Lincoln High School Sports Hall of Honor

The Hall of Honor is established to honor those who contributed to the athletic tradition of excellence at Lincoln High School.

  Each person listed has been nominated by an alumni.  If you have anyone you would like to nominate, send an email with the person's name and a brief statement as to  this person's athletic achievement to the webmaster at pmn37@hotmail.com

Listed in alphabetic order

Dave Sturgeon Alston '41:  1976 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame. 2005 Inductee Midland Sports Hall of Fame.

 He was the kind of athlete that comes around only once in a lifetime. He was the kind of person you'd want to have as a teammate, classmate, neighbor, a friend, and a brother. He was bigger than life, faster than a deer, talented beyond belief, and a credit to his family, his school, and his hometown. Dave Alston was indeed unique. He quarterbacked Midland's Junior High team, but was so gifted that he was elevated to the varsity in his freshman year. While at Midland High School, he earned a record 12 varsity monograms: 4 each in football, basketball, and baseball between 1937 and 1941. He was All-County three straight years. He was the Valedictorian of his graduating class and was an accomplished singer and pianist. Dave dreamed of becoming a doctor, so he took his athletic talents to Penn State in exchange for an athletic scholarship. Head Coach Bob Higgins called him, and I quote, "the greatest football prospect I ever coached and the first player I have seen who had all the qualities that made Jim Thorpe an all-time great". Dave led the Penn State freshman football team to five straight wins in their first undefeated season in a quarter century. He scored eight of the team's 12 touchdowns and sportswriters across the country started taking notice. In the spring, Esquire magazine rated Dave among the "Top Ten Sophomores" in the nation. His work in the classroom at Penn State equaled his performance on the football field. But Dave was having problems with constant sore throats and tonsillitis. He was going to come home to have his tonsils removed, but doctors in State College decided to have the operation performed locally. The procedure, done in Bellefonte, appeared at first to be successful. However, a few hours later, something went drastically wrong. A blood clot formed cutting off the air to his lungs, and Dave Alston was dead. The question remains; how could such as strong and strapping young man of 20, who walked into the hospital in such good health, have succumbed to a tonsillectomy? In the rarest of rarities, Midland's great star was gone.

Dave, son of Reverend Sandy J. Alston of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church here, was more than a wonderful athlete. Throughout his junior and senior high school course, for six years, he was on the honor roll. He was president and valedictorian of his senior class.

Tragically, Dave died following a tonsillectomy performed in August of 1941. Picking his 1942 All-American team, expert Francis Wallace called Dave, in a Saturday Evening Post article, (September 19, 1942), his "sophomore of the year in memoriam." Our town understood best when Mr. Wallace commented, "It does seem that Dave Sturgeon Alston was too good for this world."

Dave Alston became the first member of the Midland Sports Hall of Fame.

Nick Aloi, Basketball, 2001 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Dr. Frank Benedict, '22 - Midland Sports Hall of Fame Inductee - 2006

He was a member of the very first midland high school football team. He made a great name for himself on the gridiron, but he also lettered in basketball and track. Frank benedict left midland in 1922 to play center at the university of Pittsburgh for two coaching immortals: Pop Warner and Jock Sutherland. Actually, he made history: playing in the first game ever at Pitt Stadium. Frank was a member of the school’s baseball squad, and his Phi Kappa intra-fraternity basketball team won the league title three of four years. He received his doctor of dental surgery degree from Pitt in 1926. Frank played for the Majestic Radials, the barnstorming semi-pro football team owned by Art Rooney before he founded the Steelers. He also played semi-pro baseball here in midland and became an award-winning golfer and bowler. In 1974, Pitt named Dr. Benedict a "letterman of distinction" in recognition of his contributions to his field and his community. He was highly involved in his hometown as a school board and borough council Member and President of the Municipal Authority, and tax collector. He was involved in Rotary, the K of C, a director of the First National Bank, and a member of the Presentation Roman Catholic Church. Dr. Benedict heroically served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Dick Black:  1987 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Coach.

Mike Doyle, '55 Football, All-WPIAL

Mal Evans, '55 Basketball, All-WPIAL

Donald "Speed" Edmiston, 1989 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Football.

John Flara ,'55 Football, All-WPIAL

Paul Farnan: 2002 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Coach.

Lou Glumac, '29,  Midland Sports Hall of Fame Inductee - 2005

One of Midland High School's earliest stand-outs, Lou Glumac was born in a small town outside of Zagreb, the capital of present-day Croatia, and came to Midland as an infant with his mother and family. As a Leopard, Louie lettered in football, baseball, and basketball, where he was an All-County forward in Section 4. He participated in track and field and placed second in the WPIAL Meet in the Pole Vault at Pitt Stadium. Glumac graduated from Centenary College in 1935. The football team was undefeated two seasons in a row and was ranked 6th in the nation by Grantland Rice. Lou Glumac earned three letters and played in a scoreless tie versus the University of Arkansas in the 1934 Dixie Classic (it's now known as the Cotton Bowl). During his years in Shreveport, Louie played with Buddy Parker who later coached the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he intercepted a pass thrown by "Slingin" Sammy Baugh. Legend has it that Louie once homered off of Josh Gibson and the Homestead Grays. After college, Lou served as a Lieutenant in the US Navy during World War II, and was recruited into the C.I.A. because he spoke Serbo-Croation. For most of his life, Lou Glumac was an insurance agent for Metropolitan Life. He was a sub-par golfer, and had three holes-in one and held the course record at the Ohioview Golf Course. Lou died on Easter Sunday 1996 at the age of 85. Thus we remember back to the early years of Midland Leopards athletics, and look fondly on the accomplishments of one of the members of the Class of '29, Lou Glumac.

Eddie "Sneak" Gornak:  '49, Football, Basketball and Track.  Co-Captain, Section 9 Basketball Champs WPIAL Semi-finalists.  All-section Basketball. Eddie played in the 'low scoring' era when the entire team averaged 40 pts a game.  His Senior year total of 115 points led all section 9 players.
 

George Green:  '71, Basketball,  2004 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

 George Green capped his three year career at MHS by leading Leopards to the 1971 PIAA Class B title. His career scoring total was 1424 points, single season point total (731) and single season rebounding total (546). Midland was 27-1 in 1970-71, winning its last 21 games. When Green finished his career he held a total of 11 school records, including the ones mentioned above.

George Hamilton: basketball coach at MHS for eight seasons (1952-53 thru 1959-60). Career record was 150-39 and 87-15 in WPIAL section games. His teams won 5 section titles and reached the semifinals of the WPIAL playoffs three times (54-55, 58-59, 59-60).

Simmie Hill Jr.:  1986 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

'65, Basketball, Forward, PIAA State Class A Championship, scored a career total of 1327 points in three years at MHS (194 as sophomore, 481 as junior, and 652 as senior), West Texas A&M University, ABA four years 2449 Career Points and 334 Assists.

Dave Jakes,  1989 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame,

'31, Boxing, Middleweight, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Golden Gloves Champion: Track ,member of the track team which won the Beaver County Mile Relay championship and were silver medalists in the Penn Relays in 1931:  Football, End, All-County First Team 1931, Team was undefeated finishing 9-0 and allowing only 6 points scored against them.

Hank Kuzma:  1981 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Basketball coach at MHS for seven seasons (60-61 thru 66-67). In those years, his career record was 152-20 and it was 84-6 in WPIAL section games. His 1964-65 team won the first WPIAL and PIAA championships in Midland history. It was 28-0. His teams had a 63-game home court win streak (4th game 60-61 thru 4th game 65-66). It also had the school's longest win streak, including playoffs, at 32 games (all of 64-65 thru 4th game of 65-66). His 63-64 team was the first from Midland to reach the WPIAL finals, losing to Uniontown.

Herb Lake, '55 Basketball ,All-WPIAL, All-State. 
He scored 900 career points in three years (552 as a senior; 334 as a
junior; 14 as a sophomore) and still holds the single game record of 53
points scored against Mars in 1955. Member Youngstown State Univ. Hall of Fame, Inducted 1986.

Norman Van Lier III:  1984 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Basketball, Guard, PIAA State Championship, All-everything, scored 855 career points (154 as soph, 311 as a junior and 390 as a senior. He also played football, Starred at St. Francis College, 10 year NBA scoring 8770 points and 5217 assists, NBA All-Star 1974, 1976, 1977

Gene Martell, '52 Football, All-WPIAL, All-State honorable mention

Edward Olkowski: 1984 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame

Basketball Coach 1967 -1984 Olkowski's teams compiled an impressive 323-96 record. Seven WPIAL Class B/AA boys' basketball titles,  five consecutively  1973-77.  The Leopards went to the PIAA final five times in that period winning four PIAA State championships.  Assistant to Hank Kuzma on the PIAA State Champion 1965 team.

Matt Ordich, '31, Football, Back, All County .

John Petchel, 1984 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Football Coach,  nine year record 59-20-6. 1952 won the WPIAL Class A championship by defeating German Township, 14-6, in playoff game. 1954 shared the WPIAL Class A title with Braddock. The two teams played to a 7-7 tie in the title game.

Arthur "Tubby" Petrosky, '40,  2005 Inductee Midland Sports Hall of Fame, 1980 Inductee  Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

In its early days, Midland was a hotbed of baseball. There were diamonds on each end of town. In 1924, a group of 50 men met in the Crucible Hospital building to organize and promote an interdepartmental baseball league and the mill rivalries were born. They decided to construct a field at 12th Street where baseball in Midland flourished for decades thereafter. On e man who could always be found on that field tucked behind the Titanium Plant was Arthur 'Tubby' Petrosky: a three-time letter winner in baseball for his high school team. Tubby was born in 1921 in Youngstown, PA (near Latrobe) and graduated from Midland High School in 1940. As a player, Tubby was an all-star at the amateur, semi-pro, and professional levels. He played in the Nickel Belt League in Canada, and served as a coach, leading Ontario to its first title. In the minors, Tubby played in the North Carolina State League, the Colonial League, the Piedmont League, and the Western Carolina League. As player and manager, Petrosky staged a variety of promotions including 1948 All-Star games with the famous Homestead Greys, and a team of stars led by Honus Wagner. He served as Pennsylvania State Baseball Commissioner under the National Baseball Congress. He was named Commissioner of the Year in 1956. He was so highly acknowledge for his slant on baseball that he served as a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tubby was a radio gunner with a Marine dive bomber squadron in the Pacific, after which he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. Tubby has remained active in the VFW and served as President of the Midland Polish Club for many years. Today, Tubby Petrosky is 84 and resides with his nephew Harry and Harry's wife Kris in Lancaster.

Managed the CIO Baseball team since 1953. 1954:  finished second in its league and won the Shaughnessy playoffs. 1954: Beaver County champs, Pennsylvania state champs, and then seventh place in National Semi-Pro tournament at Wichita, Kansas.

Cris Shovlin:  2006 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

Radio and TV Broadcasting .

Movie Smith: '60, Basketball, lettered four years in basketball (56-57, 57-58, 58-59 and 59-60). Career total was 1207 (37 as freshman, 279 as soph, 396 as junior, 395 as senior). He also played football and track.

Henry Suffoletta, '55 All-WPIAL for three straight years, All-State;

Ivan Toncic, 1999 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

'56 Football, All WPIAL, All-State, All-America

Joe Tonti. 1978 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame

Joe graduated from high school back in about 1926 after winning 12 letters in sports. He went on to graduate from Temple University. Joe was world famous for his exceptional muscular coordination and control. At call, he could move any muscle of his body. A professional strong man, he toured all over the world and appeared on stage and in the movies. He has been written up in Ripley's "Believe It or Not." One of Joe's sensational performances was to place in his mouth a bar which was attached by chains to the bumper of a five-ton truck. Then walking on his hands, Joe would pull the truck! This stunt led to his being known as "the strongest upside down man in the world." He was also an expert at judo and at one time sparring partner for Max Baer, world's heavyweight champion. But more than all that, Joe was a good citizen appearing at innumerable bond rallies and benefits during the war. He became primarily interested in the rehabilitation of injured war veterans and body building for the under-developed. He authored several books on physical culture.

Steve Trbovich, '31, Football, Center, All-County.  Midland Sports Hall of Fame inductee - 2006

Marshall Ungetheum, '53 Football, Quarterback, All-WPIAL

Tony Verzilli - Midland Sports Hall of Fame inductee - 2006

Barnstorming isn’t part of today’s sports vernacular. But, it’s a term that applies to Tony Verzilli. He will always been remembered as the man who recruited Midland’s best softball and basketball players, loaded them into cars and buses, and traveled the country to play in some of the most competitive tournaments he could find. Among the first teams he built was the Riviera Vikings, sponsored by d’Eramo’s. In the 50’s, Tony managed the midland C.I.O. Softball teams into a powerhouse. Twice, Midland teams played in the national championships. They tangled with the fabled A.O. New Castle and McKeesport clubs. They played in tournaments in Ohio and as far away as Williamsport and Detroit. Tony brought Eddie Feigner the famous ‘King and his Court’ to Midland, and even sponsored an exhibition ‘Donkey’ softball game. Tony recruited Bob Boston, the former Homestead Greys star, and Chink McCauley who spent several seasons in the Minors, to play for Midland. He also built basketball teams that participated in junior tournaments over several years. Tony also founded the T.O.P.S. Club, the booster organization that supported all the Midland High School athletic teams buy purchasing their halftime drinks and even Tossle Caps for the winter. He was a Midland Police Precinct Captain and a Firefighter for several decades. Tony earned a Purple Heart during World War II.

William "Butch" Vinovich Sr. 1988 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame

NFL Referee.

Nick Yanosich, '53 All-WPIAL, All-State

Joe Yukica: 1984 Inductee Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame

'49, Played football and basketball at Midland. Went to Penn State and lettered two seasons (1950-51). Coached college football 21 years at Univ. of New Hampshire (1966-67), Boston College (1968-77) and Dartmouth (1978-86) and had a combined record of 111-93-4. In 1971, he was named New England Coach of the Year after leading Boston College to a 9-2 record. In his 10 seasons at Boston College, his record was 68-37 and is the school's second winningest football coach. At Dartmouth, his team was Ivy League champions in 1978 and were Ivy League co-champions in 1981 and 1982. Yukica was the head coach for three College all-star games: East-West Shrine game (1976) and the Blue-Gray Classic (1977 & 1978). Inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000; the Gridiron Club of Boston in 2002; and awarded special citation from the Football Writers Association of America "for his long and honorable career in college athletics and for his contribution to football.

Bob "Concrete" Zielinski,  1980 Inductee  Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

All-Around.