Determination and grit helped Southmoreland product Tom Surlas play football at one of the legendary college football programs.Surlas battled hard to play in high school at Southmoreland and transformed himself into a solid football player.鈥淚 went to St. Joseph鈥檚 Catholic School in ...
Former Fairchance-Georges standout Tom Plevin is a throwback to a different era when athletes didn鈥檛 concentrate on one sport, but played several.Plevin excelled on the gridiron, the hardwood and the baseball diamond for the Runners in the 1960鈥檚.鈥淚 lettered three years in each sport,鈥� ...
Like many athletes of his era, South Union鈥檚 Bill Wydo used athletics as a springboard to success.鈥淚t helped me get a degree,鈥� Wydo explained. 鈥淔ootball was such a big influence on my life, because it opened doors for me.鈥漌ydo, a standout football player at South Union High School, ...
The athletic career of former Belle Vernon star Bill Contz is filled with firsts. In high school he was a member of the Leopards first conference championship football team, and first WPIAL championship basketball team. In college, he was on Penn State鈥檚 first national championship football ...
When you hear the name 鈥淗ondo鈥� most folks think of former Boston Celtics star John Havlicek or the character played by John Wayne in the movie. The local sports scene also had a 鈥淗ondo鈥� in former Southmoreland football and baseball star Al Pisula.鈥淵ou know who tagged me with that ...
In researching Fayette County鈥檚 glorious baseball past, I have uncovered another hidden gem. Eugene Birminghouse Elliott was born Feb. 8, 1889, in Fayette City, Pennsylvania.I was unable to find much information on Elliott鈥檚 youth, the trail heated up when he started playing minor league ...
