Arm injuries hindered Fairchance-Georges’ Voithofer
Arm injuries for pitchers go with the territory in baseball and many a promising career has been derailed because of them. Case in point is former Fairchance-Georges standout Matt Voithofer.
A three sport athlete for the Runners, Voithofer excelled at baseball and also played basketball and football during the 1960s.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 play football my junior year,鈥� Voithofer recalled. 鈥淲e had a kid get hurt, Don Barrish, against Uniontown, and the guys said get your butt out here and play, so I did. I played varsity basketball for two seasons and baseball for three seasons.鈥�
The York Runners were 5-3 on the football field during Voithofer鈥檚 sophomore campaign, and when he returned to play for coach Joe Barkley during his senior year in 1963, they finished 4-4.
鈥淭he highlight of the 1963 season in football was beating arch rival, German Township,鈥� Voithofer said. 鈥淲e beat them, 26-0, and that was the first time we had beaten them in football in 34 years.鈥�
Voithofer played basketball for coach Tamer Joseph, and was on teams that finished 6-8 in Section 10 and 8-12 overall in 1962-63, when he scored 17 points in limited action. As a starter in 1963-64, he tallied 101 points as the Runners posted a 1-13 Section 10 record, and finished 1-18 overall.
鈥淲e saw a lot of belly buttons my senior year,鈥� Voithofer joked. 鈥淲e were just the opposite in baseball to what basketball was. We didn鈥檛 have anyone, six foot was the tallest guy, so we struggled.鈥�
A three-year starter on the baseball diamond, Voithofer was part of a pitching staff, along with Doug Menarchik and George Sepic, that propelled the Runners to great success. They won 30 of 36 games dating back to the 1962 season. In 1962, they finished in a tie for the Fayette Scholastic League title, and lost in a postseason playoff when South Union won the crown.
In 1963, they posted an 11-1 ledger and won the title. The Runners followed that up with 10-2 chart and a league crown in 1964. They were 9-3 in 1962.
F-G was coached by Joseph, and Voithofer has a lot of respect for his old mentor.
鈥淗e was a great athlete in his own right, a great basketball player,鈥� Voithofer stated. 鈥淗e was a great coach, he was a disciplinarian. You did it his way or else. I loved him. He was a great coach.鈥�
Right-hander Voithofer had a career record of 19-2 in high school, including a combined 15-0 his junior and senior seasons. His three-hit, 12-strikeout shutout in a 4-0 victory over Father Geibel on May 26, 1964, clinched the title his senior year.
Another big game for Voithofer occurred when he struck out 18 batters against Frazier during a 16-0 victory on April 22, 1963.
The game was on the road, but that wound up being a blessing for the right-hander.
鈥淔razier鈥檚 mound was so nice, it was like pitching off of a mountain,鈥� Voithofer recalled. 鈥淚n those days you never knew what you were going to get as far as pitching mounds, but that mound was perfect.鈥�
Voithofer almost was as well. He allowed only a first-inning single in firing a one-hitter. The hard-throwing junior stuck with what was working that day.
鈥淚 just threw fastballs,鈥� Voithofer said. 鈥淲e scored a lot of runs that day. I had a good team around me.鈥�
Voithofer鈥檚 name should be inserted beside German Township鈥檚 Stephen Gaza and Frazier鈥檚 Randy Brandt, as pitchers who held the WPIAL single-game strikeout record at 18.
The current record is 20, done twice by former Blackhawk ace pitcher Brendan McKay.
Voithofer was 21-3 for Point Marion in American Legion baseball in two seasons. Point Marion went 26-4 and 22-0 in 1963 and 1964, respectively.
鈥淭uck Stewart was our Legion coach and he was a wonderful man,鈥� Voithofer said. 鈥淚 enjoyed playing Legion baseball I really did.鈥�
Voithofer got noticed by West Virginia University baseball coach Steve Harrick and wound up playing for the Mountaineers.
鈥淗e gave me a chance,鈥� Voithofer explained. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get anything I had to earn it, and I earned a scholarship and back in those days it was $365.鈥�
Voithofer pitched for the Mountaineers in 1966 and 1967, he appeared in nine games and was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA. He had five at bats and batted .600. The 1966 team was 26-7-1 overall and 12-4 in the Southern Conference. The 1967 team was 22-9, 13-3 in the Southern Conference and won the conference and made the NCAA Tournament.
鈥淚 was going to be the third starter as a sophomore,鈥� Voithofer stated. 鈥淏ack in the old gym that had a pitching mound made out of wood and that was fine.
鈥淭hey also painted home plate and the pitching mound on the old cement floor, so there you had nothing to push off on and it was a week before my sophomore year, I鈥檓 down there throwing and, I felt something in my shoulder. The rest is history. Coach Harrick put me in down at North Carolina State with the bases loaded, when I got done I couldn鈥檛 carry my glove off the mound with my right hand. Never recovered until years later when I was lifting weights and my arm felt better. But I went into Coach Harrick and told him that I couldn鈥檛 help him and to give the scholarship to somebody else, I鈥檓 done. I was in pain.鈥�
Voithofer got married and worked in the coal mine for 38 years after leaving WVU. He retired in 2005. He coached Little League Baseball for 18 years. He is also a former State B Champion in horseshoes.
Now residing in Carmichaels, Voithofer, 71, has been married to his wife, Karen, since 1967. They have three grown boys: Matthew, Jason and Justin.
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.