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Mike Colligan of TheHockeyWriters.com on the Penguins

Mike Colligan is the Pittsburgh Penguins correspondent at TheHockeyWriters.com and a business of hockey analyst at Forbes SportsMoney.

First, how important is it to the franchise and city to be able to host the draft this year?

Having the ability to host events like the Draft, Frozen Four (in 2013), and an All-Star Game (soon enough) is the reason the Penguins pushed so hard for a new arena. It’s hard to believe that less than ten years ago the team was a consistent last place finisher and the future of the franchise was up in the air.

Hosting the draft is just another landmark in the Penguins’ impressive turnaround story.

What do you think would surprise readers most about this team as we head into the draft?

Jordan Staal (#2 pick in 2006) has played in 431 career NHL games, while all other players drafted in the Ray Shero era have combined for just 156 NHL games. Recent draft classes aren’t expected to be contributing yet and the team has traded away a number of picks along the way, but drafting and player development are important keys to success in the salary cap era.

Can you break down the draft and let readers know what the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s draft class are?

This year’s draft class is an interesting one. The chatter last summer was the Class of 2012 would be the strongest of the past decade. It’s always tough to make those predictions and I’m not so sure that will be the case. Regardless, this class is loaded with defensemen and even a number of second rounders seem poised to turn into solid Top four NHL defensemen.

Outside of the top few picks though, if you’re a team in need of an impact winger or goalie, this probably isn’t your year.

How does the scouting process work for the Penguins – especially as hockey is such an international sport with talent located all over the globe, how do the Penguins see prospects in action and who is involved in taking those evaluations and making player decisions?

There is certainly talent all over the globe but technology seems to be helping teams better locate and identify NHL-caliber talent. The Penguins have a pretty standard sized amateur scouting staff situated across North America and Europe headed by Jay Heinbuck and Randy Sexton.

GM Ray Shero and his upper-level management team oversees the scouting process, but Shero feels that its dangerous for anyone to just dabble in amateur scouting. The entire staff is part of the final decision-making process, but Shero leaves the heavy lifting to Heinbuck and his group.

What typically is the Penguins’ approach to the draft, and how does it differ from that of other teams?

The Penguins typically select the best player available, especially in earlier rounds. They rarely find themselves in the Top 15 selections of the first round so most of their drafted players are still a number of years away from NHL action. The team feels it doesn’t make sense to draft for today’s needs when it can be impossible to predict what the team will look like and need a few years down the road. A number of teams have adopted this same philosophy, but it’s funny how you can still pinpoint exactly which team will select a certain player.

Also, coincidence or not, the Penguins have steered mostly clear of Europeans in the Shero era.

From your vantage point, who are some realistic targets you’d like to see the Penguins take in the first few rounds, and why?

The #22 spot would be great for a team in need of a puck-moving defenseman, but the Penguins don’t need another. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Penguins trade their pick, but I doubt they’ll move out of the first round entirely being that they’re the host team. Therefore I’ll predict they’ll move up five to ten spots and grab a player like Zemgus Girgensons who fits the Penguins ideal mold of compete level, skating, and scoring ability.

There’s some speculation that the Vokoun trade was as much to push Fleury as it was to serve as a solid backup. What are your thoughts on this?

I think that’s exactly why Vokoun was acquired. Capable backups could have been had for less than half the salary they are paying Vokoun. Shero believes competition is a good thing and his hope is the challenge from a legitimate backup in Vokoun will bring out the best in Fleury. I don’t think Coach Bylsma will hesitate to run with Vokoun next season if Fleury struggles.

What are the chances, in your opinion, of the Penguins trading Staal or a defenseman like Martin? And if done, what current NHL players or draft prospects can you see them targeting in such trades?

It seems inevitable than the Penguins won’t exist in their current form 18 months from now. Big decisions will have to be made with regards to the futures of Sidney Crosby and Staal, among others. The team has stated on numerous occasions that they want to keep Staal long-term but the salary cap might force them to part ways. Paul Martin is a talented defenseman that hasn’t found a consistent groove in Pittsburgh yet. I think they’ll give him another year to see if he can get back on track.

If either player does move, the Penguins will need at least one NHL-ready player in return to help them win now.

Who are some of the AHL prospects that you see contributing to this team next season?

Defensemen Simon Despres, Brian Strait, and Robert Bortuzzo all played well in limited action last season. I think all three will be given the chance to make the Penguins out of training camp. If one or multiple step up, that could open the door to trading one of the seven defensemen with NHL contracts. If Strait or Bortuzzo can’t stick at the NHL level, I think they’ll be moved to another organization.

After losing again in the early rounds of the playoffs, what does this team need to do to get back to winning playoff hockey?

The ingredients are still in place for another Stanley Cup run. Part of success in the playoffs comes down to luck and the Penguins got a tough first-round matchup in Philadelphia. Fortunately, the shocking early exit will probably be a great motivator for next season and beyond. If they can finally get Crosby back into the lineup and healthy, they will be a clear favorite once again.

The team seemingly lost self-control in the process during many of those games – how does that happen repeatedly to a playoff-veteran team?

Part of it is obviously the frustration that comes with the early playoff exits. I also think the team lost focus down the stretch with a number of players (Malkin, Neal, Dupuis) chasing individual milestones. It’s nice to reach the 40 or 50-goal plateau, but it can be difficult to flip the switch back to a team approach once the playoffs roll around. I think the players and coaching staff recognize this in hindsight and I expect a focused and determined team next year.

Any last thoughts for readers?

Let’s hope this already lengthy Penguins offseason doesn’t extend even further with a lockout. The NHL has made great strides in recent years and it would be great to see the league maintain that momentum.

Mike Tomczak, Steelers Quarterback, 1993-1999, Pittsburgh Power OC, 2012

First, what made you decide to take on the role of offensive coordinator of the Power – what makes this a good fit?

It happened quickly. I knew Matt Shaner – the Power owner – we live in the same community so I had a connection with him. To make a long story short, he asked me if I would come into practice one day and act as a consultant – to watch the team and give some feedback. The practice was Thursday evening. After the home game that Saturday, he called me and told me they were making some changes and asked if I’d be interested in the offensive coordinator position.

I always wanted to get into coaching. It didn’t work out in Pittsburgh market – geographically the opportunities weren’t there. So this opportunity got me thinking and I decided to go ahead and do it. I called Matt that Sunday – so after 48 hours I had the job. And here we are, sixteen days into it.

I’m excited. We have good athletes and good character guys.

Continue reading “Mike Tomczak, Steelers Quarterback, 1993-1999, Pittsburgh Power OC, 2012”

O’Brien on 50th anniversary of U.S. Open at Oakmont

TV documentary recalls 1962 U.S. Open

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

The 1962 U.S. Open at Oakmont is still considered one of the greatest upsets in pro golf history. A first-year pro from Columbus, Ohio named Jack Nicklaus came here and knocked off Arnold Palmer in a playoff. Palmer was called “The King” at the time. Palmer was in the prime of his career, and he was playing on a familiar course just 40 miles from his home in Latrobe.

The crowd was for him all the way, and Palmer and Nicklaus went head-to-head as a pairing in the first two rounds and then again in the fourth round and the playoff round. Arnie’s Army was marching strong each day and taunting the young blond branded “The Bear” as he made his way around the famed and respected course.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of that great event and the USGA has produced an hour-long TV documentary that will precede this year’s final round of the U.S. Open on NBC-TV. It will be aired at 2 p.m. on Father’s Day on WPXI-TV.

This year’s U.S. Open is being played at another storied venue, Oakland Hills Country Club outside San Francisco, but the documentary will make it a must double header for all serious golf enthusiasts.

I had forgotten I had worked the U.S. Open at Oakmont, and clearly enjoyed one of the best viewpoints of the action all week long. I was sitting on the edge of the greens at most of the holes, writing caption information for photographs taken by a staff photographer for The Pittsburgh Press.

I never included this event in the Top Ten of the most important sports events I have personally witnessed and written about until I took a telephone call in February from George Roy of Flagstaff Films in New York City.

“When you were in high school,” he began, “did you by chance get out to the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1962?”

I said that was the summer after my sophomore year at the University of Pittsburgh and that I had a position as a summer intern on the city-side news staff at The Press. I explained exactly what my assignment was that day and how rowdy the crowd had been while cheering for Palmer, the hometown favorite, against the young brash upstart from Ohio, a first-year pro named Jack Nicklaus.

I said the crowd cheered for Arnie and insulted Jack regularly, calling him “Ohio Fats” and “Fat Boy,” and actually stomping on the ground when Nicklaus was attempting a putt. Even Steelers’ fans didn’t behave that badly back in those days.

Palmer apologized to Nicklaus at one point for the way his fans were behaving. Woody Hayes, the feisty football coach at The Ohio State University, where Nicklaus had first gained attention on the golf course, was following Nicklaus in the company of Charlie Nicklaus, the father of the young blond golfer. Charlie Nicklaus owned and operated a drug store in Columbus that Hayes had frequented on a regular basis.

Woody and Charlie got into a few verbal confrontations with the crowd over the way they were trying to distract Jack Nicklaus. Hayes was known for having a fiery temper and eventually lost his job at Ohio State for assaulting an opposing player in a sideline skirmish. You wouldn’t want to mess with Woody Hayes, or Charlie Nicklaus.

Some reports on that event, particularly one by an old friend on the sports beat, Jerry Izenberg of The Newark Star-Ledger, indicated that one could actually feel the ground around the green quake when the members of Arnie’s Army started marching in step, stomping on the ground when Nicklaus was putting.
I don’t know about that, but Nicklaus insisted afterward that he was not aware that the crowd was a bit unruly. He was too focused on his golf game to notice.

Once George Roy realized I had been a witness to what went on that week at Oakmont, he scheduled a visit to our home in Upper St. Clair. That’s why there were two television trucks in our driveway the morning of February 28, 2012.

Roy had told me I was a good story-teller. His company Flagstaff Films produced sports documentaries for network and cable television stations. He was working on such a documentary about the 1962 U.S. Open that will be shown on NBC befpre the final round on June 17, at 2 or 3 p.m.

Roy used to run a similar TV documentary filming company called Black Canyon and I was interviewed and appeared in a documentary called “Pistol Pete” The Life and Times of Pete Maravich,” and another one about Roberto Clemente. The Maravich piece won an Emmy Award. Roy’s company has won six Emmy Awards and several other distinctions through the years. I got ample air time on both of the documentaries about Maravich and Clemente, I am proud to report.

I recalled how author Shelby Foote was featured so often in a documentary about the Civil War that was done by award-winning Ken Burns. “I want to be your Shelby Foote,” I told Roy and did my homework on the 1962 U.S. Open prior to his visit to my home in Upper St. Clair.

Roy called me a few weeks later, after his camera crew has recorded a return to Oakmont by Palmer and Nicklaus to reminisce about their meeting 50 years earlier. “I think you will be pleased with what we’ve turned out,” he said. “You made the cut. You’re in it for sure.”

I will explain how I was able to have one of the most up-close views possible at the 1962 U.S. Open. I was working that summer as an intern at The Pittsburgh Press. I had been awarded a Wall Street Journal Scholarship of $500 in addition to the pay I drew working on the city-side or news side of Pittsburgh’s leading daily at the time.

It was a wonderful internship and that summer proved to be very important in shaping my career. Each week I would shadow a different established reporter on his or her beat. One week I’d be at City Hall, the next week in the local judicial courts or police station, the labor beat, the real estate beat, you name it. At the city morgue, I even witnessed an autopsy of a woman who’d been found murdered in the streets. Her body was badly bruised with purple splotches everywhere. I was given an opportunity to write columns and they appeared above and below some nationally syndicated columnists such as Robert Ruark, Bishop Fulton J. Sheehan and Jim Bishop and local writers such as Gilbert Love and Barbara Cloud. I wrote a front-page story about a riot at Western Penitentiary for a full week.

I hit it off well with the editor, John Troan, and the managing editor, Leo Koeberlein, and they invited me to return the following summer. I chose to go to Philadelphia instead to have a summer internship at The Philadelphia Bulletin. I wanted to be with the sportswriters in Philadelphia, among the best in the country. It turned out to be a big mistake. I worked the overnight shift and I seldom got to write any stories. I came home early that summer. I was wasting my time in Philly.

That summer I worked at The Press was also when I started frequenting Dante’s, a saloon/restaurant on the border of Brentwood and Whitehall where all the top sports writers and broadcasters as well as some of the outstanding Steelers, future Hall of Fame players such as Bobby Layne and Ernie Stautner, were among the regulars. I wanted to be around the writers. I wanted to hear their stories, learn from them, show them my stuff, and seek their advice and approval.

The media cast at Dante’s regularly included Myron Cope, Pat Livingston, Bob Drum, Doc Giffin, Tom Bender, Ed Conway, Dave Kelly, Tom Hritz and a supporting cast of characters from the South Hills, namely Jim “Buff” Boston, who became the traveling secretary for the Steelers in the ‘70s, and a fellow named “Funny Sam” that I never thought was that funny and a dentist with bad teeth.

That 1962 summer was a great summer. I knew, for sure, I wanted to be a sportswriter. I was just 19, soon to be 20, but still too young to be in any bars, but I was eager to make my mark.

One day at The Press, I overheard some of the bosses discussing plans for coverage of the upcoming U.S. Open. They were talking about who was going to do what, and they were going to send some reporters from city-side as well as the usual sportswriters to cover the event. When they stated talking about the photographers, I stepped forward and volunteered to go out to Oakmont and write photo captions.

I was assigned to tag along with Al Hermann Jr. When I came back to The Press in 1979, after working a year in Miami and nine years in New York, I teamed up with that same Al Hermann Jr. in covering the Pittsburgh Steelers. John Troan and Leo Koeberlein were still in charge of the paper and they were the ones who brought me back to town. They forgave me for not returning for a second summer as an intern in 1963.

They told me that I was going to be the next sports editor of The Press, and succeed Pat Livingston in that post. They didn’t tell me they were going to retire before that would happen.
But that’s water over the damn. I still enjoyed my days at The Pittsburgh Press.

Nicklaus had just joined the pro tour after many successes as an amateur at The Ohio State University. I have watched Nicklaus on TV when he has hosted his annual golf tour outing at Muirfield in Dublin, Ohio. It turns out he liked the layout at Oakmont so much that he has included some of its features in his own course, including those famous furrowed sand traps when he designed and later reconfigured some of the holes on his own course.

He used the same rakes with the four-inch tines widely separated that he’d seen in the maintenance shacks at Oakmont. Only now they were called “Jack’s Rakes.”

I thought about the first time I saw him at Oakmont. All the top golf writers and some of the leading sports columnists in the country were at Oakmont that summer of 1962 and they hung out in a media room in the basement of the club house. Several of them told stories. One of the ones who held court the most often was Oscar Fraley. He had authored the book The Untouchables, which was turned into a popular TV series that I watched religiously (from 1959 to 1963). So I introduced myself to Oscar Fraley and shadowed him in the clubhouse that week. Bob Drum, the golf writer of The Press who lived in Bethel Park, was a close friend of Palmer and a favorite among the golf writers because he was quite the character.

Oakmont was regarded as a monster of a course, a true test for veterans and downright unfair and unforgiving for rookies. It still has the same status today among the world’s greatest and most challenging golf courses. That’s why they play so many U.S. Opens there.

Its greens were glossy, and it had those infamous furrowed sand bunkers – “the church pews” – that made it different from every other golf course in the country. They have since been eliminated from the course, along with many of its signature trees.

“Go get ‘em, Arnie!” fans were yelling from the outset. There was no question as to who was the hometown favorite. The gathering loved Palmer’s bold, attacking style, his humble low-key manner of responding to questions in the press tent. The way he waved to the gallery, grinning back at them when they shouted his name. Plus, he was from nearby Latrobe. He was a hometown hero, one of their own.
Arnie’s Army marched across the course like troops in field movements during the Civil War.

They played 36 holes on the last day of the tournament in those days. Palmer had 73 in the morning and 71 in the afternoon, and finished in a tie with Nicklaus. I got to see this by taking a position around the fringe of the greens, writing down the names of whomever Al Hermann Jr. captured with his camera. A reporter named Frank Christopher accompanied us on our tour of the course.

Palmer and Nicklaus had an 18-hole playoff on Sunday and Nicklaus carded a 71 and Palmer a 74, and the outcome never seemed to be in question.

Palmer should have won. He was the better golfer at the time, but he did not. He had 11 3-putt greens and Nicklaus carded just one 3-putt green. That was the difference. I still have color photos I took that weekend of some of the top pros, including Palmer, Nickaus, Billy Casper, Gene Littler and Gary Player.
Palmer lost a playoff the following year to Julius Boros in the U.S. Open, and never won an Open again.

Palmer won often enough, however, to retain his position as the premier player in golf. He became a multi-millionaire, the first to fly an airplane of his own, and he showed the way for others to follow.
He won seven Grand Slam titles and the U.S. Amateur title when that was something special. I had an opportunity to visit with him at his workshop at the Latrobe Country Club, to dine with him in the men’s grill at that same club, to interview him at Oakmont a few times. I wasn’t one of the golf writers, but Palmer was always pleasant and generous with his time and thoughts. It helped that I knew Doc Giffin, who came out of Crafton and succeeded Bob Drum as the golf writer at The Press, and then became Palmer’s press agent and right-hand man in 1962.

I always thought that every time I talked to Palmer it was a special occasion, a real treat. I always thought of how much my golfer friends would have liked to have been in our company on those occasions.

In his terrific book, A Good Walk Spoiled, John Feinstein wrote, “No one has ever been loved and revered and worshipped like Arnie. Palmer has been the single most important player in the history of golf.”
Palmer also played during a safer period than Tiger Woods when the players weren’t under the same scrutiny as they are today.

Arnie has always been one of the guys, but he’s never stopped wanting to win.

Palmer hopes he’s gained the respect of the players, young and old, and that his feelings merit their attention.

“I don’t want to be some old man going on about the old days,” he said, “but I still have some strong opinions about the tour and what goes on around the players in the game today.”

But he could tell them about the times he played a round with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and how he and Ike popularized the game of golf in America as well as around the world.

Pittsburgh sports author Jim O’Brien has many good books in his “Pittsburgh Proud” series that would make great gifts on Father’s Day. He can be contacted by e-mail at jimmyo64@gmail.com or at his website www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

Jim Rooker, Pirates Pitcher 1973-1980, Broadcaster 1981-1993

Jim Rooker:

First, can you let readers know about your books you’ve published – what got you into writing children’s stories and how you got started?

When I was a part-owner of Rooks restaurant in Pittsburgh, my partner and I rotated working at the restaurant so I would fly back and forth from Jacksonville, where I had a second home. I had a three-to-four month year old grandson then and had a soft spot in my heart for him, and kids in general.

I started thinking on what I could do for my kids and grandkids. I was bored on the flight back and thought, maybe I could write a book. I knew I couldn’t write a long and detailed story if it was for a kid, so I thought I come up with a short story, and used my baseball background as something I knew.

I knew kids had an affinity for little things – like Thomas the Train Engine. So I thought of objects to use, and came down to my first object – a baseball.

I told my wife I had an idea and before I even told her what it was she just rolled her eyes at me (laughing). Then I told her my idea and she just said “Okay Rook”. It took a while to get the process going. I was sitting down outside one day and finally got the name down. I wanted to keep it simple and got “Paul the Baseball”. I wanted to get into the mind of the object and tell the story from it’s point of view and get a relationship going.

Now, all three of my books are about objects – a ball, a bat and a mitt. They are easy reading for kids, parents and grandparents. My granddaughter was two and saw the book and immediately wanted me to read it to her. My four year-old grandson says the words before I do. They all rhyme so it makes it easy for them.

How can readers order the books?

They can order them here at: www.mascotbooks.com.

You spent seven years in Detroit’s farm system before being selected in the expansion draft by Kansas City and finding your way in the majors. How difficult was that time in the farm system and how did you remain confident during that time?

Back then, you didn’t have the fast road to the big leagues like you do today. It was a different culture then. We had D-ball all the way through A-ball first. You had to climb the ladder. Maybe you had some special athletes that would start a little higher, college guys, but that was it and we accepted that was the case. You could have a great year but not jump one classification – you had to prove yourself again first – that it wasn’t a fluke. Keep in mind there were less teams then too so there may have been no place for you to go.

I never had the idea to quit though.

What was the roughest part of you and did you incorporate any of that lesson of perseverance into your books?

I was lucky to have been converted to pitcher, really. I was an outfielder in C-ball. I was still learning as an outfielder converted-to-pitcher when I was in Kansas City. It was on the job training.

I wasn’t confident then in my ability – I hadn’t pitched that long. I wasn’t catching on to throwing the ball over the plate consistently.

As for including those lessons in the books…these are for three to five-year olds, so how serious can you really be? You need to catch their attention – these weren’t meant to be teaching books. If I can get to the next set – I envisioned nine books – then I could start into that – teaching things like friendship and teamwork…

You were traded to Pittsburgh in ’73 and had some of your best seasons there. What clicked for you then in Pittsburgh, and why?

In Pittsburgh I got confident as people were telling me I had the ability.. I helped but I doubted myself still. In Winter ball I developed a sinker on my own and that helped me tremendously. When I was behind in the count I could use the sinker instead of relying on my fastball. Now I could strike people out without having to throw the ball over the plate all the time and get hit.

I do often wonder…How did I hang on for so long? How close was I to being released. You never now that….

Especially as a pitcher, there’s clearly a good deal of down time during each week. How did you deal with that downtime?

Normally, pitchers are like kickers. You work once in a while….I always thought it was the best job in baseball – you work once every five days!

But you do have downtime and have to invent things to do to hold your interest. I always sat near Stargell and asked him questions and talked to the trainers and pitching coaches to learn new things. I never bothered the managers though – they were always too busy.

I got more information from hitters than from pitchers. Once I saw Willie hit a three-two slider for a home run in Montreal. The pitch was unhittable – it boggled my mind. It was a low outside slider that he hit down the left field line. I just looked at him – there was no way he could have looked for that pitch.

After things settled down in the dugout I asked him how he did it and that there was no way he knew the pitcher would throw that. He told me he wasn’t thinking about the pitcher. He was thinking about the catcher and knew the catcher would call a slider. Those are the lessons you learn that you can apply to other hitters.

Lenny Green was another good hitter that taught me that the fastball was still the best pitch in baseball. Hitters have a harder time adjusting to a fastball than any other pitch, even if it’s not that fast if you can locate it right. Dave Giusti always use to ask me how I could get a good hitter like Billy Williams out all the time like I did. I told him I pitched him backwards like I was behind in the count….these are the kinds of lessons you learn.

How important was humor to you and the team?

I remember once I cleared out all the cans of Coke out of the big cooler we had in the clubhouse. I found this ugly mask with this crazy hair and crawled into the cooler and sealed myself inside. I don’t know how long I expected to stay inside, but shortly after John Milner opened it up and I reached out and grabbed him. He screamed – I couldn’t ever duplicate the sound he made – and he jumped back in the air and hit the wall behind him so hard he fell on the ground. I was laughing but he threatened me after that with a knife – told me he’d cut my heart out – and chased me around the clubhouse a bit.

It’s a long season – you need to break things up sometimes. Bert Blyleven use to give people hot-foots all the time with matches. He got me once too, which hurt me – I was his compadre and helped him give the hot foots – I was hurt he got me too (laughing).

Despite being a spot starter during the ’79 season, you got the starting nod in game five of the World Series. What was behind that decision and how surprised were you to get the call? And why do you think your performance was so strong that day (only one run in five innings)?

’79 was an uncomfortable year for me. I had nagging injuries but nothing too serious. Towards the end of the year I felt a tweak in my back and they put me on the disable list . I think they just used that as a reason – they wanted to see if they could replace me with anyone else before the playoffs.

Well, when I got healthy I was so happy to start a World Series game! As a kid and a player you always dream about starting in the World Series. People asked me how I could take the pressure. It was no pressure for me – I thought it was the greatest thing! If we lost the series was over – I was the guy responsible for keeping us in it!

Well, I jammed every player I faced. They thought I had a sore arm and would throw the sinker all day. We caught them completely off-guard and I loved every minute of it!

What are your thoughts on today’s Pirates team and front office?

They will probably be better than they were last year in regard to their overall record. So far the pitching is doing a very nice job overall, but to me I think their lack of offense in the long run is going to be of concern. Alvarez seems to be turning things around and they sorely do need the long ball.

Garrett Jones may help in that regard. McCutchen , Walker, Tabata are a good nucleus and with the help from McGehee and others might add a little punch. Time will tell and my fingers are crossed.

Beat ’em Bucs!!!

Last thoughts for readers?

These books – I was proud of my baseball career, but when you come up with an idea and see it in your hands….When I got the books in my hands, I got emotional. I wish my mother were alive – she really would have gotten a charge out of these books.

Thomas White, Author, Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh

Thomas White:

First, what got your started as an archivist both at the Heinz History Center and at Duquesne?

I’ve always been interested in history since I was a child, so when I went to college that was the field that I chose to study. In graduate school I specialized in the area of Public History, which covers things like archives, museums, oral history, historic preservation, and historical editing.

Public historians take academic ideas about the past and apply them to local history while at the same time making them accessible to a general audience. I gravitated toward the archives aspect because I enjoy working with original documents, photographs and maps.

How do you come upon new materials for those collections?

As an archivist I’m always coming across old newspaper stories and obscure first-hand accounts of events. Anytime I see anything interesting I save it.

With folklore, my first encounter with stories if often by word of mouth. When I hear about a legend I collect as many different “versions” of the story as I can and then to determine the historical truth behind it.

What have been the stories that have fascinated you most in your research, and what made them so interesting for you?

It is difficult to pick just one or two because there are so many good ones. I’ve always been a fan of the story of the Lost Bomber of the Monongahela, the B-25 that crashed in the river in 1956 and was allegedly secretly removed by the government. It is probably Pittsburgh’s most popular conspiracy theory/urban legend.

But I like all of the legends that have hidden cultural meanings because they are both entertaining and provide insight into our society at the same time.

Much of what you write on is based on Pittsburgh folklore and history – from books like the Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh and Legends and Lore of Western Pennsylvania. What makes Pittsburgh’s lore and culture unique, in your opinion?

Western Pennsylvania is an area rich in folklore and legends. This region was forged by blood and steel and innovation and faith. It has been many things—a battleground, a gateway to the frontier, a workshop for the world, and a center of religion, education and medicine.

Tradition thrives here. Families took root in western Pennsylvania and stayed for generations. They formed stable, tightknit communities in the city and surrounding towns. Even when these natives they leave, they still carry the Pittsburgh identity with them (hence the Steeler Nation). That stability has allowed the population to maintain connections to the past, and regional folklore has flourished.

Traditional beliefs, customs, and stories have been handed down orally and in writing. Legends that might have been lost in an area with a more transient population have survived here.

How much have sports played a part in the stories you’ve included in your work and the folklore of Pittsburgh, and how so?

So far I haven’t written specifically about sports directly (though I hope to gather some sports legend in the near future), but I do write about some of the places and social factors that impact local sports culture.

My favorite piece relates to the lost islands that were once located across from the Point where the stadiums are today. They were eventually back filled or washed away, and the land became home to Pittsburgh’s Exhibition Halls and eventually Exposition Park, where the Pirates played in the first World Series.

In the 1700s the islands were allegedly cursed and served as the site of execution for many of the captives of the Braddock expedition during the French and Indian War. Later they were the site of several ghost stories.

In modern times that strip of land housed Three Rivers Stadium and later PNC Park and Heinz Field.

Who are some of the Pittsburgh sports figures over history that you feel have most impacted Pittsburgh’s culture and history, and how so?

Obviously Art Rooney Sr. had a huge impact in a variety of ways, but most everyone is familiar his story. Roberto Clemente as well, who stood as an example of how a professional athlete should act on and off the field.

But I would have to say the largest impact on Pittsburgh collectively was the 1970s Steelers as a whole. They provided the region with something to be proud about while it was facing the decline of the steel industry and economic uncertainty. They really became a key factor in defining the modern identity of the city.

Being such a huge follower of Pittsburgh’s history and culture, how much of a concern do you have that Pittsburgh’s unique culture and history get overshadowed by Pittsburgh’s sports reputation and image?

I think Pittsburgh’s sports reputation is inseparable from the other aspects of its unique culture. Together they make up Pittsburgh’s identity. On some level it is all tied to the city’s work ethic – a town that works hard and plays hard.

In many ways (and us Pittsburghers often forget it) this city “built” modern America. From the industrial era when our steel literally did build the country anew, through all of our technological advances like Westinghouse’s first atom smasher and atomic power plants and our current medical advances, to the Steelers, who helped redefine professional sports in the 70s making it the industry that it is today.

We could list important things that have come out of this city all day, but they all represent part of the same character and culture that define this region.

What new books are on the horizon?

I should have a new one out by the end of the summer titled Gangs and Outlaws of Western Pennsylvania, co-authored with Michael Hassett. It covers exploits of some of the areas less-than-respectable characters.

Any last thoughts for readers?

I’d just like to remind everyone to take the time to appreciate the great history and culture of the city that they live in. There are not many places where you can go to a Smithsonian affiliated museum, listen to a first class orchestra, ride on tracks up the side of a mountain, take a trip on a riverboat, watch a championship sports team, go to an amusement park, and eat a sandwich with French fries and coleslaw on it all in the same weekend.

Marvin Cobb, Steelers Safety, 1980 and Independent Retired Players Summit Director

First, can you let readers know about the Independent Retired Players Summit and your work with retired NFL players in general? What is the mission of the summit and how did you get involved?

I became involved in advocating for better pensions and medical benefits for pre-1993 retired football players about five years ago after reading more and more stories of players committing suicide, being homeless, struggling to make ends meet, etc.

It turns out there’s enough money in the NFL to provide a measure of dignity to all who played the game, and that is the mission of The Summit. We are aiming to educate and motivate as many retired players as possible to join the advocacy movement for better pensions and access to our disability benefits.

Continue reading “Marvin Cobb, Steelers Safety, 1980 and Independent Retired Players Summit Director”

Dan Stryzinski, Steelers Punter, 1990-1991

First, can you let readers know about your automotive business and other post-NFL endeavors?

My wife started a licensed car dealership in 2002 before I knew her. We got married in ’07. I was out of football in ’04 and a buddy of mine knew her and knew I wanted to get involved with something that would utilize my finance degree. She taught me how to get my dealers license. Then we got engaged and merged our businesses,

Now, we’re partnered with a credit union and have thirteen branches, We help people get loans to buy our cars – we usually have about sixty cars in inventory – or others.

It’s a unique business. The majority of people here are county workers and teachers. They don’t have the time to shop for cars and make sure they are serviced and cleaned and had no accidents.

Continue reading “Dan Stryzinski, Steelers Punter, 1990-1991”

Bill Castle, Lakeland High School Coach, on Steelers Running Back Chris Rainey

Bill Castle, Lakeland High School Coach, on Steelers Running Back Chris Rainey:

First, tell us a bit about your program and what’s made you and it so successful?

I was fortunate – we had a lot of good teams over the years. We were the state champions six times and the mythical national champions twice. We have four kids now in the NFL from Chris’ team alone – Maurkice and Mike, Chris and LeMont Black, who’s now in Tampa Bay.

What’s made you so successful?

I’ve been here for forty years – the head coach for thirty-five. I think the stability of the staff and the community support. There are a lot of intangibles that go into success. Having people believe in everything you do. You don’t build it overnight. I didn’t think I’d ever be here that long…

Tell us about Chris Rainey. What does he need to do to be successful in Pittsburgh?

The biggest thing is, he needs to stay healthy. He’s an explosive guy – whether it’s returning kicks, blocking field goals and extra points or being a third-down situational player. He really is an unbelievable explosive runner. He’s defintely an asset to them if he can stay healthy.

Can he block and become that third down back?

He has the heart. It comes down to size and the matchups – I’m not sure what he can do there. He’s got a big heart – he’s a tough kid, I’m telling you that. The big question will be his blocking, but there are other ways they can use him on third downs.

What would surprise people about Chris Rainey?

Nothing has surprised me. He’s done a great job in high schoo, and the University of Florida and I’m proud he got his degree.

Tell us a bit about him as a person – he got into a bit of off-field troube – can he stay out of trouble in Pittsburgh?

Everything he’s done has been mischevious stuff- nothing serious. He’s a playful guy – he’s got great charisma. He’s a good kid – a fun kid.

He’ll had to adjust to the style of living in the NFL – it’s new to all of those kids, having that kind of money for the first time.

Does he have that support system in his life?

He’s got good support around him – plus Maurkice is there in Pittsburgh – he and Chris grew up together so I expect he’ll be helping him a lot.

How would you like to see him used in Pittsburgh?

Get him in space, however you do it. With sweeps or short passes – he’s best in space, and he’s a tough kid for his size. He’s physical – he can bring it if cornered, but yeah, he’s best at making people miss.

Jim O’Brien: Recalling a strange story in hockey history

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

It was one of the strangest stories I encountered in my career as a journalist. I never knew the full story. I still don’t. No one does. No one really wanted me to know the full story. It stays with me like one of those cold cases they feature on crime shows on television.

I have been watching the National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffs and the National Basketball League playoffs on television, switching back and forth from the Pirates’ games.

With the Penguins’ unexpected early exit in the playoffs, I had to find other teams to root for and I found them in the New York Rangers in the East and the Los Angeles Kings in the West.

With the Los Angeles Lakers out of the NBA playoffs, I am now rooting for the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma Thunder to go all the way and claim the crown.

Seeing the Rangers reminds me of time spent at Madison Square Garden, and the days in the early ‘70s when I covered some of their games for The New York Post. My main assignment back then was to cover the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association starting in 1970 and then the New York Islanders when they came into being as an expansion franchise in 1972.

I saw the Islanders put the pieces together that would win them four consecutive Stanley Cups in the early ‘80s. Bill Torrey, whom I first met when he was the General Manager for the Pittsburgh Hornets, was the architect of those Islanders’ championship teams. He is one of seven men associated with that team who is honored in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

I benefited from that Pittsburgh bond when I covered the Islanders. I was, in fact, the first writer in New York to refer to the team as “the Islanders,” before the team chose its official nickname. It seemed logical enough.

I lived on Long Island in a community called Baldwin about five miles from the Nassau Coliseum, still the home of the Islanders. The Nets have been playing in New Jersey in recent years but will move to a new arena in Brooklyn next season.

Dr. J, Julius Erving, was the star of the Nets and the ABA back then, and now they show him from time to time sitting in a special suite at the 76ers’ games with the Boston Celtics. Erving was traded by the Nets to the 76ers when the ABA was absorbed into the NBA in the late ‘70s. He is now a Philly icon.

The other development that made me think about the strange story involving the Rangers was the death on St. Patrick’s Day of this year of former Rangers’ defenseman Ron Stewart. He was 79 when he died of cancer.

Stewart was one of the figures in the strange story I referred to in the first paragraph.

There’s been some rough play in the NHL and the NBA playoffs, sometimes to the extreme, but none of it compares to what happened in a drunken brawl between two teammates on the Rangers back in 1970.

I was relatively new to New York in April of 1970, having just moved there after a year’s stay at The Miami News.

On the evening of April 29, 1970, Ron Stewart and Terry Sawchuk, a Hall of Fame goalie who was winding up his storied career as a backup goalie for the Rangers, got into a fight in the backyard of the house they were renting in East Atlantic Beach on Long Island, and Sawchuk died from a blood clot at a nearby hospital.

I was told that Stewart had kicked Sawchuk in his groin with such force that he drove his plumbing deep into his stomach and injured his gallbladder and liver. Sawchuk underwent surgery three times during his short stay in the hospital.

Sawchuk took the blame for the brawl. He said, “It wasn’t Ron Stewart’s fault; don’t blame him. I was the aggressor in the whole thing.”

Sawchuk was one of the greatest goalies in the NHL and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame a year after his death. He held the record for most shutouts in NHL history (103) and his final one came against the Pittsburgh Penguins in New York during that 1969-70 season.

I was sent out to do a story on the Rangers at their practice rink at New Hyde Park on Long Island. I stopped Stewart as he was coming out of the clubhouse and took him aside to interview him. I wanted to get his side of the story.

No sooner did I start talking to him, alongside one end of the ice rink, than Emile “The Cat” Francis, the general manager and coach of the Rangers, came out of the clubhouse and caught me at work.

I can still picture that moment, just a snapshot in my life as a newspaperman, of Francis moving fast in my direction. I see a lot of dark green (the color of the seats in the rink) behind Francis. He positively pounced on me. They didn’t call him “The Cat” for nothing.

Francis swore at me and told Stewart to get out of there in the same sentence. Stewart seemed surprised by Francis’ facial expression and he left the building, leaving me behind with an empty notebook. Francis was a little fellow, probably 150 pounds, but he looked fearsome to me that afternoon.

A week later, during a quarter-final Stanley Cup round with the Boston Bruins, I was standing at the back of a pack of reporters in the Rangers’ dressing room at Madison Square Garden. We were interviewing Emile Francis.

One of the reporters, Gerald Eskenazi of The New York Times, turned to me and said, “I’m surprised to see you here after the way Francis treated you the other day.”

And I told Eskenazi, “I’m just doing my job. The readers could care less if Francis gave me a hard time. I have to write a story and I have to hear what he has to say about this game.”

Francis had created a community of sorts for his Rangers on East Atlantic Beach, near Long Beach on Long Island. That was about a 20-minute car drive to the Rangers’ practice rink at a public facility in New Hyde Park.

The Rangers and the Knicks seldom had an opportunity to practice at Madison Square Garden because that building hosted so many different kinds of entertainment offerings. The Knicks often practiced at high school gyms on Long Island.

Francis felt it was safer for his players if they didn’t have to drive in the demanding traffic that led in and out of Manhattan. So he told players it would be better to live on Long Island than in the city.

It didn’t save Sawchuk. Precisely how the fight started and how Sawchuk incurred his injuries remains murky, but a Nassau County grand jury found the death to be accidental, absolving Stewart of blame.

None of the news media in New York really dug into this story, which still seems unbelievable. I don’t think that would be the case today.

Sawchuk, who had been a star mostly with the Detroit Red Wings, was known to be a moody sort, and was disclosed to have suffered from depression at times. Playing goalie in the NHL without a face mask might do that to an individual.

He was also known to be “a bad drunk.”

I visited my neighbor Eddie Johnston recently and asked him what he knew about the incident involving Stewart and Sawchuk.

Johnston, who has served in so many capacities with the Penguins, including stints as coach and general manager, said he didn’t know much more than what was in the newspapers at the time.

“I knew that Sawchuk could be a nasty sort when he got into one of his moods,” said Johnston, the last NHL goalie to play every game in a season and someone who once played the position without a protective face mask. “Terry was a great one.”

Sawchuk and Stewart shared a home on Long Island during the hockey season. They had been at a local bar that night and had gotten into an argument. Sawchuk may have owed Stewart some of the rent money for the home they shared. They started shoving one another. And it carried over when they reached their home later.

The dispute resumed and they started pushing each other on the lawn by their home. Witnesses said Sawchuk fell into a barbecue pit.

I came home to Pittsburgh in April of 1979, nine years later, and was determined to be a positive writer. I had found that in stints in Miami and then New York that it wasn’t worth writing controversial stuff.

So I am in Pittsburgh about a month and I hear that Jack Lambert of the Steelers has been assaulted at a downtown night club. Someone slammed a beer mug against his ear and cut Lambert badly, causing him to bleed quite a bit. At least two guys jumped him.

I attempted to find out what happened. Lambert, after all, was the star linebacker for the Steelers, who had won their third Super Bowl the previous season. Lambert was regarded as one of the toughest players in the NFL. Who’d jump Jack Lambert?

I called Lambert on the telephone at his home three times but he never returned my calls. I went to Chuck Noll to discuss the incident, but he was not happy with me for wanting to talk about it. He offered little help or direction. He didn’t want me to deal with the subject.

I would later learn that the editor of my paper was aware of what happened at The Happy Landing – that was the name of the night club, interestingly enough – and the police reporter on both newspapers knew about it. A police report had been filed on the skirmish. The beat reporter on the rival daily knew about it.

No one wanted to write the story.

I wrote the story, or what I could piece together, and I lived to regret writing the story. I didn’t receive a pat on the back at the office or from any readers, and it got me off to a bad start with Lambert. He snarled at me, breathing flames I swear, when I encountered him at St. Vincent College at the team’s summer training camp.

I went to his room and we worked out a peace pact. If I wrote something like that again, he warned me, I would pay the consequences.

I later learned that the guys who jumped Jack Lambert that night were bad news. They intended to hurt him. They had said they were going to cut the ligaments in his legs.

There was a third guy at the bar that night who was reluctant to take on Jack Lambert. He stayed back when his buddies jumped Lambert. He was later shot and killed by one of the combatants because of his failure to join in the fray.

I told you these guys were bad news. The killer was sent to prison and had quite a rap sheet to show for his history of misbehavior.

Martin Brodeur, the goalie for the New Jersey Devils, broke Sawchuk’s record for the most shutouts (103) in an NHL career. Brodeur is still the backstop for the Devils and continues to add to his record. He’s had 24 shutouts in the playoffs alone.

I saw Brodeur and the Devils play at Consol Energy Center this past season, and I asked my friend Ken Codeluppi, who has season tickets for the Penguins, if he had ever heard of Terry Sawchuk. He was not familiar with the name. Our seats were three rows behind one of the goalie nets, and I ducked at least a dozen times when a puck struck the protective glass in front of us.

I scolded him, saying that if you were going to call yourself a hockey fan, you had to know about Terry Sawchuk. He was one of the greats of the game.

Stewart bounced back from that dark night on Long Island to continue playing for the Rangers. That fight on the lawn was called “a tragic, senseless, bizarre” incident, in the words of the Nassau County district attorney, William Cahn.

Stewart would later, strangely enough, be named the coach of the Rangers. He’d enjoyed quite a career until he retired as a player in 1973. His heyday had been during his 13 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was Emile Francis, by the way, who hired Stewart to succeed him as coach of the Rangers, the same Emile Francis who chased Stewart from the rink at New Hyde Park when I was trying to interview him.

Here’s another note about Emile Francis: back in 1945, when he was a professional goalie, he was the first goalie to use a first baseman’s glove with a cuff added to protect his hand and wrist. Before that, goalies wore the same kind of gloves as their teammates. It had to be difficult to catch a flying puck with those regular gloves.

If you’re going to call yourself a hockey fan you need to know that sort of stuff.

By the way, when I was in Los Angeles this past February, we went to see the Kings play the Boston Bruins at the Staples Center. The Kings were in last place in their division at the time. “They can’t be very good,” I said on the day of the game.

That night we watched the Kings defeat the Bruins, who had won the Stanley Cup a year earlier. Afterward, I observed, “Hey, the Kings look pretty good.”

Lo and behold, the Kings won the West and are in the Stanley Cup championship round. And most Pittsburgh hockey fans thought the Penguins would be playing for the Cup once again.

Pittsburgh sports author and historian Jim O’Brien has written about the Penguins and other local sports stars in his “Pittsburgh Proud” series of books. His website is www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

John Hilton, Steelers Tight End, 1965-1969

First, thank you for taking the time to talk. I wanted to start things off by acknowledging that you’ve been suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. How is your health?

I have been yes. I just tell people I can’t remember everything and don’t get into it more….

What have you been doing since your time in the NFL?

I was in the equipment rental business and loved it.Everyone knew me so I went to all these different places around where I lived and told them stories about the NFL. I had a ball. I remember one guy who held the ladder for me at a job site and started shaking it as I climbed up. I asked him what the heck he was doing and he said that I played in the NFL so I should be able to handle this (laughing).

Continue reading “John Hilton, Steelers Tight End, 1965-1969”