Jul 19, 2009 6 min read

The stars shone brightly in Fayette County Saturday night. The sports stars, that is. Plenty of them were out to accept their place among the greatest athletes the county has ever seen, but really only a very small percentage was honored. For the rest, their time will come, year by year. The Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame inducted its inaugural class, which consisted of nine individuals and two championship teams, at a banquet at Anthony’s Lakeside Party Center. Also honored was a plethora of noteworthy high school athletes and teams, including this year’s class of top male and female scholar/athletes from each of the county’s seven high schools.

At the head of the class, both chronologically and in terms of historical significance, was John Lujack, the Connellsville kid who was the 13th winner of the Heisman Trophy and is the oldest living winner of the prestigious award that goes to college football’s best player.

“I don’t mind the living part,” Lujack quipped. “The oldest part, I’m not so crazy about.”

Lujack was elected under the largest chronological category, representing the 1900-1949 era, as was another Connellsville native, the late John Woodruff, who won an Olympic gold medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

“It’s a marvelous thing that Fayette County saw its way to have something like this,” said Lujack, at 84 still as sharp as ever. “It really adds to the camaraderie of the county. It brings people together. I’m glad and honored to be elected because it got me back home to visit the town of our arch rival.”

He noted that being enshrined at home makes it more special than any of the national awards he already has won. “No doubt about it. It’s a warmer feeling,” he said. “This one is closer to your heart.”

Lujack related a story about a famous tackle he made to preserve a 0-0 tie against Army in his days at Notre Dame. Lujack ran into a bigger man in Doc Blanchard and stopped Blanchard cold.

“I’ll tell you up front that I made up this story, but it’s a good one to tell, anyway,” Lujack said. “I met up with Doc a few years later and he came up to me and asked, ‘Do you remember that tackle you made against me?’ I said, yes, I remember it. He said, ‘You really scared me on that play.’ I said, I did? He said, ‘Yea, I thought I killed you.’ “

The 1950-1959 era produced three individuals who were elected. Redstone football and baseball standout Bobby Locke, who went on to play Major League baseball, was enshrined along with South Union basketball player Chuck Davis, who also has been enshrined in the Westminster College Sports Hall of Fame, and the late Sandy Stephens of Uniontown, who played quarterback at the University of Minnesota and has been enshrined in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.

Locke could tell stories until the cows come home, particularly about his baseball playing days and the characters he met along the way. He proudly notes that he and former single-season home run king Roger Maris “grew up together” in the Cleveland Indians organization.

Locke, also a member of the Mid Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame, will tell you how he could have, but didn’t give up Maris’ record-tying 60th home run in the 1961 season and he’ll also tell you about “the worst pitch I ever threw in baseball,” which was a hanging curveball that Joe Torre smacked for a game-winning home run for the Milwaukee Braves when Locke played for the hard-luck 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, who blew a 61/2-game lead – and the National League pennant – in their last 10 games of the season.

Uniontown’s Ron Sepic and Laurel Highlands’ Wil Robinson were selected from the 1960-69 era. They played at opposite ends of the decade and Sepic became a rare double-honoree. He was selected as an individual and as part of Uniontown’s 1962 PIAA title-winning team. Robinson led Laurel Highlands to the 1968 PIAA championship and later was enshrined in the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame after an All-American career with the Mountaineers.

This is Robinson’s third Hall call, as he also is enshrined in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He noted the Fayette County Hall is special for a few reasons.

“This is special because this is the first time I’m in the first class to be enshrined,” he said. “But it’s special, too, because it’s my home. This is where I grew up. I’m seeing people and friends I haven’t seen in 30 years.”

Under the coaches category, Uniontown’s legendary basketball coach Abe Everhart was enshrined posthumously. Everhart won 549 games and two state championships. The Red Raiders also won four WPIAL championships under Everhart and fashioned a 52-game winning streak that shares first place in WPIAL history for winning streaks. From the 1959-1960 season through the 1965-1966 season, the Red Raiders under Everhart were 95-1 in section games.

Everhart’s 1962 team also was honored with enshrinement, as was coach Ken Misiak’s 1978 Geibel boys basketball team, which fashioned a perfect 26-0 record.

Lastly, retired Herald-Standard sports editor Tod Trent was enshrined under the special recognition category. Trent manned the sports desk at the Herald-Standard for 40 years before his retirement. He had the best seat in the house to witness so many great Fayette County sports moments and athletes. He felt honored to have been a witness and feels doubly honored to be included in the inaugural class.

“It’s just amazing,” Trent said. “I am honored beyond words to even be considered. I had such a good time following them and it was such a good time to be a sports writer. There were just so many great athletes that came out of here.

“And it wasn’t just the big schools that produced the great athletes. From Dunbar Township to Masontown, to German Township and North Union and South Union, they were literally everywhere.

“This Hall of Fame is just a great thing for the county and I’m glad to be a part of it and grateful to be included.”