Uniontown’s Thomas to be inducted into WPIAL Hall of Fame
Joe Thomas has been inducted into The Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame in 2010 and The Uniontown Area High School Academics, Arts and Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013, yet another honor is coming his way from the WPIAL Hall of Fame. Inductees were selected in five different classes 鈥� athlete, coach, team, official and contributor. Two others were selected for the Heritage Award and Courage Award.
Thomas has been chosen as the 2017 Heritage Award winner. The award is given to someone who had a big impact in the WPIAL more than 50 years ago.
There is no doubt that Thomas had a big impact, he was a comet in track and cross country in the late 1950s and ranks as the premier distance runner of his time.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know anything and I got a call from them,鈥� Thomas stated. 鈥淭hey said that my name was on the final list. They have a list and they work it down to so many and I was on the list of finalists. About two or three weeks later a gentleman called me and and said that I had been selected to go in this year. I am really pleased that I finally got in.
鈥淲hen Rich Constantine was president of the WPIAL, he tried to get me in then and I didn鈥檛 get in, but it鈥檚 really an honor to make it into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as the Heritage Award winner.鈥�
Induction ceremonies will take place at a banquet on May 26.
Thomas had a remarkable record in high school as he captured WPIAL and state titles in the 880 and the mile his junior and senior track seasons, and also won WPIAL and state championships in cross country as a junior and senior.
His medal totals in high school: five WPIAL individual titles in track, two in cross country, two PIAA titles in track and two in cross country.
鈥淎fter my sophomore season, I never lost a cross country race in high school,鈥� Thomas explained.
Thomas set a WPIAL record of 11:40 and a state record of 10:28.1 in cross country. He graduated from Uniontown in 1960 and drew interest from area colleges. The interest intensified his senior year.
鈥淚 really didn鈥檛 get noticed until I went to the Golden West Invitational,鈥� Thomas recalled. 鈥淭here were eight milers invited and that is when I really got noticed nationally. I really didn鈥檛 run my best race out there. The guy who beat me out there was Ben Tucker, and he was from California.
鈥淥ur track season was over in May. The meet there was in July, and I didn鈥檛 face any competition going into it, and Tucker and the kid who finished third, they had just the week before come off of their state meet. We were used to when the gun goes off you just broke toward the inside of the track. Out there, the first lap of the mile was run in lanes and then on the second lap you broke toward the inside. I was used to just taking off and Tucker caught me at the finish line and beat me by a tenth of a second. I ran 4:18.8 out there. I also was noticed because I ran 4:14.9 at the Mt. Lebanon Invitational and that was the fastest time for a miler in 1960 east of the Mississippi.鈥�
After sifting through the offers, Thomas decided to attend Southern Illinois.
鈥淢y coach out there was Lew Hartzog, and what sold me on going to Southern Illinois was I wanted to get away from home, and I decided to go there because Lew was a new coach and he was starting a new program and that鈥檚 where I wanted to be,鈥� stated Thomas.
Thomas had success with the Salukis. He was a national champ and an All-American his first year. He led Southern Illinois to a NAIA cross country championship in Nov. 1960, covering the grueling four miles in a record time of 20:39. He also helped the Salukis go from last place in 1960 to the Interstate Conference track title in 1961. He set the two mile record with a time of 9:15.3. Thomas went to school for two years before he dropped out. He entered the service, and then returned to Uniontown in 1966. He went to work for Coca-Cola and remained there for 37 and half years before he retired in 2004.
Thomas looks back at his records and wonders how his numbers would translate today.
鈥淏ack in those days, we ran in yards, today the kids run in meters,鈥� Thomas explained. 鈥淛ust the idea of the track that they run on. I always think what would I have run if I had the conditions that these young people have.
鈥淲e ran on cinder tracks, and the spikes the kids wear today, they are like four ounces, and ours were almost a pound or a pound and a half. They were real heavy. I think in my prime and in today鈥檚 conditions, who knows what I would have ran. I think about that a lot. Training has changed a lot. The basic difference is your distance kids do more mileage per week than what we did.鈥�
Thomas, 75, still coaches track and cross country at Albert Gallatin High School.
鈥淚 love it,鈥� Thomas gushed. 鈥淚 have girls and I have guys that I ran against their grandfathers and uncles. But I really love coaching and teaching.鈥�
Thomas is among 12 individuals and one team announced as inductees into the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
The 2017 class also featured esteemed football coaches George Novak and Joe Walton, athletes Leigh Curl of North Hills, Brian Generalovich of Farrell, Dan Mazzocco of Baldwin, Nico Megaludis of Franklin Regional, Melanie (Morgan) Miller of Gateway, Annessa (Schnur) Steele of Butler and game official Robert Cloherty, WPIAL contributor Jim Collins and the 1994 McKeesport football team.
Blackhawk senior Emmanuel Hilton was the John Challis Award winner, and longtime golf committee member Jerry Roman was selected posthumously for a Courage Award.
The inductees will be honored May 26 with a banquet at the DoubleTree hotel in Green Tree.
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.