Out of the Past
Cal’s Dal Canton was throwing for Pirates in 1969 Talk about your good times!
It has been a long time since Pittsburgh Pirates fans (the real fans, that is) enjoyed such a good start, but you can bet they were delighted this week, awayyyyy back there in 1969.
Picking up where the previous ‘diary’ left off, it was during this week those many years ago that the Pirates were on a good early season run. Believe it or not, the Chicago Cubs were in first place, but they weren’t going to be there for long.
The Pirates started a winning run and swept a series from the Cubs, including a doubleheader, 7-3, and 6-5, which moved the Bucs within one-half game of the first place Bruins.
The second game win was especially pleasing to local fans, for the winning pitcher was Bruce Dal Canton, who went from California State and the Fay-West and Fayette County Baseball Leagues to a professional contract with the Pirates.
Bruce was signed by the late Cecil Cole of Connellsville, who scouted this area for the Pirates, and he would spend 10-years in the majors. Bruce is now a minor league pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves.
In other sports notes that week:
-George Street and Warren Barkell were double winners as Southmoreland outran Frazier. Street won the 100 (:10.9) and 220 (:24.6), and Barkell the discus (131-5) and javelin (181-2). John Valosen doubled for Frazier in the high hurdles (:19.3) and lows (:20.6).
-Connellsville outran Uniontown, 90-51, led by double winners Francis Straughters in the 100 (:10.1) and 220 (:22.7), plus a leg in the winning 880-relay, and by Gary DeHainaut in the hurdles (:16.8 highs, :20.2 lows).
-Brownsville lost to Monessen, 81-53, but had a double winner in Syl Durant in the triple jump (29-11) and long jump (20.7.5).
-Fred Stuvek, outstanding student and 3-sport athlete at Carmichaels, has been appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Md.
-It might have been just the annual game ending spring workouts, but Jim Braxton (Connellsville High, Vanderbilt) was in mid-season form at West Virginia. He paced the Golds to a 36-13 win over the Blues by rushing for 100-yards in 15 carries, including 20-yard and 28-yard TD runs, and passed 22-yards for another score.
-Joe Righetti (Beth-Center) set a new Waynesburg College record with a 45-2.5 shot put push against Geneva.
-Jim Wright (Brownsville) was a double winner for West Virginia in the Mountaineer Relays, in the long jump (22-3.5) and triple jump (45-1), plus a leg on the winning sprint relay team.
-OF Don Shearer (Mill Run) singled in three at-bats for West Virginia, in a 10-6 loss at Virginia Tech.
-RB Joe Aluise of Arizona Western U, now living in Silver Springs, Md., has signed a professional football contract. with the Chicago Bears. His Mother is the former Catherine Dalesio of Uniontown.
-Washington High stayed unbeaten in track, downing Connellsville, 95.5 to 49.5. The Prexies’ Chuck Eneix set a new CAHS Stadium shot put record of 56-10, breaking the old mark of 56-5, set 10-yrs.previous by Tom Urbanik of Donora. The Falcons had two double winners, Francis Straughters in the 100 (:10.3) and 220 (:22.3), and Bob Meadows in the pole vault (12-0) and high jump (6-2).
-Waynesburg beat Carmichaels on the cinders, led by Blair Summersgill and Mark Cassidy. Summersgill tripled in the low hurdles (:23.,1), triple jump (35-4.5), and tied with teammate Jim Burns in the high hurdles (:17.0). Casidy won the 100 (:10.6) and 220 (:24.5).
-Two record-setters paced Southmoreland past Mount Pleasant in track. Roger Brown won the long jump with 19-10 (old record 19-6 by Eugene Price in 1967) and Gilbert Smith broke his own triple jump mark by 3-in. with 41-4.5. George Street doubled in the 100 (:10.0) and 220 (:24.2) and ran on the winning 880-relay team.
-Frazier had more firsts, but Laurel Highlands had more seconds and thirds, and that was the difference as the Mustangs won, 73-67. Frazier had two double winners, John Valosen (both hurdles) and Harry Lynch (880, mile). LH doublers were Bob Davis (triple and high jumps) and Dan Ross (long jump, 220) and both ran in the winning 880-relay.
-And it was the end of an era as Jim Ryun made his farewell appearance at home as a University of Kansas runner. He won the mile in 4:01.2, then came back and ran the fourth leg in 3:57.6 to anchor KU’s world-record setting 4-mile relay win in 9:33.
Jim Kriek is a Herald-Standard correspondent