Salisbury to enter WPIAL Hall of Fame
It has been a whirlwind 12 months for former Frazier High School athletic standout Chad Salisbury.
On June 25, 2021, Salisbury was inducted into the 12th class of the Fayette County 缅北禁地 Hall of Fame. On Jan. 19, it was revealed that he will be part of the WPIAL 2022 Hall of Fame Class and is scheduled to be inducted on May 27.
鈥淏oth of them were surprising and obviously very exciting,鈥� Salisbury said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see either one of them coming and when I got the call for both of them it was great.
鈥淚t was a shock, I had no idea the school had nominated me. It was shocking actually. I was out recruiting and was getting ready to walk into Bishop McDevitt out in Harrisburg and Vince Sortino called me. It was really shocking. I had to compose myself a little bit before I walked into the school.鈥�
Salisbury is part of a WPIAL Class of 16 individuals and teams. The class will be the 15th in the Hall of Fame鈥檚 history, and the new inductees will join the previous 232 members and teams already honored at the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Announced as the newest honorees as athletes were Dion Bentley, Penn Hills track and field; Mallory Dietrich, Oakland Catholic swimming; Bob Gorinski, Mount Pleasant baseball and football; Micah Mason, Highlands basketball; Jason Nolf, Kittanning wrestling; Brianne O鈥橰ourke, Oakland Catholic basketball; Chad Salisbury, Frazier football, baseball and basketball; and Brian Simmons, Peters Township baseball.
Two coaches were honored, Robert Kalp, Hempfield Area softball and Chuck Tursky, Kiski Area wrestling. Official Ron Tyburski and contributor Ruth Ann Burke were also in the class.
Connellsville quarterback Johnny Lujack was enshrined as a heritage nominee. Norwin girls鈥� soccer player Sydney Willig was honored with the courage award.
Additionally, two entire teams were recognized, the 1990 Aliquippa girls basketball team and the 2011 Mars girls soccer team.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it has sunk in totally,鈥� Salisbury explained. 鈥淚 will say when I looked at the list of people who were in both Halls of Fame and then the WPIAL it is mind-blowing to me. It鈥檚 an honor, it鈥檚 humbling. Johnny Lujack is going to be part of the WPIAL class, talk about a Fayette County legend. It鈥檚 just very humbling to look at the list of people who are in both Hall of Fames.
鈥淚 consider myself a historian and I鈥檝e studied the athletics around here and obviously the national scene. I recruited Connellsville High School and actually saw the Heisman Trophy replica in Athletic Director鈥檚 office a few years back and just seeing that trophy and knowing the history that goes into it and a guy from our area accomplished that. It was pretty cool.鈥�
Salisbury鈥檚 athletic credentials are impeccable. He was a 6-foot-6, 230-pound youngster who was a tackle in junior high and played tackle and tight end at Frazier High School until his junior year when he was moved to quarterback.
鈥淚t really worked out,鈥� Salisbury recalled. 鈥淚t was a long time ago, my dad Tom, who was the head coach, was actually in the hospital when that move was made. The coaches took us to Cal U鈥檚 run-and-shoot football camp, and Cal U鈥檚 coach at the time, Kevin Donley, recommended that they try me at quarterback because we had moved to the run-and-shoot offense.
鈥淲e had some really good slots and some really good outside receivers. Instead of trying to pound it at everybody we were going to throw the ball around. I could take three steps and throw it pretty hard, I had good receivers and a great offensive line. It was a great thing for our team, we won a lot of games and it ended up really working well for me as well.鈥�
Working well is an understatement. Salisbury went 154-for-293 through the air his junior season for 2,346 yards and tossed 26 touchdown passes. The Commodores posted a record of 8-3 and fell to powerful Aliquippa 35-0 in the WPIAL playoffs.
Frazier was hit hard by graduation losses in Salisbury鈥檚 senior season in 1994. The Commodores finished 5-5, but Salisbury tossed 20 touchdown passes and had 2,095 passing yards.
He was named All-Conference as a junior and a senior and was named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette鈥檚 Fabulous 22 as a senior.
Salisbury was a three-sport star at Frazier. He also excelled at basketball and baseball.
Playing hoops for head coach Joe Lafko Sr., Salisbury helped lead the tem to three straight WPIAL playoff appearances. They were 15-5 in 1992-93, losing to Serra in the playoffs 66-63. In 1993-94 they went 18-7 and lost to Shadyside Academy in the playoffs 60-54. In Salisbury鈥檚 senior campaign the Commodores were 15-10 and fell to Aliquippa in the WPIAL playoffs 81-52.
Salisbury had some tremendous numbers on the hardwood, tallying 1,534 career points and grabbing over 1,500 rebounds.
In baseball Salisbury was a pitcher and a first baseman on some very good Frazier squads.
Salisbury wound up playing college football at New Mexico State. He was on the squad in 1995 when they went 4-7. He threw one pass for 39 yards. As a sophomore the Aggies with Salisbury quarterbacking went 1-10, but he passed for 2,291 yards and 11 touchdowns. Coach Jim Hess was replaced by Tony Samuel and Salisbury looked to transfer.
鈥淚 explored transferring and I went to the University of Buffalo who were at the time Division I-AA. It was a good move because of the offense they were running,鈥� Salisbury said.
The Bulls were 2-9 in 1997 and 4-7 in 1998. Salisbury in two seasons passed for 4,947 yards and 31 touchdowns. He threw for over 200 yards 12 times in his career with the Bulls.
鈥淚 worked out for some NFL teams and there were some phone calls on draft day about being a free agent,鈥� Salisbury explained. 鈥淚t just didn鈥檛 work out. I was pretty sure football was over for me and then I got a phone call and worked out for the Arena League team in Hartford and that鈥檚 where my career went.鈥�
Salisbury played for five teams, but spent time with six total. He first joined the AFL with the New England Sea Wolves and moved with the team to Toronto when they became the Phantoms. He then played two seasons with the Chicago Rush. He played one season with the Columbus Destroyers, and was on the Georgia Force鈥檚 practice squad before he finished his career by playing two seasons with the Grand Rapids Rampage.
He posted some outstanding AFL numbers, passing for 12,104 yards with 217 touchdown passes. His career quarterback rating was 101.42. On Aug. 25, 2007, Salisbury retired after sustaining a concussion. He still continued in football as a coach and athletic director at Byron Center High School. Also, in August 2008, he joined the coaching staff of the Los Angeles Avengers to be the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach. He is now the offensive coordinator at California University of Pa.
Salisbury is savoring the upcoming honor from the WPIAL.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really neat to get calls from former coaches,鈥� Salisbury stated. 鈥淢y daughters are both in school and athletics at Frazier, so their athletic director called me and the boys basketball coach. Just people that we鈥檝e come to know being in the district. I got some really great phone calls from some of the coaches I鈥檝e had in the past. It was great just to talk to them and catch up with them.鈥�
The WPIAL Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Friday, May 27 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree.
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.