Redstone’s Zimmerlink excelled in three sports
Back in the day multi-sport athletes were common place, that is not the case today as high school athletes tend to focus on one sport.
Gene Zimmerlink was a multi-sport standout for Redstone High School back in the early 1950鈥檚. Zimmerlink excelled at football, basketball and baseball.
His biggest obstacle in football was his mother who didn鈥檛 want him to play.
鈥淚 had three older brothers; Tom, Joe and Ed, and none of them played football,鈥� Zimmerlink explained. 鈥淢y mother wouldn鈥檛 let them play football. My father passed away and when I got into high school my brother signed the paper for me to play football. I still remember her on Friday nights, and when I got home at 10:30 pm or 11, she would say, 鈥楪ene is that you?鈥� I鈥檇 say yes. She would say now I can go to sleep. The only sport that she loved was baseball.鈥�
Zimmerlink played on teams that posted records of 5-5 in 1951, 1-8-1 in 1950 and 5-4-1 in 1949. In his senior campaign, Zimmerlink helped Redstone end an 18-year drought against arch-rival, Brownsville, as the Black Hawks posted a 13-0 victory.
鈥淏obby Locke, Ron Tracy and Joe Cindrich were on that team,鈥� Zimmerlink recalled. 鈥淭hey had completely dominated us for 18 years. It felt good to finally knock them off. We won, 13-0, and that was sweet.
鈥淲e played Charleroi for the Big Six championship my senior year, but they came from behind to beat us, 13-7, in front of over 4,000 fans at Republic.鈥�
Zimmerlink garnered Honorable Mention All Big-Six honors his senior season, and was the starting quarterback for the East squad in the Fayette County Coaches Association All-Star game.
鈥淚 was the quarterback, but we ran the single wing,鈥� Zimmerlink offered. 鈥淲e lined up in the T formation and we would shift into the single wing, but we did run plays off the T formation. It was almost 85 percent running plays.
Zimmerlink played football for Coach Joe McCune at Redstone.
鈥淢cCune was a tremendous coach,鈥� Zimmerlink opined. 鈥淚 thought he was a very good man and a very good coach. He was for the players.鈥�
The 6-0 foot, 195-pound Zimmerlink was a crackerjack basketball player in high school. Redstone did not compete in the WPIAL for three seasons prior to Zimmerlink鈥檚 senior campaign in 1951-52.
鈥淚 started as a freshman at Redstone in basketball,鈥� Zimmerlink stated. 鈥淎t that time very few freshman ever played any varsity sports. Redstone Township at that time was very low on money. We used to play in a place called the 鈥淕lory Barn鈥� and they had pot belly stove in the corner and there was coal dust all over the place. One wall was right close to the basket. At the other end was the door to go outside. Finances were why we didn鈥檛 play in the WPIAL.鈥�
The Black Hawks played in Section 11 of the WPIAL in Zimmerlink鈥檚 senior year and posted a section mark of 5-7. Zimmerlink was a consistent double figure scorer, including a 41-point outburst in a 61-51 win over Monongahela.
鈥淚t was like anything I threw up, right hand, left hand, hook shots it went in,鈥� Zimmerlink said. 鈥淚t was funny that day, it was almost comical. I liked basketball an awful lot. That year we made it to the Fayette County Coaches Association Tournament finals and lost to Brownsville.鈥�
Redstone was very competitive in baseball and building toward a magical season in 1952. The Black Hawks won 15 games in a row and capped an undefeated season by winning the WPIAL baseball championship.
The Black Hawks won the Section 20 championship and then dispatched California, Perryopolis, McKeesport and Har-Brack to win the WPIAL title. Bobby Locke was the star pitcher and Zimmerlink pitched and played first base. Zimmerlink tossed a near no-hitter in a 11-0 win over Fairchance. Zimmerlink recorded 19 strikeouts, but needing one out to complete the no-hitter, surrendered a single to Gary Hardy.
Redstone, behind a Locke one-hitter, beat McKeesport, 1-0, and then Locke tossed a two-hitter as the Black Hawks beat Har-Brack, 5-3, in the WPIAL Championship game. Zimmerlink went 1-for-4 with an RBI triple in the win.
鈥淭hat team that we had that year was considered the strongest team in Pennsylvania for high school baseball,鈥� Zimmerlink said. 鈥淲e had four guys sign contracts with major league teams. I signed with the Pirates, Locke signed with Cleveland, Larry Rechichar and Jack Misenko, and then we had two other guys from that team go for minor league tryouts.
鈥淢ost of the guys on that team played in the Fayette County League or the Big Ten League, so we were a pretty experienced team.鈥�
When Zimmerlink graduated from Redstone in 1952 he accepted a football scholarship to play at George Washington University.
鈥淲hen you are young, 18 or 19 years old,鈥� Zimmerlink said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e never left home and you go there. I got homesick and left after one month. I came back and signed a baseball contract with the Pirates.
Zimmerlink played four seasons of minor league baseball and had a career record of 27-34 with a 5.29 ERA.
鈥淚 developed arm trouble,鈥� Zimmerlink stated, 鈥淎t that time there was no such thing as Tommy John surgery, that was it when your arm went bad. I came home and I was drafted and I was in the Army from 1957 to 1959, and I played basketball and baseball in the Army.鈥�
Zimmerlink left the Army in 1959 and moved to New Jersey to find a job. He worked for Sober Cast, which made engine parts. He then got a job with Peter J. Switzer/Kimberly Clark Paper Co. He worked there for 35 years, and then retired.
Now 81, Zimmerlink resides in Milltown, New Jersey, with his wife of 54 years, Sally. They have two sons and three daughters.
Zimmerlink was inducted into the Fayette County Big Ten baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.