First, how did you got started with the PA Football History site and your coverage of Pennsylvania high school football?
I started around 2012 – I originally did it as a site on my alma mater – I’m not sure what spurred me on to the idea. I dug into newspaper archives – online and physical – and kept going until I reached the point where I found everything I could. You never actually find everything of course – but I wanted to keep going. I had a desire to keep doing it – it was addictive.
Trying to cover the whole state was too big to do – so of course I figured, why not try it? Others have done similar things on a more regionalized or school-specific basis – I’m not the only one who does it generally. But my goal was to create a community where people with a similar interest could all join together. It may be a small group but it’s a lot of fun when you find a group with a similar interest. I joke that we”re like a 2023 ham radio group!
What is your process/focus?
I’m an educator and coach – I may go to schools just to see different places but it’s mostly research that I do. I do it to share information on Pennsylvania high school football – past and present. I find what I can and like to find on players and teams – I have no intention on joining other sites because I like doing things a certain way and believe information should be readily accessible and available.
I have a history degree – I’m passionate about it and don’t want to gatekeep the information. It’s not really mine to keep. I want to share what I like and if people are interested, then great. I’d be thrilled if it continued to grow but I do it because I like it.
Having done so much research, what have you noticed has changed the most in Pennsylvania high school football since you started covering it?
I think the biggest thing is the consolidation of schools and programs in Pennsylvania. In the 1940’s a lot of small towns had their own schools and football programs. There were over 2,500 teams then. Now, we have around 560. Much of that was due to the efforts of the state legislators to consolidate the schools.
As an example, there were a number of great college players from Vandergrift High School – they don’t have a team now. Woodland Hills was one of the biggest consolidations in state history. Consolidation has changed the game for sure.
This might be a controversial take but there’s data to back it up. The high-end talent is as great as it’s ever been in Pennsylvania. But there’s less depth there due to the population shift in the country. Texas, Florida, California…there’s been a shift population-wise over the last 50 or so years to those states. The elite guys in Pennsylvania used to number around 10-to-20 deep. Now it’s about six-to-10. It’s not that the talent has diminished, it’s just that there are less players coming out of Pennsylvania.
Is there in your mind an unfair disparity in how private vs public high schools recruit players and even within public schools. Has the process gone too far?
It’s a big topic and it transcends the state. All states are dealing with it. It used to be there were so many more teams every year. Now there are fewer programs. The team that Johnny Unitas played for – St. Justin’s – doesn’t exist any more. Many churches also had their own teams and schools and those have consolidated too since the 50’s.
The argument grew more recently in District 12 when the Philly Public League and Philly Catholic League joined. That ramped up the conversation – for both private and public schools. Some smaller schools like Bishop McDermott still have success, but it’s less common now. Players move to play for certain programs. It’s hard to say it’s not a problem, but to be fair, it’s not vehemently against what was happening 15 years ago. In District 12’s case, it just clashes more now with how the state does things. There’s a lot of anger with the Philly Catholic League but it was doing this before it joined. It just existed in it’s own universe for years before it joined. It’s just now it is ingrained with the way the state is doing things so it’s harder to make it all coherent.
I don’t see it changing any time soon though.
Have Pitt, RMU and Duquesne and other local schools improved their ability to recruit local talent as of late?
You want to keep your talent at home. Dave Wannstedt tried to build a fence around the WPIAL league. But I’m not sure you can really be competitive recruiting mostly in your backyard unless you’re a school in Florida or Texas or California. Maybe as an FCS school like Duquesne, RMU or St. Francis – then you have to get those guys.
I’m not sure if they all have been better recruiting recently – the portal transfer also makes lineups more varied and blurs things a bit.
The Steelers like their home grown guys – have you seen this to be more true than of other teams?
I have a database of every player drafted by the NFL and AFL from Pennsylvania. Over 1,600 players have been drafted. The top 10 schools to send players to the NFL via the draft are:
1. McKeesport 25
2. Pittsburgh Central Catholic 23
3. Uniontown 18
4. Johnstown 17
5(t). Aliquippa & Clairton 16
7(t). Allentown Allen, Altoona & Beaver Falls 14
8(t). Kiski Prep & Mt. Lebanon 13
Of all Western PA schools, Johnstown High School had the most drafted by the Steelers since the draft began – six. Central Catholic had five. Since 1936, the first year of the draft, 101 WPIAL players were drafted by the Steelers. A total of 187 Pennsylvania players were drafted by the Steelers – meaning WPIAL players were over 50%. The Steelers overall drafted more WPIAL players since the draft started than any other franchise drafted Pennsylvania players. Now, that’s tailed off recently. The last Western PA player drafted by the Steelers was James Conner in 2017.
It’s not surprising that it was greater in the past. Franchises used to have territorial claims years ago in the 40’s through the 60’s – some were written, some were gentlemen’s agreements.
Also, you have to think about things then versus now in today’s NFL. Getting scouts on the road to meet coaches and getting eyes on players was much harder then. You could get some film on guys but that wasn’t always possible – scouts often stayed local. In 1945 alone the Steelers drafted nine or 10 Pennsylvania players – that’s more than they’ve done between 2000 and today.
Were they from local colleges?
No – that didn’t mean the players went to local colleges. Miami is a top 10 school they drafted Pennsylvania players from. North Carolina is high, as is surprisingly Arizona State. Years ago schools like Bucknell and Villanova were big too. And back before the 70’s lots of kids went to play in the South because the colleges there weren’t recruiting Black players – they had a limited pool to recruit from so they went further North to get players.
Do you get an opportunity to talk with the current high school players at all?
Over the last one-and-a-half years or so I’ve tried to share more player film on social media – their Hudl films in the hope that maybe someone who hasn’t seen them play would. But I don’t really focus on the recruiting process or live coverage. That’s not my thing. If players want me to copy me on their film though on social media I’m happy to share it on social media.
I am interested in doing more work and focus on recent teams. The 2004-2005 Pittsburgh Central Catholic team for example. That was one of the most talented teams in years – one of the best teams in Western PA history.
Any other thoughts on what’s happening in Pennsylvania high school football?
I’m starting to dive into the draft more. It’s interesting- the first draft was in 1936 and 82 players were drafted that year – not the 255-plus drafted today. Of those 81, only 24 decided to play football. The rest said they’d rather work somewhere else. It just makes you think how far the game has come. I just think that’s remarkable.