The occasion of Gene Huey's efforts in helping the
Indianapolis Colts win Super Bowl XLI in January of 2007, was a good reason to research
the other National and World Championships, and near championships
involving Fayette County athletes. The list below represents some of
those milestones!
1925
The Uniontown High School basketball team
finished in second place in the National High School basketball
championships in Chicago. A team from Wichita, Kansas won the tournament. A
picture of that Uniontown basketball team (The one above) is in the Library
of Congress thanks to the Chicago Daily News.
1928
Charles Hyatt and Lester Cohen from that
1925 Uniontown basketball team – helped win the National College Basketball
Championship for the University of Pittsburgh.
1930
Charles Hyatt and Lester Cohen help Pitt
its second National College Basketball Championship in three years.
1936
Connellsville’s John Woodruff helped
destroy Adolf Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy at the Olympic Games in
Berlin. He won the 800 meter run. In he was a member of the World
Record holding 4 x 880 yard relay team. He was also the AAU 800 meter
champion that year.
1937
Connellsville’s John Woodruff is a member
of the World Record holding 4 x 880 yard relay team. He was also the AAU 800
meter champion that year.
1940
Uniontown High School graduate Harry
Clarke scores two touchdowns for the Chicago Bears in the game that still
stands at the largest margin in a NFL Championship game – 73-0!
1941
Harry Clarke is a member of the NFL
Champion Chicago Bears
1943
Harry Clarke is a member of
the NFL Champion Chicago Bears
1943
Connellsville’s Johnny Lujack
helped lead Notre Dame’s football team to a National College Football
Championship.
1946
Johnny Lujack
resumed his college career after three years in the U.S. military, by
helping Notre Dame win another National College Football Championship.
Lujack actually came in third place in Heisman Trophy voting that year!
1947
Johnny Lujack helped win another National
College Football
Championship for Notre Dame
and he also became the first of two eventual Heisman Trophy winners from
Fayette County. He also beat out Joe DiMaggio for the AP Athlete of the
year. He would later throw for an NFL record 468 yards in a single game
while playing for the Chicago Bears.
1959
Uniontown graduate Charles
Hyatt is listed as the first player inducted into the Basketball Hall of
Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1960
Connellsville’s Johnny Lujack
is inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
1960
Chucky Davis – a former South
Union Blue Devil became an All American and he led his Westminster
Basketball team to the NAIA College Basketball Championship - before losing
in the title game to a team from Texas.
1960
Uniontown’s Joe Thomas lost
the National High School Mile Championship by only one tenth of a second in
Monterey Park, California.
1961
Uniontown’s Ernie Davis wins
the Heisman Trophy. He is the first African American to win the award.
1961
Uniontown's Sandy Stephens becomes the
first African American quarterback ever given All American
honors. He had been Ernie Davis' childhood Midget League teammate growing up
in Uniontown.
1962
Sandy Stephens, along with
Uniontown’s Bill Munsey and Clairton’s Judge Dixon make up the all Western
Pennsylvania backfield for the Minnesota Golden Gophers who win the National
College Football Championship that year. Stephens came in fourth place in
Heisman Trophy voting.
1964
Uniontown’s Bill Munsey helps
lead his B.C. Lions to a Canadian Football League Championship. He’s the
first player ever to score touchdowns on both offense and defense in the
Grey Cup Championship game!
1965
Connellsville’s Ray Scott does
the play-by-play for the Green Bay Packers who won the NFL Championship.
1966
Connellsville’s Ray Scott does
the play-by-play for the Green Bay Packers who won the NFL Championship.
1967
Connellsville’s Ray Scott does
the play-by-play for the Green Bay Packers who won the NFL Championship.
He’d later become a member of the broadcasting Hall of Fame.
1969
Uniontown’s Ray Gillian is on
the National College Football Championship Ohio State Buckeyes. He scores a
touchdown in the Rose Bowl game that year that sealed the National
Championship for Ohio State!
1970
Vanderbilt native and
Connellsville High School graduate Jim Braxton earns All America honors
playing for the West Virginia Mountaineer football team.
1972
Laurel Highlands graduate Wil
Robinson gains first string All America honors as a member of the West
Virginia, Mountaineer basketball team.
1975
Uniontown’s Chuck Muncie
places second behind Ohio State’s Archie Griffin in Heisman Trophy
balloting. He’s the youngest brother of Bill Munsey and Baltimore Colts
defensive back Nelson Munsey.
1979
Uniontown’s Ernie Davis is
inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
1990
Uniontown native and Laurel Highlands
graduate, Terry Mulholland pitches a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies.
He would later become one only of three pitchers in Major League History to
win a game against all 30 Major League teams.
2005
Uniontown’s Tom Holiday is the
pitching coach for the Texas Longhorn baseball team that wins the NCAA
College Baseball Championship – known as the College World Series.
2007
Uniontown’s Gene Huey, who’d
been named All Conference on both offense and defense while playing for the
Wyoming Cowboys when he was in college is the running backs coach for the
Super Bowl winning Indianapolis Colts football team.
2007
There simply aren't enough words to
describe Edenborn's C. Vivian Stringer! Born Charlene Vivian Stoner in March
of 1948, she's been a woman's basketball coach more than 30 years. Her list
of accomplishments include: Induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of
Fame in 2001; Selection as the Collegiate Women's Coach of the year 3 times;
an assistant coach on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Women's Gold Medal Basketball
team; the distinction of being the only coach to take three teams to the
Final Four; the third winningest women's basketball coach in history. Her
Rutgers University Scarlett Knights lost their National Championship bid by
only 7 points in 2007.
The occasion of Gene Huey's efforts in helping the
Indianapolis Colts win Super Bowl XLI in January of 2007, was a good reason to research
the other National and World Championships, and near championships
involving Fayette County athletes. The list below represents some of
those milestones!
