Red Raider treasure trove
Submitted photo
This team photo of the Uniontown boys basketball 1924-25 state championship team was recently donated to the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame. The uniforms feature special patches noting their championship which the players wore when they played in the National Tournament in Chicago.
This Uniontown basketball team 1924-25 state championship patch was recently donated to the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame. The patch was stitched onto the front of the uniforms when the team played in the National Tournament in Chicago.
Submitted photo
The postcard photo of Uniontown basketball player I.N. Hagan was recently donated to the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame.
Submitted photo
This team photo of Uniontown鈥檚 1925-26 WPIAL championship basketball team was recently donated to the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame. The Red Raiders were the first team to win consecutive WPIAL titles in any sport.
The Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame is housed on the second floor of the Uniontown Public Library. Plaques of all the induction classes are enclosed in glass cases and there are two display cases featuring Fayette County 缅北禁地 Memorabilia.
Recently a memorabilia donation was made to the Hall of Fame dating back to the 1924-25 Uniontown High School state championship basketball squad.
As curator of the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame exhibits I was contacted by David Domen who works at the Fayette County Courthouse. He asked if the Hall of Fame would be interested in some Uniontown High School basketball memorabilia, and I arranged to meet him and take a look at it.
What I saw floored me.
There was a felt patch that was stitched on to the Red Raiders鈥� uniforms when they played in a national tournament after capturing the Pennsylvania State Championship. There were several individual postcard photos of players from that era and a team photo of the 1925-26 WPIAL championship team. All the items were in pristine condition considering that they were 97 years old.
Domen explained that a lady he worked with came into possession of the items and wondered if they would have any value as display pieces. Domen knew Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Famer Gus Gerard who gave him my phone number.
The items were the property of the late Bernadine Landis Hagan whose late husband, former Uniontown business man I.N. Hagan, played on those Uniontown teams in the 1920s. They came into the possession of Mary Savage who served for many years as companion to Mrs. Hagan after she had a stay in the hospital. Savage gave the items to her niece Stephanie Conway who picks up the story for us.
鈥淢y aunt Mary Savage sat with Mrs. Hagan and my mother and I also sat with her and did some things for her and sat with her,鈥� Conway explained. 鈥淲e took her places and provided companionship. Her family didn鈥檛 want her to be alone after she came out of the hospital. They didn鈥檛 want her to be alone during the daylight hours. My aunt had surgery so my mother Jeanette Duda and I took over.
鈥淢y mother and I did this on and off and my aunt was with her the longest. Mrs. Hagan had a lot of pictures and she gave then to my aunt. I was in college at the time out at Penn State and I told her I would try to get in touch with someone from the Hall of Fame. Before Mrs. Hagan passed in 2010 just weeks shy of her 101st birthday my aunt had all of this stuff. I started working with David and my aunt just recently moved and she came across those items again because they had been boxed up. I told her to give then to me and I would try and get them displayed.鈥�
Here is a little background on those great Uniontown teams from an article I wrote in 2013.
Uniontown High School has a rich basketball history and tradition. Red Raider pride started to crystallize years ago, when the 1925 Red Raiders won WPIAL and PIAA championships. A year later, they became the first team in any sport to win consecutive WPIAL titles.
Charley Hyatt was the catalyst of Uniontown鈥檚 1925 WPIAL and state championship team, and led the Red Raiders to another WPIAL title in 1926. The Red Raiders lost in the state tournament that season.
During the 1924-25 season the Red Raiders went into the national scholastic tournament in Chicago. The 鈥淔ive Horseman鈥� as the Raiders were known defeated Greeley, Colorado in the first round, 26-11. In the quarterfinals Uniontown downed Lake View, Illinois, 29-11. In the semifinals against a much taller team from Wichita, Kansas the Horsemen were defeated, 42-21. In 33 games played that season the Horsemen were 31-2. In addition to the loss to Wichita they lost to the Pitt freshman team earlier in the season.
A.J. Everhart Sr. was the coach of those great Red Raider teams. His son A.J. Everhart Jr. would follow in his father鈥檚 footsteps years later and continue the Raider tradition.
The 1924-25 Red Raiders were truly a juggernaut in that era. In an era of center jumps and possession basketball the Red Raiders tallied 1,429 points and allowed 615 by the opposition. During 13 games of the 33-game slate Uniontown went over the 50-point mark.
Hyatt paced the Raiders in scoring with 429 points and garnered All-State honors. Other starters on the team were Cecil Connelly, who paired with Hyatt at forward, Les Cohen at center, and captain Joe Hackney and Markie Rankin at the guard spots. The sixth man was J.S. 鈥淏us鈥� Albright.
The famed 1924-25 team played its home games at Gallatin Gardens, which later became the site of the Laurel Lanes bowling alleys.
鈥淲e had great coaching by Abe Everhart Sr.,鈥� Hyatt would say years later in an interview. 鈥淭he game has changed drastically. I could play in any era. Back in the day a man 6-1 was considered a giant, but now there are a lot of taller players. Also the basketball is made better and is rounder and not lopsided and shoots truer. In my day it was a matter of a team scoring 30 points, but now an individual player scores 30 points and it is not uncommon.鈥�
鈥淗e was always a guiding influence in the lives of all young men with whom he came in contact,鈥� former Red Raider Les Cohen said when Everhart Sr. passed away in 1942. 鈥淢en like Coach Everhart so greatly aided in the preparation of young men for this great emergency 鈥� the war for freedom.鈥�
When the Red Raiders were beaten by Wichita in the national tournament, it marked only the second loss for Uniontown in the last 60 games.
Coach Everhart commented on his team鈥檚 showing at the national tournament.
鈥淭he tournament was well run and I believe that the team that won should have won,鈥� Everhart said. 鈥淚n defeating us they did not beat an inferior team, but simply wore us out physically. They were not a better team, but were physically better to handle the strain. They are bigger than we are and that is the only difference.鈥�
Uniontown was rated as one of the four best teams in the tournament, which is something.
鈥淥ur boys went into the tournament tired. They had been forced to play too many elimination games before they got to Chicago. As a result of the strenuous campaign of the past several weeks, each member of the team is from five-to-12 pounds underweight. They are slowly recovering this weight, but it will be some time before they have fully recovered from the effects of the games.
鈥淲hen we arrived in Chicago we were assigned to a fraternity house. The conditions here were not ideal, but the fraternity boys did their best.鈥�
Uniontown returned home to a hero鈥檚 welcome from area fans.
According to newspaper accounts 18,000 to 20,00 people greeted the basketball team when they arrived at the B&O railroad station in Connellsville and along a 13-mile route between Connellsville and Uniontown. More than 150 to 200 automobiles were in the line of march from Connellsville to Uniontown.
At a banquet team members received beautiful white gold watches suitably inscribed as mementos of the WPIAL and state championship titles and orders for new suits which came as most acceptable Easter gifts from Uniontown鈥檚 Thousand Dollar club.
Domen, who made contact with me about the display items, is pleased they will find a good home with the Hall of Fame.
鈥淚 had met you last year after a Laurel Highlands basketball game,鈥� Domen stated. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that this all came about. It鈥檚 really cool that folks will be able to see this memorabilia.鈥�
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.