The Duquesne Times, November 17, 1949 |
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Eddie Klein - Sports Editor |
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KLEIN SEZ George Vargo is collecting dues for the Sportsmen . . . he asked me to mention the Sportsmen Banquet at Staisey's on Monday night, Dec. 5th . . . John Donelli and his gridders will be honored with seniors getting jackets . . . Bill Lemmer, Duquesne High's veteran hardwood skipper, is getting his boys ready for a tough 24 game schedule . . . Tues. Dec 6th will see the Dukes in their opener at Braddock . . . The first WPIAL game will be at McKeesport Friday Jan 6th, a crucial test in their [indecipherable] . . . Zollie Kovac, order of the Golden Fleece, reports that his club will have a basketball team on the floor this winter . . . Duquesne has 2 local boys on the University of Miami [indecipherable] team this year in Mike and Bill Branik, 2 ex-Duquesne High athletes. Mike got a tough break at the outset, when he broke a leg . . . they are sons of "Puddy" Branik, a former sandlot star here . . . Joan Pikutic, pretty blonde at Tony's Diner, is a loyal Munhall High student and rooter . . . she says Munhall's cagers will take us this year . . . (sorry, Joan, but we don't agree with you) . . . Pete Dimperio, Westinghouse High grid tutor, rates John Donelli's Dukes as the toughest foe he has met this season and there are a lot of fans who seem to think that Westinghouse would beat McKeesport if they met up . . . If you haven't heard Joe Koller give that political spiel then you are really missing something . . . ditto for [???] Butcher and his side-splitting [??]-rotation talk . . . Johnny Michelo-[??], Steeler coach, sure got a bad break last Sunday when his club was tied by the Los Angeles Rams 7-7 in the last 30 seconds . . . Local fans will be well represented at Pitt Stadium when the Tigers and New Castle clash for the WPIAL Class AA crown next Saturday. Do you know that John Donelli had [??] teams that lost only one WPIAL game, the 4 schools to spoil the Dukes title bid were Scott, Redstone, Donora and McKeesport . . Duke Weigle coached the Johnstown High team back in 1938 when the Tigers beat them for the Class AA toga . . . this is the second title bid for the Tigers . . their other unbeaten teams of 1936 and 1947 lacked sufficient points to play in the playoffs . . . Edmund Wicht, veteran PIAA secretary, is seriously ill, according to Superintendent of Schools, Fred. C. Gillespie . . . Ralph Genito, classy ex-Duquesne High back, played a prominent role in Kentucky's 35-0 win over Florida last Saturday . . . Gyp Wunderlich, Donora cage mentor, brought his wonder club of 1945, to a Booster Banquet here that year -- his group included Lou Ceconni, Arnold Galiffa, Don Fanoni, Deacon Tewler, and Ross . . . Johnny Karpinsky will play for the Swissvale Legion basketeers this season - some of his teammates will be ex-Duquesne University teammates . . . Duquesne High's crack 1948 team tallied 292 points in winning 10 of their 11 games . . . Frank Leahy, famous Notre Dame coach, is being tempted with fabulous pro grid offers . . . Leahy was the line coach at Fordham back in 1933 when that school was one of the mightiest grid powers of the nation . . . Have you seen the swell display of baseball championship trophies won by the Zemps in the window of George Vargo, local realtor . . . The Zemps held a victory party last week to honor one of their own boys - Ralph "Pug" Marino, newly elected Third Ward Constable . . . "Pug" came out on top despite the Republican landslide here . . . And while I am at it, I might as well thank everyone that had any part in my Aldermanic victory in the First Ward . . . Miami College of Ohio is after Davey Maurer, Duquesne High's classy quarterback . . . too bad his dad, Frank "Squinx" Maurer, who was killed in an auto accident a few years ago, could not have seen young Davey in action . . . Davey's dad was not only one of the best athletes of his day at Duquesne Hi, he was also one of the most popular . . . Pete Schoderbek, one of John Donelli's stalwart linemen, has a chance to go to Columbia or Penn State . . . Frank Nassida, another brilliant all-around athlete, is being sought by 3 schools, namely: Michigan State, William & Mary and Penn State . . . Bob Higgins of Penn State, was here to see Nassida recently . . . Virginia Tech, a colored Southern College, has put in a bid for 3 stellar Duquesne High athletes, Charley Daniels, Willard Poindexter and Lucius Williams . . . There was a wild demonstration of joy in McKeesport last Friday night following the Tigers 20-0 win over Ambridge . . . the Tigers only had 7 first downs to 13 for Moe Rubenstein's Bridgers but a nifty aerial attack brought victory for the rampaging Tigers . . . Here's hoping Duke Weigle and his Tigers are successful in beating New Castle next Saturday - although it's going to be quite a job . . . Although Neenie Campbell is singing the blues about how weak his Tiger cagers will be and how tough Lemmer's Dukes will be - we have been told that he has been drilling an impressive squad for a long time and that they will be ready for Duquesne Jan. 6th. |
Dukes, Clairton Notes. (By Eddie Klein) The attendance was 3,500 for the Dukes last home stand . . . The 32-7 score was the same as last year . . . The Dukes triumph evened the series at 14 wins a piece with 1 tie in the 29 meetings between the ancient rivals . . . Johnny Karrs didn't fare too well in the first season after replacing Harold Wilkinson . . . Clairton won 3 and lost 7 this year . . . For John Donelli it was 9 wins in 10 games -- only a 13-7 heartbreaker to McKeesport kept the Dukes from meeting New Castle next Saturday . . . A Parents' Night Program, put on by the Duquesne Sportsmen, was impressive, with Adam Knapp as chairman . . . the grand crew comprising Jimmy Schorr, Dale Hemphill, Norman Rasp, Norman Gwynn, and Art Ballough did a nice job of decorating the field for the occasion . . . they had a Flag, and the Duke dressed up with hat, cane and gloves . . . which drew a lot of favorable comment . . . All of the Duquesne players were introduced to the fans before the game and got a hand . . . . . . . . . and all of the proud parents in attendance, stood up when introduced . . . The only thing wrong was that the Parents had to be on hand to see one of the roughest games of the current season . . . In the 3rd period it got so rough that 4 fifteen yard penalties were inflicted, 3 on the Dukes . . . The captains of both teams, Nassida and Guenther, were banished for ejecting fisticuffs into the melee . . . this duo had been building up to their scrap with some hard playing in the first half . . . then their tempers flared up in the 3rd stanza . . . the boys really went at it . . . with honors going to Nassida, who flashed a wicked left hand (attention: Jake Mintz) . . . One of the officials was Pete Dimperio, Westinghouse tutor, who rates the Dukes high in his book . . . and we might mention that Westinghouse had the best drilled outfit we saw all year . . . At half-time, Clairton's colorful 100 piece band, gave a splendid Armistice Day performance befitting the occasion, and they got a big hand from the crowd . . . Eugene Sylagi's fine Duquesne band also made a hit in their farewell appearance . . . several musical numbers were dedicated to the Parents . . . Clairton started off with a bang to march to the Dukes 8, but a costly fumble at this point was recovered by alert Williard Poindexter on the 9 yard stripe . . . Al Madeya featured for the Dukes with several long runs -- two of them touchdowns on sprints of 51 and 36 yards -- besides his deadly passing to Davey Maurer for 2 other six-pointers . . . on one, Maurer made a miraculous one hand catch in Don Hutson style as he raced across for a score . . . The win marked another great season for Skipper John Donelli, whose record since he came here matches any other coach in the WPIAL . . . he is the man responsible for bringing winning football to this city -- after it was a very low ebb . . . just take a peek at his record sometime . . . Eleven seniors were in the Dukes starting lineup . . . they were Capt. Frank Nassida, Dave Maurer, Lucius Williams, Charles Daniels, Pete Schoderbeck, Al Madeya, Dick Jones, Don Soffer, Williard Poindexter, George Wilkinson, and John Voivoda . . . three more Dukes who saw a lot fo action in their last year were Willie Robinson, Larry Dolan, and Henry Prokenpek . . . all 14 boys can feel mighty proud of the great part they played in their dandy record this year which saw the Dukes win 9 of their 10 games -- with an injury to Dick Jones, colored speedster, early in the second period, costing the Dukes their crucial 13-7 loss to their arch enemy, the Tigers . . . Only one experienced member of the Dukes will be back - he is Robert Selznick, and end who played quite a bit . . . George "Skinny" Pastrick, who operated the play-by-play sound system all year, rates a hand for a nice job . . . Clairton had a lot of suporters on hand . . . There is some talk that the field will be enlarged for next year . . . we hope so . . . This year's club rates with the best John Donelli has turned out todate . . . Biggest crowd of the season, of course, was that overflow throng that saw the exciting Tiger-Dukes clash . . . it was estimated to be 12,500. |