Farewell
Rudy Andabaker and Andrew Donald “Don” Ruschak had little in common. A former football star at Donora High School, Andabaker later played for the Pittsburgh Steelers before becoming a football coach at Donora High School from 1957 until 1968.
Ruschak, meanwhile, had his own insurance business in Charleroi for a number of years and was a strong supporter of the Charleroi Chamber of Commerce.
But the two did have something in common in that they were both dedicated to their hometowns, and their passion and commitment to the people here will be remembered for a long time. Unfortunately, both died recently, with Andabaker passing last Sunday at the age of 88 and Ruschak Tuesday at the age of 85.
Andabaker was a terrific guard on the legendary Donora High School football teams of 1944 and 1945. The Dragons of that era were loaded with talent, including “Deacon” Dan Towler, who would go on to lead the NFL in rushing with his Los Angeles Rams in 1952, Arnold “Pope” Galiffa, a future All-American at West Point, and Bimbo Cecconi, who later played and coached at the University of Pittsburgh.
In 1944, Andabaker was part of Donora’s untarnished 9-0 record, helping them outscore their opponents by an incredible 324-42 margin. The Dragons were selected as the second-best high school team in the nation that year. The following season Donora kept its run alive, registering a perfect 10-0 record while winning their second straight WPIAL championship. Among their victories were eight shutouts, as they outscored the opposition, 297-13.
Andabaker went on to play football at the University of Pittsburgh. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound gritty guard started as a sophomore and was named a team captain for the Panthers in his senior year.
Despite his small stature, Andabaker played two years as a guard with the Pittsburgh Steelers before being forced to retire due to a knee injury. He was hired as a teacher and coach at Donora High School in 1957 and he coached for 11 years, including four as the head coach. His 1967 team was 8-0-1 while his 1968 team went 8-0.
When Donora and Monongahela merged in 1969 to form the Ringgold School District, Andabaker took the head coaching job at Bethel Park, where he served for a number of years.
Andabaker also won in spite of or perhaps because of his policy to never cut a player. “As many years as Rudy coached football, he never cut a kid off the team. Never. A kid came out for football, and he was a part of the team. The only way he left the team was if he got hurt or he quit,” said Richard Mongelluzzo, who was also a longtime coach at Donora.
Ruschak, meanwhile, took a different path to success. After serving in the Korean War, Ruschak graduated from California State Teacher’s College. He was a school teacher before opening up his own insurance business in Charleroi in 1957.
Ruschak also joined the Charleroi Chamber of Commerce that year and became one of its biggest supporters.
“We will truly miss Don,” said Debbie Keefer, executive director of the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. “He was the greatest cheerleader that Charleroi ever had.”
He was also a longstanding member of the Mon Valley YMCA’s executive board always willing to help out wherever he could.
“He was always so proud of the Y and its accomplishments,” said Ken Wiltz, who served as executive director of the Mon Valley YMCA for 37 years before retiring in 2010. “Don was a community person. He loved the Y. He was a good, good individual.”
Over the years, Ruschak never forgot his roots.
“He saw how great the town could be, and he kept that optimism in his mind,” said his son Don Alan Ruschak.
Ruschak and Andabaker had different interests, but they both wanted to help the people in their hometowns. And their families can take comfort in knowing the men succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.