Vintage Viking: Mt. Pleasant grad Gorinski headed to WPIAL Hall of Fame
Submitted photo
Bob Gorinski (left) is shown with his late father Clarence Gorinski prior to the WPIAL baseball championship game at Forbes Field in 1970. The Vikings defeated Bethel Park in extra innings, 4-2. Gorinski had three hits, including a double, in the game.
Submitted photo
Bob Gorinski is shown in his Mount Pleasant High School uniform wearing No. 35 during his senior season of 1969.
Submitted photo
Mt. Pleasant graduate Bob Gorinski is depicted on a 1978 Topps baseball card when he played for the Minnesota Twins.
Bob Gorinski is a larger-than-life figure in the history of Mount Pleasant High School athletics.
Gorinski, who excelled in baseball and football for the Vikings in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was pleased to receive word that he will be inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as part of a 16-member class on May 27.
鈥淚 was very excited,鈥� Gorinski stated. 鈥淚 thought it was quite an honor. It is nice to be remembered after all these years. You know I never got inducted into any Hall of Fame. When I was young I really didn鈥檛 think about it, but now that I鈥檓 older it鈥檚 nice to be remembered.鈥�
Gorinski is part of a WPIAL Hall of Fame class that includes Highlands鈥� Micah Mason (basketball), Kittanning鈥檚 Jason Nolf (wrestling), Penn Hills鈥� Dion Bentley (track and field), Frazier鈥檚 Chad Salisbury (football/baseball/basketball), Peters Township鈥檚 Brian Simmons (baseball), Oakland Catholic鈥檚 Mallory Dietrich (swimming) and Brianne O鈥橰ourke (basketball), Hempfield softball coach Bob Kalp and Kiski Area wrestling coach Chuck Tursky.
The heritage selection was Connellsville鈥檚 Johnny Lujack, a multisport high school athlete who won the Heisman Trophy playing college football at Notre Dame in 1947.
Also picked for induction is WPIAL contributor Ruth Ann Burke, who organized the Western Pennsylvania Girls Athletic League in the 1960s, and Ron Tyburski, who officiated 14 WPIAL championship games (six basketball, five baseball, three football) and works as a game official for NCAA basketball.
The teams selected for induction were the 1989-90 Aliquippa girls basketball team that won consecutive WPIAL and state titles and the 2011 Mars girls soccer team that went 25-0-1 while winning WPIAL and PIAA gold.
Norwin graduate Sydney Willig was chosen as the Courage Award winner. Willig battled with cystic fibrosis to play high school soccer, and now at Geneva College.
Gorinski certainly has the credentials to be included with this prestigious group.
He rewrote the record books as a fullback for the Vikings. He became the first player from Mount Pleasant to earn a first team All State berth, being selected by United Press International after the 1969 season.
The Vikings, under Coach Ben Malesky, posted 5-5 records in 1967 and 1968. In Gorinski鈥檚 senior season the Vikings finished 6-3, their best record since 1961 when they posted a 7-3 season.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Gorinski played three varsity season of football for Mount Pleasant.
鈥淲hen I was a sophomore and junior I played some defensive back,鈥� Gorinski remembered. 鈥淲hen I was a senior I only played offense and was a fullback all three seasons.鈥�
Gorinski rushed for 3,447 yards in his high school career on 543 carries and had a phenomenal 6.1 yard rushing average. In addition he caught 29 passes for 821 yards and returned 28 kickoffs for 590 yards. That adds up to a total of 4,858 yards gained in three years.
In three seasons Gorinski scored 54 touchdowns and kicked one extra point for 325 points scored in his career. The lone extra point was a big one for the Vikings, coming in the first game of the 1969 season and being the deciding edge in a 7-6 win over Latrobe.
Gorinski was All Foothills Conference for two seasons. He was the Foothills Conference most valuable back in 1969. He earned all WPIAL and All Westmoreland County honors and was am honorable mention High School All American.
As good as Gorinski was in football, he was a towering figure on the baseball diamond. He was the regular shortstop on the Mount Pleasant baseball squad coached by his late father Clarence for three seasons. He also played for the Mount Pleasant American Legion teams coached by Mike Sibal and Harry Berger. Gorinski helped the legion team win one Westmoreland County championship and reach the regional semifinals.
Gorinski in 21 games as a senior batted .515 with eight home runs and led Mount Pleasant to the WPIAL title. The Vikings beat Bethel Park 4-2 in extra innings at Forbes Field. Gorinski went 3-for-4 in the championship game, including a scoreboard-rattling double.
鈥淲e could hit, we had a very good hitting team,鈥� Gorinski opined. 鈥淎t the beginning of that championship season we started out 1-3 and my dad wasn鈥檛 happy and neither were we. We ended up 18-3 and in the playoffs we were playing bigger schools. We played Brownsville in the first game and I ended up hitting a two-run home run and we ended up winning 2-0.
鈥淥ur team really started getting good the year before when we won District 31 in legion ball. It was a good experience and set the stage for our senior year. Playing at Forbes was a thrill. Since we were kids we had always dreamed of playing at Forbes Field. I had a good game in the championship game with two singles and a double. That was probably the most fun I ever had playing baseball.鈥�
Playing baseball for his father was a unique experience for Gorinski.
鈥淲hen he was head coach he was tough,鈥� Gorinski said. 鈥淗e liked to have fun, but when it came time to work he was tough.鈥�
After his senior season in football, Gorinski, after sifting through more than 100 college offers, decided to sign with Penn State.
鈥淏ack then they didn鈥檛 have the rule about five college visits,鈥� Gorinski stated. 鈥淚 went to probably eight or 10 schools for visits. My dad played at Penn State on the undefeated Cotton Bowl team in 1948. That put Penn State in the forefront. We would go up there to watch games and visit people a lot since I was a little kid. So I opted for Penn State.鈥�
The football scholarship never materialized. Gorinski was selected in the first round of the baseball draft (22nd overall) by the Minnesota Twins.
鈥淲e kicked it around and went back and forth,鈥� Gorinski explained. 鈥淚 liked baseball and being drafted in round one. I thought I鈥檇 have a pretty good chance of getting to the major leagues. I guess you can mention the bonus was more than $70,000 if you have to. Money was the reason I decided on baseball.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know it at the time, but I was the first player from the WPIAL taken in the first round of the MLB Draft,鈥� Gorinski said. 鈥淟ooking back that is pretty special.鈥�
Gorinski began his professional career in the Gulf Coast League in 1970. That season, while playing with the Sarasota Twins, he led the league with six home runs. By 1972, Gorinski advanced to playing Triple-A baseball in the Carolina League with the Twins鈥� affiliate in Lynchburg. There he led the league with 23 home runs. The following year in 1974, he led the Southern League, while with the Orlando Twins, with 23 home runs and 100 RBIs. In 1976, he led the Pacific Coast League with 28 home runs and 110 RBIs, while with the Tacoma Twins.
Gorinski played one season for the Twins in 1977 and appeared in 54 games. He batted .195 with three home runs and 22 RBIs.
鈥淚 tried to get back to the big leagues for awhile,鈥� Gorinski reported. 鈥淭hen I got tired of it. When you get into your late 20s and they are hardly looking at you 鈥� I just got out of it.鈥�
Gorinski toiled for nine seasons in the minor leagues and compiled a .250 batting average with 163 home runs and 459 RBIs.
Gorinski, 70, wishes his dad was still alive to see him enter the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
鈥淭hat would be special if he could have been there,鈥� Gorinski stated. 鈥淚 will have family there, my wife Denise and one son Tyler. My oldest son Bob passed away in 2021 of cancer. That was tough.
鈥淢y family is thrilled with the honor. My son Ty said it鈥檚 about time.鈥�
The 15th annual WPIAL Hall of Fame class will be honored at an induction banquet May 27 at the DoubleTree in Greentree.
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.