Prior to 2010, only FOUR coaches in Ellwood City football history have posted career winning records. The best percentage is held by Denny Schill 8-1-1 in the single season he coached during 1935. Howard Gills is next in winning percentage after coaching two seasons during the war (1944 and 1945). Not many people would argue that the two most successful coaches in Ellwood City football history were Peck Lee and Dutch Croft. Lee coached ten seasons from 1919 to 1930 (missing the 1922 and 1923 seasons) and had a winning percentage of .667. Coach Croft coached from 1938 to 1953 missing 1944 and 1945 years for World War II while posting a .640 winning percentage with the most wins (88) and most losses (48).

Coach Ganzy Benedict still holds the school record of most tie games with eight in just three years of coaching. Other notable head coaches that coached here at Ellwood City include NFL Head Coach Chuck Knox, Kansas University Head Coach Mark Mangino, and Butler Head Coach Jim Rankin.

    For the first half of the decade, the Ellwood City coach was not measured by wins or losses, but whether or not they beat New Castle. However bad we beat Evans City, usually worked out to how bad New Castle beat us; until 1925 when Ellwood City beat New Castle for the first time. New Castle cried foul that the Head Coach had water-downed the field to make a muddy mess to slow down the smaller, faster New Castle team. I do not know if there is any truth to this but as you can see in the pictures, it was a “little” muddy.

This would not be the last time that New Castle would use this excuse to try to justify a loss to the “Big Blue”. Sue Campbell recalls hearing back in the 1930′s folks from New Castle complaining that Ellwood City went to New Castle and watered the field until it was nothing but mud and Ellwood said that New Castle did it themselves. The day after this “sprinkling” the Wolverines pulled off the upset and won the game and the controversy began again. She recalled still hearing the charge of “watering” in 1961 when she graduated from Lincoln High School.

Due to the size of the schools, Ellwood City and New Castle did not play each other in regular season games for a number of years until New Castle dropped down to Triple A in the late 1990′s. The two schools would occasionally meet in pre-season scrimmage games and the rivalry was surprisingly still there. I recall in a pre-season game 1993 or 1994 the banter back and forth between the two teams along with the pushing and shoving and etc., caused the referees to walk off the field. The teams decided to continue the game with coaches officiating and coincidently New Castle and Ellwood did not play each other in pre-season games again for a number of years.

     We may never know if the “watering” was true or not or even if it affected the outcome much as both teams still had to play in the mud but someone always knows someone who knows. One rumor we heard was that the owner of the Ellwood City Ice Company who hired football players during the summers to keep them in shape and ready for the upcoming season, took one of his delivery trucks full of suspects to New Castle the night before the game in the 30′s and the dastardly deed WAS done. Of course we also hear rumors that someone’s grandfather told them that they were in New Castle the evening before the game and SAW with his own eyes a fire truck at the field and knows that it was New Castle that watered the field.

If you would like to leave a memory you might have about the coaches or the rivalry with New Castle, please leave a comment below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Originally Posted July 23, 2010

I would really like to thank Jayne Bates for taking the time to send in these pictures of the Ellwood City Blue Angels. The first picture is of the 1970 Ellwood City Blue Angels and she even took the time to scan in the back of the picture where a young Walter Bates had written all the names of the players. I apologize if I misspelled any of the names.

20 Scott Markle                      60 Mark Belissimo

21 Lou Valvano                      30     Brant

21 Rick Kookanauto             5  Randy Conti

28 Mark Valvano                    70 Bob Galaher

62 Dana Stevenson     80     Richudy

15 Kevin Conti                       37 John Geneveva

17 John Santillo          23 Ted Cicozy

29 Jim Fotia                25 Pat Perrone

24 Tommy                   50 Larry

10 Dave Atavia                       44 Greg Sylvestry

34 Walter Bates                      88 Joe Delionardo

31 David Bates                       34 Jim Galagher

61 Rick Matuchi            Tom Santillo

72 Steve Veres                           Joe Funari

71 Sam Fotia                  Dave Houlic

26 Tony DeCarbo                   78 Vince Viccuri

51 Tim Mondell                         CJ Stein

13 Todd Palony                         Tony Funari

68 Allen Cumo

Managers: Nicky C., Rick Sc., Joe A., Jimmy Sp., & Rick Shc.

Coaches: Eriney, Ed, Bill, Pete, Mike, & Sam

  Another pictures of the Blue Angels from either 1969 or 1971. This picture includes Ed Fausnaught as coach tall guy back middle. Third from the left is Pete Petrocola with Sam Costa between Pete and Ed. Ang Ottoviano is beside Ed on the right and Ted Ciccozzi is in front of Ed Fausnaught. David Ottavani is the guy third row from back left with his eyes closed behind Robert Bates. Robert is the big guy with glasses, number forty something. David 43 And Walter Bates 62, Bill Moczan 82, and coach Coach Bob Timerman.

Prior to formation of the Little Wolverines, the Blue Angels were Ellwood’s little league football before becoming Packers which was eighth and ninth grade I have been told. We would really enjoy hearing your memories about the Blue Angels. Please share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

As a follow-up to the First Little League Champions post, the members of that team that live in Florida (some part time, others full time) got together through some investigative work from our friend Bob Mallary for a reunion game. This picture was taken at a Pirate – Rays game in Bradenton , FL on March 7, 2013. Bob was a little disappointed that he couldn’t get more teammates together, but five out of twelve after all these years is pretty good.

Those that were able to attend had an outstanding time reliving memories and telling tall stories about their playing days in Ellwood City.  The first Ellwood City Little League Championship team is planning to do this again next year, so if any teammates that see this and want to join them just need to email Bob at bobmallary@verizon.net  I also have his phone number but did not want to post it on the website but if you would rather call him, email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

A special note from Bob to any twelve year old that might see this – don’t laugh, you could look like this in 63 years!!

      During the 1950′s the team to beat every year in the Men’s fast-pitch softball league were the perennial Champions, New Deal Bar. One of the bars championship team were, front row, from left to right, Honey Tammaro, Frank Ritorto, Mauro Vitullo, Sam Rubino, Bob Snare, and Dale Brown. Middle row left to right, Tony Scialdone, Sparky Sirimarco, Ralph Fotia, Bud Foley, Chinko Elias and Bob Tammaro. Back row included, from the left, Jack Snare (sponsor), Gene Tillia, Bud Campbell, and James Foley.

Originally Posted Dec 9, 2010

     Paul Weingartner owns this original picture from 1951 taken from the location of Paul’s Auto Body showing the intersection of East Line Avenue and Joffre Street. It is faint, but if you look close you can see the Ewing Park baseball field in the background.

Originally Posted Dec 10, 2010

Members of the 1919-20 basketball team take a minute to pose for a team photo in front of the Shelby Social Club. Seated in the front holding the basketball is team captain Adam Dambach; standing in the front row from left to right are George Fox, team manager John Ruskovic and Glen Stahl; Victor Dambach and Norman Dunn are behind them; in the back row left to right are Lewis Nicklas, Peck Lee, and Norman Dunn. Peck Lee as you may remember was the head coach of the world famous 1925 Ellwood City Football squad.

    You have to appreciate the uniforms. Matching wool “warm-up” sweaters, shorts, leggings, knee pads, and state of the art oversized high-top basketball shoes.

For those that complain that the football field and track are too far away from the school, there was a time the field was right beside the school. I have been asking for awhile for any pictures anybody might have that show the old field at the school and am grateful for the ones I have received. If you have a picture you would like to share please email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com. So far I have three pictures that I received permission to use and would appreciate any input you may have about them.
    In the first picture you can barely see the field at the bottom of the picture but it gives us a real good idea of the location. Some of the more interesting things about this picture are not so much the field but the layout of Lincoln High School at the time. At the time of this picture, there was a whole additional three story wing of the school where the current cafeteria, maintenance garages, and the “bridge” to the large gym are today. I have to ask those that remember, what was the layout of this wing? Was it all classrooms? I know the school did not have a cafeteria but did this wing have anything comparable to the size of the current cafeteria? Was the ground floor a locker-room for Lincoln Field for both home and away teams? Finally, was there a “band” room and a room dedicated for the choir before the addition?
    Okay, back to the picture, it’s nice to see the old Hartman Elementary School building and you may notice that Holy Redeemer is not there. Where the church parking lot is today, is the former BVM Church and previous to that it was the Methodist Church.
    Now back to Lincoln Field and the second picture. This is an action shot of the 1925 Ellwood City - New Castle game. In the background of the picture you can see the steel work for Lincoln High School that was under construction. You can also see how tight the stands were as an estimated 10,000 people watched the game from the bleachers, on top of parts of the school, and on top of neighboring houses. You can also clearly see how muddy the field was for the game and why New Castle cried for many years that the Ellwood City Fire Department flooded the field to slow down New Castle. The ball carrier in the picture is New Castle’s great Scooter Day, who despite a valiant effort, was not was not able to get into the end zone against the incredible Ellwood City defense.
    In the third picture here, you get a better layout of the field. As you can see, not only did the fans of Ellwood pack the bleachers but it looks to be two to three deep along the fence. Notice the people on top of the First Christian Church watching the game too.  This was not only a football field, but it was the school’s baseball field at the time. Home plate was beyond the field goal posts in the corner of what today would be Oak Avenue and Fourth Street. You can get a little bit of a better idea of the layout of the baseball field in the first picture. In addition to baseball and football Ellwood City also added four public tennis courts to Lincoln Field in 1930.
If you remember the field and would like to share your memories, please leave a comment below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Originally Published Sept 25, 2009

     Perhaps the greatest team of all time from our area is the undefeated Ellwood City High School football team.

     Led by 6’1″ – 228 lb fullback/linebacker Tom “Big Train” MacMurdo, the Ellwood squad did not allow a single point until the National title game. The WPIAL champions outscored their opponents 313 to 0 during the regular season.

The biggest game of the year was against defending WPIAL champions New Castle who were riding a 43 game undefeated streak. New Castle’s Coach Phil Bridenbaugh’s team was led by local legend Ralph “Scooter” Day. 10,000 people packed the area around the old field in Ellwood City including people standing on the roofs of the houses that stood next to the old field where the current High School stands.  Both teams had yet to be scored upon 7 weeks into the season.

New Castle started the game kicking off to Ellwood City, but Ellwood turned around and punted the ball back to New Castle on first down. New Castle took the ball and drove down to the one yard line before being stopped one foot short of teh goaline on fourth down. Ellwood City got the ball back inside New Castle territory on an interception and Tom MacMurdo punched the ball into the endzone and took a 7-0 lead into the second half. In the 2nd half Ellwood City opened things up against a desperate New Castle team capped by a 26 yard touchdown run by MacMurdo and won the game 14-0. After the big win, Ellwood City was acclaimed the best team in the state.

     After the only other undefeated team Jeannette tied Latrobe on Thanksgiving Day, Ellwood City was awarded the Syrcuse Cup and crowned WPIAL champions. The season did not end there for Ellwood City as the two time Illinios state champions Freeport was inline to play Ellwood for the National Championship at the brand new Pitt Stadium.  Freeport, who had not lost a game in five years, beat the Ellwood City team 13-7 if front of the 2,454 fans in attendance. Ellwood’s only score coming late in the game by Tom MacMurdo.

Hal Wilson has a great site about the 1925 team

Ellwood City – 60    Evans City – 0

Ellwood City – 12    Monaca – 0

Ellwood City – 20    Beaver – 0

Ellwood City – 20    Beaver Falls – 0

Ellwood City – 20    Woodlawn – 0

Ellwood City – 64    New Wilmington – 0

Ellwood City – 14    New Castle – 0

Post Season

Ellwood City – 31    Homestead – 0

Ellwood City – 72    East Palestine (Ohio) – 0

National Championship

Ellwood City – 6     Freeport (Illinois) – 13

Starting Lineup:

Quarterback – Ross Parker

Halfback – Johnny Sanders

Halfback – Harold Johnston- All WPIAL first team

Fullback – Tom MacMurdo – All WPIAL first team – Ellwood City Single season record (120 pts)

End – Bill Marsh

End – Jim Fitzgerald – All WPIAL first team

Center – Jim MacMurdo – Played three years with Philadelphia Eagles

Guard – Bill Herge

Guard – Art Applebaum- All WPIAL first team

Tackle – Bob MacMurdo

Tackle – Curt Neff

*note – a sub on this team was later famous L. Butler Hennon who coached the Wampum Indians basketball team which included the Allen brothers to three State Championships.

Originally Published November 19, 2008

    Richard “Dick” Anthony Allen from Wampum played fifteen years in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox. Having played first and third base and outfield, he ranked among the sport’s top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Dick hit 351 career home runs and had a .292 career batting average. The Wampum native led the American League in home runs twice, and led both leagues in slugging average (the AL twice) and on base percentage. His .534 career slugging average ranks among the highest in an era marked by pitcher dominense and low averages. He won the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year and 1972 AL MVP. Richie, as he was known during his time in school, went straight from Wampum High School to the Philadelphia Phillies organization. His older brother Harold signed with the Phillies at the same time.

I never saw Mr. Allen play the game so I will leave the comments to those who did…

Steve said: When you mention the words Dick Allen, you must talk about Hank Aaron and Willie Mays because there wasn’t too many ballplayers could do what he did; his many, many 500+ foot, super-mega blasts. How about TWO inside the park homeruns in one game. It is a farce that he is not in the hall of fame. … How can you say he does not belong, he was the greatest and maybe the most gifted ballplayer ever. You have to realize that he played with incredible players like Aaron, Mays, Clemente, not these steroid players today all juiced up. … Dick Allen is and always will be the greatest…

Mark Roeder once wrote: Dick Allen was my favorite player. Babe Ruth and Willie Mays could have been the best but did not play for my favorite team. My favorite memory watching a White Sox game in the 70s. Dick Allen and Bill Melton both homered in the same game. Melton hit a towering shot that took forever to loop into the left field lower deck stands. When Allen swatted one that same day, the ball traveled to the furthest reaches of the park over the centerfield fence, reaching its destination in a fraction of the time that Melton’s ball took to reach a shorter distance. Dick Allen hit line drives, very hard and long. I also enjoyed watching Rod Carew ply his trade. But Dick Allen was the greatest hitter I have personally seen play.

John Branigan said: I saw Dick Allen play for the White Sox 72 thru 75. This guy was a natural. One of the best I ever saw if not the best. The Sox franchise was in big trouble before Dick Allen, playing some of their home games in Milwaukee…

Rodney Daniels shared: I want to thank everyone that remember and enjoyed the way my uncle played the game of baseball. I watch the way the guys play today and I wonder to myself why he is not in the hall of fame, but I think I know why, and that’s because he got negative press from the sports writers. He has never gambled on baseball or took drugs and he even gave kids autographs. I look at his overall numbers and they are just as good or even better than some of the guys that are in the hall of fame…

Perhaps Charlie Boylan said it best when he wrote: I first seen Dick Allen when I was 10 years old. I went to the Connie Mack and he hit two home runs against the Cards, One of which left the stadium. That day he became my favorite player. When I was in the Army in 1972 through 1974 I followed his exploits with the White Sox and he almost single handedly carried them to a pennant (finished second behind the A’s). They should have built a monument of him in center field at Comisky Park. I later met him at the Phillies triple A stadium in Scranton PA. I spent several hours with him and he was one of the finest gentleman I have ever met. He was driving “big blue” the Lincoln he was given in 1972 by the Sporting News as the AL MVP. Earlier in life he appeared in Scranton in March of 1960 as a member of the Wampum High School Basketball team. They defeated Montrose High that night for the Pa. State Class B Championship. Either he or Willie Somerset of Farrell High was the best basketball players in Pennsylvania in 1960. Not only was he a great athlete and a deserving hall of famer, he was also a great person.

Photograph compliments of Dick Allen Hall of Fame

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoP0OZ8mZX4

Scott Mackey sent me this picture awhile back and it has unleashed an avalanche of  memories for me personally, more so perhaps than maybe any other picture I have received. The old football field and track were like a second home to me.

Looking at this picture and seeing the old football practice field made me start to sweat just sitting here at my desk. All of a sudden I can taste that dirt where grass was supposed to be, smell the practice jerseys that never got washed (ever), and I can feel the sun beating down on me during those two-a-day practices during camp.

A long time ago I used to play football here occasionally but practiced here a lot. In just a matter of seconds I can see things that are not pictured. I can see the tackling dummies lined up for “Oklahoma” drills, the coach at the top of the bleachers filming, the “pretty boys” (quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs) at one end of the practice field playing catch and having a good ol’ time while the “hogs” (linemen) are down at the other end working (guess which I was).

Just typing that paragraph above, more memories keep flooding in that I have tried so hard to suppress. Flashbacks of pushing the seven man sled up and down the field and all the different drills we used to do for practice on that dry dirt field and sadly I have to admit that I miss it. I did not enjoy it then, but in some weird way I do miss it.

Looking at the old bleachers set up, the visitor stands are bigger than the home stands today. With all the regulations in place for bleachers (each step can only be so high, no openings, etc…) there was not enough space to go as big as these old bleachers. I remember running up and down those bleachers for track and for football and at the time they felt as those home bleachers were as high as the ones in Happy Valley. Well maybe not that high but they sure felt like it.

I could go on and on but I want to hear your memories also. Whether they are memories of the before mentioned practice field, the cinder 300 meter track that was deemed to un-safe for track meets in the mid 90’s, the concession stand that seemed to be open all year round (opposite corner of picture), the state of the art lockers rooms that visiting teams refused to use, the way the wooden bleachers would bounce in the student section, watching a football game and dropping something through the bleachers and having to go find it in the rocks underneath, or even perhaps some of the great football games, soccer games, powder puff games, sixth grade Olympics, renowned half-time shows or even one of the record breaking track meets that took place here. Please share your memories below or email me at info@ellwoodcitymemories.com

Thank you again to Scott Mackey for supplying the stroll down memories lane.

Turns out the story about the bowling alley on Lawrence Avenue is a very popular topic for those of you that visit Ellwood City Memories and a number of you worked there and may even have the bruises STILL to prove it. Mickey Franus shared with me not only this picture but some information about the bowling alley.

    “My Uncle Victor Franus purchased the bowling alley when it was located above the Murphy’s  5 & 10 store in the 1950′s and then moved it to the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Ninth Street. When it was located above Murphy’s 5 & 10, Sadie’s pool hall was located in the front half and the bowling alley was located in the back half.

      Pictured left to right are Chester Franus, Victor Franus (owner for the alleys), Aloysius (Wish) Franus, Thomas (Tom) Franus, Theodore (Ted) Franus & Leo Franus

    This photo was submitted to us by Sulaha. The picture was found in an album of the boys basketball team of Wampum High School 1921-1922. It is believed this was the girl team from the same school but I can not guarantee it. The basketball says 1921-22 on a close up of another picture. Pictured on the far right is Laura Martha McConahy, daughter of John R. and Arminta McDanel McConahy.