Coates starred at Bellmar before playing football for PSU
In the late 1950s Bellmar High School was blessed with some gifted athletes, including football and basketball standout Ron Coates.
鈥淚 liked basketball and I liked football,鈥� Coates stated. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only two sports that we had.鈥�
Coates was on Bellmar football squads that posted records of 4-5 in 1957, 5-3-1 in 1958 and 10-0 in his senior season, 1959. Coates took over as the starting quarterback in the third game of the 1957 season and held that post the rest of his career.
鈥淲e had some outstanding players at Bellmar,鈥� Coates recalled. 鈥淢ilton Dupree was No. 40 and he was from the little town that I was from 鈥� Arnold City 鈥� and in my opinion, I never saw a better running back in college than he was in high school. He had tremendous speed and we had an outstanding offensive line blocking for us.鈥�
After grabbing the starting quarterback job in 1957, Coates scored one touchdown and had a point after touchdown. In 1958, he also tallied one touchdown and one PAT. In his senior season in 1959, Coates scored nine touchdowns and eight PATs for 62 points.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 throw the ball the way they do today,鈥� Coates said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 throw the ball and that鈥檚 what I liked best, was the passing end of it. We ran a T-formation and we had option plays off of it with a choice of runners. We had a very close-knit group, we were all pretty good friends.
鈥淲hen I did throw the football, we had a big tight end, Walt Lautsch, who was 6-foot-8, but we spread the ball around between him and John Kasuda, who was the other end, and the backs Dupree and Lou Comadena. I don鈥檛 think we ever went into a game not totally believing we were going to do anything but win.鈥�
Coates says the undefeated season in 1959 wasn鈥檛 really on the radar as the season started.
鈥淲e felt we had a pretty football team, said Coates. 鈥淲e knew we wanted to work together for a common cause.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a special ingredient when so many teenagers have a positive attitude. Because we knew each other well, we were very comfortable and confident in attaining that goal. We had a solid nucleus of seniors and also Dupree, a junior, who was one of the best running backs in the WPIAL.鈥�
Bellmar posted a record of 10-0 in 1959, but they didn鈥檛 have enough Gardner Points. They were fourth in the Gardner Point standings, and had no chance of making the Class A playoffs. Braddock (148), Waynesburg (141) and Springdale (137) were ahead of Bellmar (131) on the Gardner list.
The WPIAL championship game was played on Nov. 20, 1959, at Washington High Stadium. Braddock and Waynesburg, who finished first and second in the controversial Gardner standings, played for the title for the second consecutive year, and Braddock rolled on to a 25-7 victory.
鈥淚t was a supreme disappointment,鈥� Coates said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 funny how you get over those disappointments before too long.鈥�
The Hurricanes were guided by head coach Bap Manzini.
鈥淗e was a taskmaster,鈥� Coates stated. 鈥淲e really did like him, he really got us up for these games. I used to go and see him from time to time when I was in college when I鈥檇 come home just to chat and he was always receptive.鈥�
Coates was All-Fay-A-Conference as a senior. He was named to the Big 33 squad. The National All-Stars played against the Pennsylvania All-Stars and were coached by Bo Sherman, who had enjoyed success on the college level at George Washington University.
His team was led by Wigman Wisemen Prep All-Americans in quarterback Jay Wilkinson, of Norman, Oklahoma, and end Jerry Rhome, of Dallas, Texas. Wilkinson鈥檚 father, Bud Wilkinson, was the legendary coach at Oklahoma University.
Pennsylvania had won the first two Big 33 games, 6-0 in 1958, and, 13-0, in 1959, but had to settle for a scoreless tie with the Nationals in the 1960 game.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Coates was also a standout on the hardwood for Bellmar. He played on teams that went 0-22 in 1957-58, 9-14 in 1958-59, and 15-7, in 1959-60. Coates tallied 219 points as a junior and 175 points with a high game of 27 against Monessen as a senior.
Coates sifted through several scholarship offers for football when he graduated from Bellmar in 1960.
鈥淚 had quite a few offers,鈥� Coates explained. 鈥淭hat was my first trip in an airplane when I visited Clemson. Pitt and West Virginia recruited me. I think I told Pitt I was going there, and then changed my mind and chose Penn State.鈥�
Coates played freshman football in 1960 and redshirted in 1961. He lettered in 1962 and 1963 on Nittany Lion teams that went 9-2, with an upset loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl, and 7-3 in 1963.
The Nittany Lions were coached by Rip Engle.
鈥淗e was the head coach and Joe Paterno was the quarterbacks coach,鈥� Coates said. 鈥淧aterno pretty much ran the team, he would set up the offense. Coach Engle was a nice guy, he was very friendly and a gentleman.鈥�
Coates backed up Pete Liske at quarterback and was a place kicker. In 1962, he was 15 of 31 passing for 235 yards and one touchdown and scored 25 points. In 1963, Coates was 12 of 26 through the air for 153 yards and scored 33 points as a kicker.
The Pitt-Penn State rivalry was hot and heavy at the time, and Coates helped the Lions to a 16-0 win over the Panthers in 1962. In 1963, he just missed a 37-yard field goal by inches that would have given Penn State the win. Pitt won the game, 22-21.
鈥淚t was a good decision to go to Penn State,鈥� Coates offered. 鈥淚 met a lot of lifetime friends playing ball there.鈥�
When Coates graduated, he went to work for Pittsburgh Demoines Steel on Neville Island. He graduated in accounting and worked in accounting.
He then worked for the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company in Greenville, Pennsylvania. He was transferred into the sales department in Pittsburgh. He returned to Greenville in 1970 and worked in the coal business. Coates retired in the early 1990s.
Coates, 74, resides in Greenville with his wife of 52 years, Joyce. They have three daughters: Robin, Lynne and Christine.
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.