth native — qualities that symbolized a true Renaissance man, an individual with wide-ranging intellect, accomplishments and interests.
Mr. Maczuzak died on Friday, December 27, 2013. A resident of Freedom in Beaver County since 2012, he was 72.
“I’ve always been interested in many things,” Mr. Maczuzak said in an interview in the Tribune-Review in November 2012. “There is so much in life that stimulates your mind and challenges you to use it creatively. I learned that early on and have tried to apply it throughout my life.”
Indeed, Mr. Maczuzak was an outstanding athlete who played professional football, a scholar, a top level leader in the steel industry, a musician, and, most important, a devoted father, grandfather and family man.
He was one of 12 children of the late Peter Maczuzak and Catherine Haverlation Macuczak.
“My mother and father met at a church picnic in Slickville,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “He was 10 years older than her but it was love at first sight and they were married in 1923. They moved to Ellsworth in 1939 when my father got a job at the Bethlehem Mines there. We lived on Hickory Street, which was designated by the coal company as A-Row. It was a mixed ethnic neighborhood of Polish, Russian, Italian and Slovak families, our own melting pot. We called Ellsworth ‘International City’ because of the diversity of the people who lived there. The population was about 1,100, and I believe Bentleyville was nearly twice that number. Times were good, the mines were going strong and businesses in our area were doing well.”
Mr. Maczuzak’s surviving siblings are Olga Mikluscak, 87, Venice, Florida; Michael Maczuzak, 84, Painesville, Ohio; Helen Novince, 80, Portage, Indiana; Patricia Petrisek, 75, Port Allegheny, PA; Sonia Vernallis, 70, Portage, Indiana; Paul Maczuzak, 67, Bentleyville (Somerset Township), and Ted Maczuzak, 63, Canton, Ohio. Their brother Peter Maczuzak and sisters Mary Kadash, Joanne Maczuzak and Catherine Luketich are deceased.
“All of us graduated from high school and our parents were very proud of that accomplishment,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “Large families were not unusual in Ellsworth when I was growing up and the parents wanted the best for their children. Like my mother and father, others came there with nothing — to work, raise their families and prepare them for a better future. I’m very proud of our family for succeeding and fulfilling our parents’ hopes and dreams.”
Maczuzak carried those home-grown qualities and values to Ellsworth High School, where he was graduated in 1959.
He was an outstanding football and basketball player who also served as class president from ninth through twelfth grade, graduated with honors and ranked fourth academically in his class.
Because of his combined football and academic status, he received 27 college scholarship offers and opted to continue his education and athletic career at the University of Pittsburgh.
“When I went to Pitt, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in terms of a career,” he said. “I thought about majoring in math but knew I didn’t want to be a teacher. It was a great time in history because of Sputnik, the advent of the Space Age. That fascinated me and I eventually gravitated to electrical engineering. Pitt was a private school at the time and had a solid reputation as one of the best engineering schools in the country. I was confident I would get an excellent education that would prepare me well for whatever path I might choose.”
Mr. Maczuzak received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Pitt in 1965 and entered another round of recruiting.
“I had a number of job offers including those from Armco Steel, IBM and US Steel,” he said. “I chose US Steel because it seemed like the best fit for me.”
His career in the steel industry began in 1965 at the National Works of USS in McKeesport.
He rose through the corporation gaining increasing responsibility and experience in maintenance, engineering, operations, purchasing and business development. He worked, in addition to other places, in Lorain, Ohio, at the Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock and the Fairless Hills Works in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
In 1992 he became vice president of operations for the USS/Kobe Company joint venture. Kobe is one of the leading manufacturers of steel in Japan. In December 1995 he was promoted to vice president of business systems, purchasing and production planning for USS/Kobe and then became general manager of the firm’s ProTec Coating Company.
Mr. Maczuzak moved to National Steel Corporation in May 1996 when he was named vice president and general manager of the company’s Granite City Division in Granite City, Illinois. Ensuingly, he was promoted to president and chief operating officer of National Steel at its headquarters in Mishawaka, Indiana. He held that position when he retired in 2003.
Mr. Maczuzak’s travels during his career meant uprooting his family many times, and he was “forever grateful” throughout his life to his wife and children for their support and understanding.
“My wife Janet was always supportive, she encouraged me and offered strength to our family,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “It’s not easy for children to pick up and move, especially when they’ve settled in a new town and made new friends. But our kids adjusted very well and made the most of every new experience.”
Maczuzak and his wife, the former Janet Fulton Hamilton, met when they were in eighth grade.
The couple was married on June 20, 1964 at Pigeon Creek Presbyterian Church in Eighty Four. Janet chose that date because it was the thirtieth wedding anniversary of her parents.
A graduate of Ellsworth High School and the Grace Martin Business School in Pittsburgh, Janet held various secretarial jobs, including a position as executive secretary to the transportation superintendent of Columbia Gas System in Pittsburgh.
Mr. Maczuzak lost his wife to pancreatic cancer in 2006, just one week before her 65th birthday.
”Needless to say, her death left an immense void in our hearts and our lives. Janet brought so much joy and love to me and our children,” Mr. Maczuzak said.
Their children are:
- Daughter Amy Maczuzak, 47, of Pittsburgh. A graduate of Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale and Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, she is the writer and senior editor at Coalition for Christian Outreach in Pittsburgh.
- Son John David Maczuzak, 45, of North Huntingdon. A graduate of Council Rock High School in Newtown (Bucks County), PA. and the University of Pittsburgh, he works at Tube City International Mill Services in West Mifflin.
- Son Vern Maczuzak, 42, of New York City. Also a graduate of Council Rock High School and Allegheny College, he is Division Vice President, Strategic Planning & Research at Health Management Systems, Inc. in New York.
His son John’s daughter, Kathryn Maczuzak, 19, is Mr. Maczuzak’s only grandchild and just finished her first year at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.
“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family throughout my life,” Mr. Maczuzak said.
He also was blessed with great athletic talent.
Mr. Maczuzak lettered three years in varsity football and basketball at Ellsworth High and was captain of both teams as a senior.
“I almost didn’t get to play football because my father wouldn’t sign the consent form my first year,” he recalled. “My brother Mike was visiting at home and convinced my father that it would be OK, that I might be able to get a scholarship if I did well. My father relented and I was on the varsity team. He was very pleased when those (scholarship) offers came rolling in a few years later.”
In football, he played for head coaches Joe Metro, the former Monongahela standout who left Ellsworth to accept a coaching job at Bloomsburg State College, and Paul Lapcevic. Ellsworth posted a 9-1-0 record during Mr. Maczuzak’s sophomore year.
Mr. Maczuzak became part of Ellsworth High history as a senior in 1958-59 as the Tigers, coached by veteran Johnny Sylvester, won the WPIAL Section 18-B basketball championship with a perfect 6-0 league record. It was the first section title ever for Ellsworth.
“There were only four teams in the section then — Bentleyville, Jefferson, Mapletown and us,” he recalled. “We clinched the section title by defeating Mapletown 37-23 and that put us in the WPIAL tournament. We played 17 games that season and lost only three to finish with a 14-3 record.”
Mr. Maczuzak, who was 6’5” and weighed 205, was part of an Ellsworth contingent known as “The Backboard Jungle” because of their rebounding dominance. The other regulars were John Dziak, John Delegram, Jim Wilkens, Jerry Martin and Fred Crow.
Their venture into the WPIAL Class B Tournament was short lived as they bowed to unbeaten McDonald (14-0) 68-61 on February 24, 1959 at the Washington High School gym. Dziak led all scorers in that game with 23 points, while Mr. Maczuzak and Delegram also hit double digits with 19 and 11, respectively.
Football was the sport that led Mr. Maczuzak, who played offensive and defensive tackle, to the attention of college coaches. Complemented by academic standing as an honors students ranked fourth in his class, he received 27 scholarship offers.
“It was really something for a kid from Ellsworth to be recruited by the likes of Rip Engle at Penn State, Art ‘Pappy’ Lewis of West Virginia and Johnny Michelosen at Pitt,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “They all made good offers and I enjoyed the recruiting experience, but I thought Pitt would work best for me.”
He was redshirted in football but played freshman basketball at Pitt in 1959-60. He started in basketball as a sophomore and lettered in his final two seasons with the Panthers, who were coached by Robert Timmons.
“I enjoyed basketball, it was very competitive on the college level,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “Coach Sylvester at Ellsworth always said basketball was my future but I got a scholarship because of football. Still, I wanted to continue to play (basketball). It was a challenge playing two varsity sports and keeping up with my studies. It meant some serious work in balancing my time. That responsibility helped me later during my career in the steel industry.”
Among Mr. Maczuzak’s basketball teammates in 1963-64 were Brian Generalovich, Tim Grgurich, Daryle Ruby and Dave Sauer.
His football teammates included Paul Martha, Fred Mazurek, Rick Leeson, Ernie Borghetti, Marty Schottenheimer, Jim Traficant, Chuck Ahlborn, Lou Slaby, John Verkleeren, Eric Crabtree, Ed Adamchik, Fred Hoaglin, Ron Linaburg, Bob Long, Ken Lucas and Ray Popp. Slaby, a high school standout in Salem, Ohio, was best man in Maczuzak’s wedding in 1964, and they have remained close friends over the years.
The 1963 Panthers, led by Mazurek at quarterback and Martha, who gained All-American honors at halfback, posted a 9-1-0 record and were ranked No. 3 in national polls. Mr. Maczuzak was the starting left tackle.
“We beat UCLA, Washington, California, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Army, Syracuse, Miami and Penn State,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “Our only loss was to Navy. It was, as the song goes, a very good year.”
Mr. Maczuzak was honored in 1992 as a Pitt Varsity Club Awardee of Distinction. That recognition is given to former athletic letter winners who have distinguished themselves in their professions and who, by their accomplishments, have enhanced the value of Pitt’s intercollegiate athletic programs. He also was honored in 2009 when the Pitt Alumni Association inducted him into its Laurel Chapter Hall of Fame.
Mr. Maczuzak, who was 6’5” and 240 as a senior, was a two-way tackle at Pitt and was drafted by the San Francisco Forty-Niners of the National Football League and the Dallas Texans of the American Football League after his redshirt junior year in 1962. He remained at Pitt for his senior campaign and ultimately signed a professional contract with the AFL Kansas City Chiefs, who evolved when owner Lamar Hunt moved his franchise from Dallas.
He played in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game in December 1963 in Montgomery, Alabama and was selected to play in the College All-Star Game in August 7, 1964 against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago.
A somber mood prevailed among the 65,000 fans at Soldier Field as they observed a pre-game moment of silence for Bears stars halfback Willie Galimore and end John Farington, who were killed in an automobile accident 14 days earlier. The Bears defeated the All-Stars 28-17 and dedicated the victory to their departed teammates.
The legendary Otto Graham coached the All-Stars, whose roster included, in addition to Maczuzak, his Pitt teammates Paul Martha and Ernie Borghetti, quarterbacks George Mira of Miami (Florida) and Pete Beathard of Southern California, halfback Charley Taylor of Arizona State and receiver Paul Warfield of Ohio State. Among the Bears standouts were tight end Mike Ditka, Mr. Maczuzak’s former teammate at Pitt, who was Chicago’s first-round draft pick in 1961, Jon Arnett, Joe Marconi, Richie Petibon and Bill Wade.
His introduction to the professional ranks continued a few days later when he reported to the Chiefs training camp.
“It was an eye opener, that’s for sure,” he said. “Hank Stram was the head coach and camp was totally different from college. I was on the taxi squad early in the season but was activated and played defensive tackle through the second half of the year. They also had me prepared to play guard and center.”
Among his teammates at Kansas City were Beathard, Len Dawson, Abner Haynes, E.J. Holub, Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell and Fred Arbanas.
“There were only eight teams in the league — Kansas City and the Buffalo Bills, Boston Patriots, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “We finished at 7-7-0 in second place behind the Chargers in the Western Division.”
Mr. Maczuzak did well enough in his rookie season to warrant a second shot in 1965.
“The team sent a letter inviting me to camp in 1965 but I felt I had had enough of football,” he said. “I had received my degree at Pitt and I wanted to get on with my real life’s work, I didn’t want to become obsolete in my profession before I even started. It was a competitive market at that time and I had to get going. I was married and Janet and I were looking forward to starting a family.”
Mr. Maczuzak informed the Chiefs of his decision to retire after one season with the team, but they weren’t ready to let him go.
“Coach Stram called me at home and said he was very disappointed with my decision,” he said. “I explained my reasons and he said he understood and wished me well. Two years later, Kansas City was in Super Bowl I against the Green Bay Packers and, yes, I guess I could have been there with the Chiefs. But I have no regrets. I had my opportunity to play in the pros and I’ll never forget it.”
To emphasize his decision, Mr. Maczuzak offers a reminder that professional football is “not all the glamour and glitz” that people might think.
“When I put my name on that first contract with the Chiefs, I received an $8,000 signing bonus and a season salary of $13,000,” he recalled. “That pales in comparison to what players receive today but it was a lot of money in those years; I felt like I had hit the lottery.
“But football is just a job, just like any other job. No, it’s not your typical 9 to 5 day at the office but it can become a real grind. We had those two-a-day practices at camp and our families were not permitted to be with us the first few weeks. Even after the exhibition games began and the regular season started, we were busy with practice and then on the road for away games. I had been playing organized football for 10 years and that was enough.”
When his 38-year career in the steel industry ended, Mr. Maczuzak made another easy decision.
“We always knew we wanted to move back to the area, to be close to home,” he said. “Our daughter lived in Pittsburgh and our son John was in North Huntingdon Township, so we chose North Huntingdon. I lived there until I sold the house and moved to Freedom, which is still close to home, only about an hour away.”
Displaying another of his talents, Mr. Maczuzak often entertained his family at reunions or holiday gatherings. by playing the guitar.
“When I was a student at Pitt, I bought a used guitar for $15 from one of the other guys in the dorm,” he said. “I learned the basic chords, but years later my granddaughter and I took lessons together. I mostly play to amuse myself.”
Maczuzak’s association with music began when he was in seventh grade at Ellsworth.
“Ed Guglielmi, who was a well-known musician in the Mon Valley, was the band director at the high school and recruited me,” he said. “He said they needed someone to play the sousaphone, which is a fairly large instrument, and I was big enough to carry it. I was in seventh grade at the time but I had started taking lessons when I was in fourth grade, so I played well enough to join the high school band. Later, I also played the trombone and the baritone horn.”
Mr. Maczuzak played in the band through twelfth grade but did not march with the group at football games.
“In my junior year Marian Denicola and I enjoyed a very unique musical opportunity,” he said. “Marian, who was a sophomore, was an excellent clarinetist. We did well enough in the Pennsylvania Music Education Association competition to advance to the (Washington) county and district bands together. I was then chosen for the state band and went to Wellsboro for the big concert. Charleroi High had a great trumpet player at that time, a young man named Paul Hubinon, and I thought that was a big deal — that is, performing with him at the top level. All those years of playing sports and I finally made all-state playing the baritone horn!”
Mr. Maczuzak also performed with the legendary Bentleyville Firemen’s Band, one of the top community aggregations in the region for many years.
“Frank Angotti was the leader of the firemen’s band and he poured his heart and soul into it,” Mr. Maczuzak said. “The musicians ranged in age from 14 to those in their 70s. The band participated in about 35 parades a year and always won top prizes. The ultimate prize, I suppose, came in 1959 when they went to Miami to perform in the annual Orange Bowl parade. They held bake sales to raise money for that trip.” Looking back on John Maczuzak’s life, it would be easy to say he was a man for all seasons.
(Grateful acknowledgement to Ron Paglia for this bio that appeared in the Tribune Review Mon Valley Sunday November 25, 2012)
Maurice “Moe” Mathieu
Maurice “Moe” Mathieu, 5’ 8”, 155 lbs., a 1957 Monessen High School graduate, was the Mon Valley Big 6 All Conference scoring champion with 132 points in 1956. Maurice was followed by some big name company with future Mon Valley Hall of Fame members Angelo Dabiero, class of ’99, with 109 points and Myron Pottios, class of ’96, 102 points. Mathieu also was the leading scorer in Western Pennsylvania football in 1956. First year assistant coach Joe Gladys called Maurice “a scintillating runner who ranks with the very best backs in Monessen High School football history. Deceptively fast and quick he gave maximum effort on every play. A complete athlete who thoroughly enjoyed the challenge to excel, Maurice reflected credit upon himself, family, school and community.”
Born December 23, 1937 Maurice is the son of Maurice H. Mathieu and Angeline Canestrale Mathieu. Dad worked at Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Coke plant for 35 years while mom attended to household chores. Maurice had two siblings, Donald of Charleroi and the late Rene.
As a youth, Maurice participated in junior high football for the WPIAL championship 1952 and 1953 Greyhounds and no team could score against them. Maurice and Carl Crawley, a 1997 MMVASHOF inductee, led the team in scoring with ten touchdowns each.
Maurice continued his interest in high school athletics playing football and basketball. In three varsity years he would score 194 points as a left side running back. He was named to the All-State and All Conference team. For the 1956-57 school year he was honored at the Westmoreland County Banquet with the Judge David H. Weiss award in athletics. Maurice remembers some of his outstanding teammates including Carl Crawley, a bruising fullback, right side running back John Bogavich, center Frank Zoretich, ends Bobby Burns and Frank Crisi, and quarterback Al Gaudio. Coach Armand Niccolai singled out Mathieu as one of his best players. That was tall praise from an original Pittsburgh Steeler. Assistant coach Joe Koval would call that Monessen backfield one of the best of all time.
In the mid-1950s,the Greyhound basketball team won 38 straight section games over a four-year period - finally falling to Charleroi in 1956 37-29. Carl Crawley remembers, “In basketball as a guard Maurice was a hustler going after the ball.” As a point guard he averaged 10 points per game. Mathieu was named to the section 5 All Star team along with teammates Crawley and Crisi.
Mathieu received a football scholarship to the University of Miami (FL). After working his way up to first team his freshman year, Mathieu had to leave due to personal reasons. Coach Rab Currie of Charleroi was instrumental in guiding Maurice to Miami. Leaving Miami was one of Mathieu’s greatest disappointments in his life. He played in one freshman game in Mexico City which Mexico won 9-6.
In 1958 Memphis State University upon receiving a recommendation from one of Mathieu’s former coaches of his skill as a running back contacted Maurice about playing football once again. He played as a defensive specialist as a freshman. In the first game of his sophomore year, Maurice unfortunately blew out his knee in the first two minutes of the game which effectively ended his football career. Mathieu’s coach at Memphis Ray Malavasi, would eventually coach the Los Angeles Rams against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. At Memphis, Maurice also played freshman basketball as a point guard averaging 11 points per game. Later, for what he called the “love of the game” Maurice tried out and played for the football semi-pro for the Harrisburg Capitals and later the Washington Merchants. Playing one game for each of these teams when the Merchants played Toronto Maurice had two touchdowns. Again his knee gave out and Maurice came to the realization that the game that meant so much to him was no longer in his reach. Realizing the end of his dreams he began to look at coaching.
Mathieu is about to be tackled by Charleroi�s Myron Pottios (wearing a special helmet) and No. 80 is Frank Crisi and the player to left is Charleroi�s Joe Falbo. Photo from Charleroi�s 14-13 win over Monessen before 7,752 fans at Memorial Stadium on Friday, October 26, 1956.
Maurice was involved in youth football and baseball in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania as a coach. After losing his job at Beth Energy Coal Mines, Maurice and his wife, Sylvia, moved in 1989 to Hershey, Pennsylvania to become house parents rearing needy children at the prestigious Milton Hershey School. The couple is most proud of their role as surrogate parents providing principles and practices of family, self-worth, life skills and individual responsibility in the hope of a quality life for each youngster passing through the Hershey Home. Maurice coached middle school soccer and baseball until his retirement in 2004. He is a member of the Monessen Quarterback Hall of Fame to which he was inducted in 1972.
Maurice married Sylvia K. Shrawder of Millersburg, Pennsylvania in 1961. They are the parents of two daughters, Wendy Mathieu Chedester and husband Chet of Woodbridge, Virginia; Kimberly Mathieu Keefer of Annville and husband Alan of Monessen; Pennsylvania; and one son Maurice Mathieu, Jr. of Duncannon, Pennsylvania who is married to Robin Kissel of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Maurice and Sylvia have nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Heather Ferrari Milkent
Heather is a 1990 graduate of Belle Vernon Area High School who was born July 1, 1972, the daughter of Tim and Carol Ferrari. During her years at Belle Vernon, Heather played softball starring at 3rd base and shortstop. Heather started as freshmen and continued to become a four-year starter throughout high school winning four section 3-AAA championships and a WPIAL playoff semi-final appearance in 1990. In 1989-90 Heather was named High School Section 3-AAA Player of the Year, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous “9”, and Herald Standard Diamond Girl. She was the first female athlete to receive a Division 1 scholarship from Belle Vernon Area. While in high school, Heather held records including second in hits (79), second in RBI (90) and first in home runs (29) and hit for the cycle on April 15, 1988 with six RBI. Her coach and mentor Lou Rood quoted in The Valley Independent, “Heather is the best third base player in western Pennsylvania. She was one of the best we ever had. She was tops as a defensive player and could do it all as a clutch and power hitter. There are two things I’ll never forget about Heather. In her first at bat as a freshman she hit a homerun off the eventual WPIAL winners and second was a close game at Tri Valley. While playing third base a girl hit a bullet down the line. Heather dove and threw the runner out from her knees. It was the finest defensive play I’d ever seen.” David Smith of the Uniontown Herald Standard wrote, “Ferrari is a jewel. If there is a better third base player in the WPIAL that lady chases a smaller ball. She has definite NCAA potential and she remains the most complete player in the area and amongst the WPIAL’s finest.”
Although softball was her first love, Heather also played basketball for four years at Belle Vernon. Academically, she achieved honor status during her junior and senior year with a 3.25 GPA.
During the summer months Heather played for the prestigious traveling team the Elizabeth Renegades. Heather was the first twelve year-old to be selected on the 18 and under team performing each year. The Renegades qualified for the ASA national tournament every year by winning the Pennsylvania state title she played and placed in the top 15 each of those seven years. These national tournaments took Heather to Wilmington, North Carolina, Cleveland, Tennessee, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Jacksonville, Florida and Coeur D’alene, Idaho. During Heather’s final year of 18 and under the team was invited to play in the “Elite Eight” tournament in Oklahoma City on the same filed that current NCAA Women’s Softball championship is played. The tournament featured the top eight teams in the nation. Heather’s team placed third in the coveted event while she batted .623 for the tournament. Later that summer the Renegades had their highest finish at a national tournament placing fifth out of fifty-two teams in Coeur D’alene.
Upon graduation, Heather attended Robert Morris College where she played shortstop and left field. Heather became the first Belle Vernon Area female to receive a Division I scholarship. While there she was team co-captain 1993-1994 and played on four Northeast Conference Championship teams from 1991-1994. Their team record was 119-62 during those years, and the team also had one NCAA Tournament bid and ranked twenty second in the nation during her senior year. The 119 wins tied for the most ever by a single class.
Robert Morris College Athletic Hall of Fame inducted Heather into its 10th class of inductees on October 21, 2000. Heather’s bio was as follows: “Ferrari, a native of Fayette City, Pennsylvania and graduate of Belle Vernon Area High School, holds the Colonial softball career records for hits (179), runs (118), RBI (102) and home runs (16), on base percentage (.493). She is second all-time in school history with 11 triples, 535 at bats and a .335 career batting average. Ferrari is tied for second in the Robert Morris career record book with 22 doubles and is tied for fourth with 174 games played, third in walks with 42 and third in career stolen bases with 41. Heather was part of four straight Northeast Conference (NEC) title-winning teams that went a combined 119-62 in her four years. She played shortstop and outfield and twice was named All-NEC tournament.
Heather’s college honors include: Northeast Region All-America First Team 1993-1994; Northeast Region All-America Second Team 1992; All Northeast Conference Tournament Team ‘92, ‘93, ‘94; Northeast Conference Tournament “MVP” 1993; Northeast conference “Player of the Week” (13 times in four years); Princeton University Softball Invitational All Tourney Team 1993; East Carolina Pirates Invitational All Tourney Teams 1993-1994.
Robert Morris softball coach Craig Coleman was quoted in 2009, fifteen years after Heather’s departure that, “Heather is one our greatest players.” Recently interviewed by Bruce Wald of the Mon Valley Sunday Tribune Review, Coleman added some further insight on Heather’s college years. “We knew she would be a great defensive player but didn’t know she would pan out as a hitter, and she turned out to be one of the greatest hitters we ever had.” In his 24th year as the Colonials head softball coach and ninth as athletic director, Craig reiterated Heather’s power and aggressiveness at the plate. “Her home runs were noteworthy because many of them never went more than 8 feet off the ground. They were hit so hard and were not these high bombs that just line drive lasers that went over the fence. She was an exceptional player.”
Heather enjoyed her spring breaks playing in Orlando and Tampa, Florida where she faced the likes of Oklahoma, Florida State, Notre Dame and eventual NCAA second runner up UCLA. Heather remembers playing on the pristine field of the Florida State Seminoles with Dock Campbell Stadium in the foreground. Upon returning north she recalls the historical and architectural beauty surrounding Princeton’s softball field but nothing was more impressive than the outfield wall at Ohio State adorned with all of the Big 10 logos.
More than twenty years have passed since Heather last wore the Robert Morris uniform and she is still listed in all 11 career records that Robert Morris lists in its media guide. Her number 7 shirt has been retired. Heather continued to play softball after her collegiate years until she turned 39. She has served as BVA assistant softball coach during the 2002 and 2003 campaigns. “I am valley girl at heart,” Heather said. “My dad was a steel worker. I was gritty, tough and always played with a Mon valley mentality. I am very proud of where I come from and what the Mon valley stands for, which is good people that are working hard to get by, and I always tried to represent that on the athletic field.”
Since 1995 Heather has been employed as a Senior Business Analyst with PNC Bank. She is currently residing with her husband, George and daughter Megan in Carroll Township.
Tony Segzda
Tony has been traveling the ins and outs of baseball for seven decades. Born on April 9, 1929, he grew up in Crescent Heights, located in West Pike Run Township. Tony started playing baseball when he was five years old. First, as a boy in pickup games, then as a star high school pitcher who went on to play seven seasons with minor league teams in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system.
By the time Tony was a senior in high school, he had become a star attraction for the California High School team. A speedy running back, Tony played football his senior year, as well as baseball and basketball for two years. In the mid-1940’s, people would marvel at the pitching duels between two righties – Tony Segzda and Brownsville’s Eddie Roebuck. Segzda had great movement on his ball without high velocity. His high school team won the section title in baseball. California High basketball coach Jim Clutter called Tony a “terrific athlete.” In the summer of 1946, Tony played for the Brownsville American Legion team. The team made the playoffs, but was eliminated after five games. Tony was named Most Valuable Player of District 25. Segzda graduated from California High School in 1947.
Following graduation, Tony was offered a contract with the Boston Braves. He was also hopeful of a Penn State scholarship. Meanwhile, he pitched a no-hit shutout in an American Legion game. That brought the Pittsburgh Pirates calling. Except for the 1952 season when he was in the Army, Tony played for several of the Pirates’ farm clubs over the next eight years. He started in Uniontown, went as far west as Waco, Texas and as far south as New Orleans, Louisiana, and finally ended his minor league career in Williamsport in 1954. He played semi-pro ball for county league baseball through 1956. Many references are made to the difficult life of a minor league ball player but Tony did not see the life as a dull experience. To this day he cherishes the time, the people, the towns, and the rich experience of it all. While in Trenton, New Jersey Tony met a new signee referred to as “a black guy.” Tony recalled: “The man had a squeaky voice.” Tony had the throwback thrill of playing against future baseball Hall of Fame legend Willie Mays.
Segzda came back home and got a job with Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel in the Monessen Plant, where he worked until early retirement in 1986.
In 1987 a chance meeting with former area Charleroi ball player Fred Uhlman brought Tony back into baseball as a scout with the Baltimore Orioles. Uhlman, a 1948 Charleroi graduate, had played against Segzda in their high school days. “Tony was a very good pitcher,” Uhlman recalled. “He had a good fast ball and a good curve ball plus he had good command always around the plate. Every team in the area had some good pitching back then, but he was at the top.” Uhlman and Segzda later played together in the minors – sometimes on the same team, sometimes against each other.
Tony Segzda, Rick Krivda, and Orioles regional scout Jim Howard at Krivda�s signing in 1996.
As an Oriole scout, Tony traveled as far north as Erie, as far east as Harrisburg and sometimes to the northern reaches of West Virginia and Maryland. He had the uncanny knack to project what a player would be able to do five years down the road.
Rick Krivda, a California University of Pennsylvania graduate, was signed by Segzda for the Orioles’ farm system in 1991. Soft-spoken, polite and reserved off the field, the future Olympic gold medalist Krivda was a dominant southpaw pitcher for the Vulcan baseball team from 1989 through 1991. He would have a decade long professional baseball career. Krivda was Tony’s most noteworthy recruit to make it to a major league club starting with the Orioles in 1995.
Tony Segzda, California High School Trojans, shakes hands with Eddie Roebuck (class of 1956), Brownsville High School Brownies, prior to the start of the pitching duel in the late 1940�s.
Segzda was surprised more scouts were not pursuing Krivda. The southpaw impressed Segzda with his deceptiveness as a pitcher. His scouting report indicated “the batter was unable to see the ball by Rick’s delivery even though he wasn’t throwing the ball necessarily that hard.” Tony saw much of himself in this ball player’s approach to his craft. Some of the other scouts called Tony “crazy” for signing the kid. Segzda likes to reminisce that “the great looking ball player went on to a wonderful career.”
Rick Krivda recently acknowledged Tony in an email to the Hall of Fame. “Thank you for recognizing me as a potential MLB pitcher. You remembered everything about my style, my big curveball and good pickoff move. You were present at my Cal U Hall of Fame induction in 2002 and remembered my worst game you ever saw me pitch at WVU. You threw the report out that day. That was how thoughtful and helpful you were as a man.”
Segzda was inducted into the Big Ten Fayette County Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986, the Trojan Booster Club Hall of Fame in 1991, and the American Legion Department of Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. His Big Ten citation reads, “His playing ability has gained for him a berth among the greatest sandlot players of all time.”
Tony married Mary Alice Core and they have two children, Anthony and Kathy, grandchildren Tommy and Alexis Kalvesmaki. Tony’s wife is his biggest fan to this day!
Charles “Chuck” Smith
Playing at 6’ 4” and 285 pounds, Chuck Smith remains near the top of various lists as one of the most productive defensive linemen in West Virginia University history. In 1975, Smith placed his name in the Mountaineer record books with 100 assisted tackles – still tops after 38 years. Smith led the ‘75 Mountaineers with 170 total tackles, including 25 in a difficult loss to No. 9 Penn State. Smith’s performance landed him on Coach Bobby Bowden’s weekly television show. From 1973 to 1976, Smith had 327 career tackles, 154 solo and 173 assisted tackles. Smith was named UPI Honorable Mention All-America in 1976 and is a member of WVU’s All-Decade Team for the 1970s.
The 1975, The Mountaineers posted a 9-3 record, including a 13-10 victory over North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl. This win resulted in a number 20 final ranking for WVU. The game featured Hall of Fame Coaches, Lou Holtz of NC State and West Virginia’s Bobby Bowden. WVU’s other two losses that season were by a combined total of three points to Tulane (16-14) and to Syracuse (20-19). The Mountaineers opened their campaign with wins over Temple, California, Boston College and SMU and were ranked as high as eighth. The other victories came against Virginia Tech, Kent State, Pitt and Richmond.
In 1976, Smith was selected Defensive Player of the Game in a 24-16 defeat at Pittsburgh. On the same weekend, Smith was honored for his performance against the Panthers, two of his former Ringgold teammates – Joe Montana at Notre Dame and Keith Bassi at Yale garnered similar honors for their performances. Montana and Bassi were both a year behind Smith at Ringgold.
Smith had been the Ringgold Rams’ first two-time All-Mon Valley Conference selection. Ringgold went 4-3-2 in Smith’s senior year for the first winning season in Ringgold football history. One of the ties was a 34-34 deadlock against Monessen highlighted by Joe Montana’s first Big 10 start at quarterback. The Rams were coached by Chuck Abramski.
More than 100 universities pursued Smith but he narrowed his final list to Pitt, Georgia, Notre Dame, and West Virginia University. Smith and his family chose WVU because of the positive influence of Bobby Bowden, who went on to become a two-time national champion at Florida State and college football’s all-time winningest coach.
Smith was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Browns. In the Browns’ pre-season, Smith made nine tackles, one quarterback sack, and blocked a field goal. Smith’s NFL career ended with a severe hip injury near the end of his rookie camp. The 1977 Browns were led by Head Coach Forest Gregg and Dick Modzelewski as Defensive Coordinator. The Browns’ top defensive tackles were Jerry Sherk and Joe “Turkey” Jones, who is best known for his pile-driving tackle on Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Smith was also productive off the field and holds bachelor and master’s degrees from WVU. Chuck worked as a safety professional in various management capacities for Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel and Olin Chemical from 1982 to 1992. Smith continues to lead West General Transit, a home moving company he founded in 1985. He’s also been sole proprietor of Cambros Manufactured Housing and Ave and Bell Estates for more than three decades.
Chuck is married to the former Karen I. Vancik of Monongahela. They have six children: Rick, Michael, Jeffrey and Patrick Smith and Tom and Renee Dague. Chuck has been active in his church for nearly a decade as a board leader. A former 20 year member of the Ringgold School Board, Smith was a founding member of the Ringgold Rams Club dedicated to providing various funds for student athletes. General Chairman Steve Russell of the MMVASHOF has served with Smith on the Rams Club and Chuck was a student of Russell’s at Ringgold’s Monongahela campus. Russell remembers the highly motivated rambunctious student who was always the life and spirit of the class. He had an inquisitive mind about people and events.
(Grateful acknowledgement to Dave Sarkus for this biography)
Ed Zuraw
“I was 13 and went to the (Charleroi High School) Stadium to watch a baseball game and noticed the track team was practicing,” Ed Zuraw recalls. “The pole vault was enticing, so I asked Coach (Henry) Pennline if I could try it. He agreed and I vaulted eight feet, six inches that day. I was hooked.”
Just like that, Ed Zuraw, a native of Charleroi now living in Ashburn, Virginia, began what became a long and successful career in track and field competition as an athlete and as a coach.
His athletic abilities came naturally.
He is the youngest of three sons born to the late George and Louise Yadrick Zuraw of Charleroi. His father was a standout football player at Charleroi High School and won the Mon Valley Conference scoring championship with 59 points in 1929.
Ed’s brother George, who lives in Englewood, Florida, is a 1958 graduate of CHS, where he excelled in basketball and baseball, and their brother Richard, a 1953 graduate of Charleroi High, also made his mark in baseball and basketball. George, who retired after a long career as a Major League Baseball scout and executive, was inducted into the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Richard, a retired manager of Thorofare supermarkets, has homes in Belle Vernon and Florida.
It was clear to see that Ed was blessed with natural athletic ability as he competed in the pole vault, long jump, high jump, hurdles and running long jump for the Cougars of Charleroi High School. So talented was he that in 1956, as a junior, he set the Mon Valley Conference Track Meet record in the pole vault with a jump of 10 feet, 10 inches. He would shatter his own record a year later with an astounding vault of 11 feet, nine inches. He also finished first in regional events as a senior in the spring of 1957.
Although he intended to go to college to pursue studies for a career in teaching, he didn’t get that opportunity until after military service. He joined the U.S. Navy Reserve during his senior year in high school and deployed to active duty after graduation in 1957. He served aboard the USS Galveston, a light cruiser guided missile ship, before being discharged in 1963.
“I knew I wanted, needed to go to college and further my education because my ambition in life was to be a teacher and coach,” Zuraw said of the road that led him to West Virginia University. “I was still pole vaulting while in the Navy. When I got out, I called the coach at the University of Richmond who was a friend of mine. He suggested that I go to summer school for some refresher courses and I planned to begin those studies in the fall.”
A visit to Charleroi to await the fall semester at Richmond changed those plans.
“I took part in an open meet at WVU and won the pole vault, high jump, long jump and triple jump,” Zuraw said. “Stan Romanosky was the head coach at West Virginia at the time and asked me about my future plans. I told him I was thinking of attending Richmond and to my amazement; he offered me a scholarship to WVU. I signed that day.
While competing for the Mountaineers, Zuraw set a school record of 14 feet, six inches in the pole vault. His highest vault as a senior was 15 feet at a time when the world record was 16 feet, two inches.
Zuraw also made his mark as a varsity soccer player at West Virginia.
“I had never played (soccer) in my life but enjoyed watching the sport,” he recalled. “I went out for the team at WVU after talking (Ralph) ‘Butch’ Rossi, who was a standout player for the Mountaineers.”
Rossi, a member of the well-known Dunlevy soccer family and a graduate of Charleroi High School, said Zuraw made an “immediate impact” with the Mountaineers.
“Ed is a great guy and a terrific athlete,” Rossi said. “He really gave us some added speed and aggressiveness as the outside right on our front line. It didn’t take long for him to become a starter. He played a great game against Ohio State, a 4-1 victory for WVU that was the biggest win in the school’s history up to that point in time.”
Zuraw graduated from West Virginia with a Bachelor of Science degree in education. Ensuingly, he earned a Master’s degree in 1967 while working as a graduate assistant coach.
His first teaching and head coaching positions were at Herndon High School in Fairfax County, Virginia in 1967. He remained there for 27 years coaching girls and boy’s track and field and gymnastics, boys wrestling and girl’s tennis.
It was during that tenure that he coached the first scholastic pole vaulter to clear 15 feet in Virginia history.
“I was blessed with some outstanding athletes at Herndon,” Zuraw recalled. “We had four boys who cleared 15 feet including my son Eddie, who was a state champion.”
Zuraw’s daughter Lisa also made her mark as an athlete. She competed in the high jump and hurdles in track in high school and was a state gymnastics champion in high school and college.
“We are very proud of Eddie and Lisa,” Zuraw said. “Both were state champions and their high school records still stand.”
After coaching high school Zuraw continued his career at George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia. He coached a number of pole vaulters who topped 16 and 17 feet. Among those athletes was Rob Muzzio, a decathlon competitor for the United States in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
“Those were exciting times being in Los Angeles and watching the track stars qualify for the Olympics,” Zuraw said. ”I didn’t go to Barcelona but I watched on TV as Rob came in fifth among the best (decathlon) athletes in the world. I had dreamed about pole vaulting in the 1960 Olympics but didn’t make it. It was a great thrill to coach someone who did.”
Zuraw, then in his early forties, competed on the national Senior Masters Tour from 1980 to 1990.
He vaulted 14 feet and was ranked first in the world in his age group. He also hit five feet, 10 inches in the high jump at age 43 and missed the world record in the decathlon by only 34 points. The latter was also a state record. In the 45 to 49 age group he vaulted 13 feet, 1½ inches to establish another state mark.
Zuraw, 75, retired from teaching in 1994 and started a handyman business that continues to keep him busy today.
He and his wife, the former Laura Carlisle of Stockdale, have been married 50 years. In addition to their son Eddie and daughter Lisa, they also have a granddaughter, Julia, 11.
Zuraw Brothers George (Class of 2001), Richard and Edward
To say Zuraw who also coached at the U.S. Naval Academy for one year, impacted the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of young athletes during his long and distinguished career as a competitor and coach might be an understatement. Among those emphasizing that point are artist Robert Kevin Meyers of Colorado or Michael P. Trader of Great Falls, Virginia.
“Ed was a great pole vault coach, no question about that,” Meyers said. “But he was more than a coach. He taught you to believe in yourself all through life. Because of his powerful personal influence on me, I became an artist. His legacy has touch and lifted so many people’s lives and I am fortunate to be one of them.”
Trader also expressed deep gratitude to Zuraw for turning around his lifestyle:
“As a regional and then national sales manager, I was living on airplanes and eating high calorie restaurant and hotel food,” Trader said. “I was getting progressively heavier and seriously out of shape and was convinced that getting back into shape was not possible. But Ed, by his words and example, motivated me to try. His encouragement and direction saved my life. I lost weight and eventually joined him (on the Senior Tour) to return to a passion of my youth, pole vaulting.”
(Grateful acknowledgement to Ron Paglia for this biography)
Past Inductees
Read about our past Inductees here!