Into the Hall: 1982 Connellsville baseball team
Tom Sankovich is quite familiar with the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame.
Sankovich, who starred in baseball and football at North Union Township High School and played football at Maryland, was inducted in 2015.
Thanks to his outstanding career as Connellsville baseball coach, he was inducted once before that with his 1989 WPIAL and PIAA championship team in 2011 and once after that with his 1973 WPIAL championship team in 2016.
He鈥檒l be entering for a fourth time next month.
The 1982 Connellsville WPIAL champion baseball team he coached is part of the Class of 2024.
As Hall of Fame Executive Chair/Co-Founder George Von Benko put it when revealing him as an upcoming guest on his 缅北禁地 Line Talk Show on WMBS, 鈥淭om Sankovich 鈥� a great name in Fayette County sports.鈥�
Sankovich is clearly that when one considers his athletic prowess and 424-107 record with four WPIAl championships (also 1986) and one PIAA title as Falcons baseball coach.
Sankovich talked about his 1982 team, along with his three other district champions, while discussing its impending induction on Von Benko鈥檚 show recently.
鈥淭he 1982 team, at that time there were only two classifications and they only took one team to the playoffs (from each section). It was a lot more difficult to win a championship back then,鈥� Sankovich explained.
鈥淕oing back to 鈥�73, the first WPIAL championship team, probably had the best pitching,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淭he 鈥�89 team that we got in (the Hall of Fame) a few years ago that won the state, probably was the team that worked together and had tremendous chemistry. Then the 鈥�86 team was probably one of the best hitting teams we ever had.
鈥淏ut the 1982 team probably had as much talent or more talent 鈥� I like to say, not to be partial, but I think it might鈥檝e been one of the best teams that ever won a WPIAL championship.鈥�
Sankovich鈥檚 teams never lost in the district final, going 4-0, and the 1982 championship game may have been the most lopsided. The Falcons romped over Hopewell, 11-1 in five innings, in the Class AAA final.
鈥淗opewell was really, really a good team,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淭hey had an older coach Joe Colella. He was a terrific coach. They had a terrific program.
鈥淏ut their bus broke down. The game was a little bit late getting started and we just jumped on them right away. It ended up we only played five innings, got the 10-run rule.鈥�
Then it was on to celebrate back home.
鈥淓very time we won a championship we鈥檇 come back to Connellsville and there鈥檇 be a big parade,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淎ll the fire trucks were there. We just had a tremendous following.鈥�
The Falcons went on to lose to Langley, 1-0, in the PIAA semifinals to finish with a 26-3 overall record while also claiming the fourth of Sankovich鈥檚 10 section titles.
The state loss was unusual in that it was played at Munhall on a field that did not have a center field fence.
鈥淲hen you score no runs you don鈥檛 deserve to win, obviously, but West Turner hit two balls that were like 450 feet from home plate and the centerfielder caught them,鈥� Sankovich recalled. 鈥淲e were hitting line drives the whole game.鈥�
The way the winning run scored was controversial as well, according to Sankovich and Connellsville center fielder Donnie Burke.
鈥淭hey won the game on a ball four call,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淏ases were loaded, full count, our pitcher threw a pitch, I thought it was right down the middle of the plate. The umpire called ball four and that was the only run of the game.鈥�
Burke had a perfect view of the pitch as he recalled in a 2013 interview.
鈥淕reg Beucher threw the pitch right down the middle and I was running in from center field,鈥� Burke said. 鈥淚 thought it was strike three, but the umpire called it ball four and that walked in the winning run.鈥�
鈥淭he pitcher on the other team, you鈥檝e got to give him credit, but he was more or less like a Pony League pitcher we saw back here,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淚t was just one of those days. Baseball is a funny game. It鈥檚 one of the easiest games to lose.鈥�
All the Fayette County baseball teams were thriving at that time.
鈥淏rownsville had a terrific team, Uniontown had good teams, Laurel Highlands always had a good team,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淭he overall baseball talent was tremendous, particularly in Fayette County.鈥�
Sankovich pointed out the wealth of talent on the 1982 squad.
鈥淥ur two first baseman were West Turner, who also pitched, and Mark Blackstone, who also pitched,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淲est Turner got in the Hall of Fame last year, a terrific all-around athlete, baseball, football, basketball, played (football) at West Virginia. (Blackstone) ended up getting a scholarship in football at Temple.
鈥淛oe Bailey was our second baseman. He was a starting defensive back for Maryland. He was a terrific baseball player. We had a great guy to back him up, a great utility player, Tommy Nickelson. He played some second base.
鈥淲e had two shortstops. Greg Beucher got drafted and signed (by the Baltimore Orioles) right out of high school.鈥�
Beucher eventually moved on to play in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
鈥淥ur other shortstop, who also played second and third, was Timmy Bates,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淗e played college ball in Ohio. He was also a pitcher. Our third baseman was Brian Witt who played at Denison.
鈥淥ur two catchers, one of them was Marty Harvey. He ended up playing down at Garrett (County Community College) in Maryland. Our other catcher was Donnie Nickelsen. He played in the state of Indiana.鈥�
The Falcons鈥� trio of starting outfielders were just as impressive as their infielders.
鈥淥ur outfield was just amazing,鈥� Sankovich said. 鈥淲e had Andy Anthony, we had Donnie Burke, we had Mike Edwards.
鈥淎ndy ended up going to school down in Georgia (where he played baseball for Gordon State Junior College and then at Valdosta State). He got drafted and played minor league ball for the Dodgers.
鈥淥ur centerfielder Burke also was one of our top pitchers. He went to school in (Trinidad State Junior College) Colorado and got drafted by the Montreal Expos and played.
鈥淥ur right fielder was Mike Edwards who ended up with a scholarship to Clemson and played at Penn State.鈥�
Edwards, a rare four-year starter under Sankovich, turned down the offer at Clemson to play for the Nittany Lions.
The Falcons had a fourth outfielder that also played baseball in college.
鈥淥ne of our other outfielders who played was an underclassman, Brent Flint, played baseball as a starter at the University of Maryland,鈥� said Sankovich, who also recalled one other reserve player. 鈥淢y oldest son (Tommy) was actually a freshman on that team but he contributed. He actually won a game as a pitcher but he was a sub.鈥�
Sankovich praised his players.
鈥淲e definitely had talent,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 win unless you have some talent. I was lucky. Not only did I have great players, great parents, we always had tremendous support from the administration, and I had great assistant coaches.鈥�
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame Golf Outing/Luncheon/Social, starting with golf at 9 a.m., on June 21 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville. Those interested in purchasing luncheon tickets or participating in the golf outing can contact Katie Propes by phone at 724-415-2211 or by email at kpropes@occluss.com.