Perseverance paid off for Uniontown grad Warman
Perseverance and persistence are admirable qualities in life and athletics. Former Uniontown High School basketball player Bob Warman, who played for the Red Raiders in the early 1960s, is a classic example.
Here is what the late Uniontown 缅北禁地 sports editor Tod Trent wrote in his column on March 19, 1964 about former Raider cagers Paul Krieger and Warman.
鈥淎thletic maturity comes at various stages of a boy鈥檚 development. Some, like Ron Sepic or Ray Parson, mature at an early age.
鈥淥thers are slower. Stuart Lantz would come under the latter grouping. His development from his junior to senior year of high school defies description.
鈥淏ut it shows what a boy can do if he鈥檚 willing to work at his particular athletic talent. The Uniontown leaper has become a spectacular basketball player.
鈥淚t brings to mind a couple of other Uniontown athletes of recent vintage who kept right on working at their basketball proficiency after graduation and how it has paid off.
鈥淭hey are Paul Krieger and Bob Warman. It almost seems as though they are following identical patterns.
鈥淜rieger just completed his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh where he earned starting status as a freshman and then played three years as a varsity regular for the Panthers.
鈥淧aul was only a reserve for Uniontown High School. But he kept right on practicing and developing his junior and senior years and played in the NCAA and NIT tournaments for the Panthers.
鈥淲arman was in the same category for the Raiders. He was a reserve through his junior and senior seasons, never started for the Maroon and White.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a different story as a collegian. He鈥檚 a freshman this year at Arizona Western College in Yuma, AZ and he鈥檚 growing up with the school.
鈥淭his is Arizona Western鈥檚 first year in existence so it played strictly a freshman schedule. It will graduate into varsity competition next year although it will have no one more advanced than a sophomore.
鈥淭he starting center for the Arizona Western Matadors was Warman and the former Uniontown High School athlete has stretched up to around the 6-6 mark in height.鈥�
Warman didn鈥檛 see a lot of playing time with the Red Raiders, but he continued to work hard he explained recently.
鈥淥h yeah, I had to. They wouldn鈥檛 let you do anything else,鈥� Warman said. 鈥淚f you wanted to play ball for Abe Everhart, and this goes back to junior high at Ben Franklin. I followed Ron Sepic all the way through. We went to Craig School together, we went to BF together and we went to Uniontown together. We all played ball together all those years and when we got to Uniontown Ron was first team and if anything happened to Ron they put me in. Very seldom did I get in unless we had a big lead. Back in the day Uniontown would get so far ahead they would take guys out and just rest them.鈥�
Warman was on the 1962 team that posted a 29-2 record on its way to a PIAA state championship. Uniontown faced Norristown in the title game and notched a convincing 70-57 win. It was the Red Raiders鈥� first state championship in 37 years. Warman scored eight points for the year including four points in the Red Raiders 70-56 WPIAL playoff win over Stowe.
鈥淲e had two teams, not just one team, we had two teams,鈥� Warman recalled. 鈥淯sually we would get so far ahead, we had more talent than most of the teams that we played against.鈥�
Uniontown had lost to Bethleham on Jan. 27, 1962 and the Red Raiders went on to win 36 games in a row before the ran into John Naponick and Norwin in the 1963 WPIAL basketball playoffs.
Warman was a senior on the 1963 squad that suffered what is regarded as the biggest upset in WPIAL history. Naponick tallied 30 points as the Knights shocked the Red Raiders 61-50. The Red Raiders ended the season with a record of 22-1.
鈥淲e had good players up and down the lineup,鈥� Warman lamented. 鈥淭hat was a tough loss.鈥�
Warman looks back with great fondness at the Uniontown playground system.
鈥淲e lived on the playgrounds back in those days,鈥� Warman said. 鈥淭here was great talent day in and day out playing on the playgrounds in Uniontown.鈥�
Warman also played in the Uniontown Church League.
鈥淚 played for Asbury.鈥� Warman stated. 鈥淚 had the opportunity to play against one the best in George Bortz. He was an outstanding player.鈥�
When Warman graduated from Uniontown in 1963 he was surprised to hear from Arizona Western College.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who sent my resume out West,鈥� Warman explained. 鈥淭hey contacted me and believe me my mouth dropped open. Back in those days my family didn鈥檛 have any money so it was my opportunity to go to college.鈥�
Arizona Western posted a record of 13-9 under coach Marion Moss in the lone year Warman played. He averaged 4.7 ppg.
鈥淐oach Moss played a slow, mechanical style,鈥� Warman said. 鈥淪ome of the players we had from back East left. I didn鈥檛 play as a sophomore and returned to Uniontown when grandfather passed away. I went into the Air Force for four years and played some basketball in the service.鈥�
Warman left the Air Force in 1969 and attended California University of Pennsylvania for a little over a year. He worked in Ohio in construction. He worked in the Steel Mill and then worked at Fox Grocery for 30 years and retired.
Now 75, Warman and his wife of 45-plus years Lorna reside in Uniontown. They have two sons, Brett and Lee.
Looking back, athletics was a big part of Warman鈥檚 life.
鈥淎thletics teaches you life lessons,鈥� Warman stated.
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday 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.