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Ostrosky followed family tradition to greatness at Uniontown

By George Von Benko for The 6 min read
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“From the time I was six years old, I watched Uniontown Red Raider football. My goal, my vision was that I was going to be a Red Raider,” Jim Ostrosky said. “My oldest brother, Bob, played and graduated in 1959. My second brother, Ron, played and graduated in 1965.

“When I got to Ben Franklin Junior High, Bill Broda called me down and threw a uniform at me and said practice is at three o’clock. I was delighted to accept it and start my road on the Red Raider path, as well. I had two brothers that followed me that also started for the Red Raiders. Tom graduated in 1976 and Vince in 1979.”

Ostrosky was a part of some very solid Uniontown teams in the late 1960s. In 1966 the Red Raiders posted a record of 6-3, in 1967 they were 8-2 and in 1968 they finished with a mark of 7-2.

“The neat part about it was we went into every game thinking that we were going to win it,” Ostrosky stated. “There was no such thing as admitting or even realizing that we might be an underdog and that was what was cool about playing for Uniontown back in those days. We were competitive, dominant may be a stretch, but we definitely went into every game with the idea that we were going to win it and we won most of them.”

The fly in the ointment for the Red Raiders was Mt. Lebanon. The Blue Devils beat the Raiders 45-0 in 1966, 21-6 in 1967 and 21-13 in 1968.

“I can’t put my finger on why we had trouble with them,” Ostrosky explained. “One year we went down there and they had installed Astro Turf. They supplied shoes for the visiting team. We come in focused on football and here you have to find a pair of shoes that you are going to wear on Astro Turf and it became a distraction. We couldn’t overcome Mt. Lebanon back in those days.

“Both Connellsville and Brownsville were good local rivalries. We got to play against Jim Braxton when he was at Connellsville and he beat us 9-7 in 1966 when he kicked a field goal. Brownsville, we lost to them my senior year 14-13. Ted Golembiewski who was their quarterback rolled out and ran for a long touchdown and they beat us down at Brownsville.”

Ostrosky saw action as a sophomore and then worked his way into the starting lineup his junior and senior seasons.

“I was an offensive guard and a defensive quick tackle,” Ostrosky offered. “We ran the Notre Dame defense, it was a 4-4-3 with a tackle slanted and my peer Rich Camilli weighed about 250 and I was about 5-11 190, I was the quick tackle and I was doing a lot of stunting.”

Ostrosky has a lot of respect for Leon Kaltenbach, his head coach at Uniontown.

“I thought he was an excellent coach,” Ostrosky said. “The guy had a tremendous knowledge of football and he knew how to motivate, he knew how to get an individual to reach down and excel. He was good at placing people in the correct positions. I had a lot of respect for him, he taught me a lot and was an excellent football coach. He was a great mentor.”

When Ostrosky graduated from Uniontown in 1969 he sifted through several college scholarship offers. The All-Western Conference, and All-County grid pick narrowed his choice of schools to Ohio U, the University of Virginia and the Naval Academy before making the final decision.

Garnering All-Conference and All-County honors was a big deal for Ostrosky.

“It meant a lot, he said. “It was the expectation, if I wasn’t All-Conference and All-County I would have disappointed my brothers. I was highly motivated, wanting to succeed. At Uniontown it was the expectation and in my house it was the expectation.”

Ostrosky chose Ohio U as his college destination.

“Assistant coach Jerry Zawacki didn’t have to push too hard, but I took his advice to heart,” Ostrosky said. “Dave Dvorchak and I both went to Ohio U, and that meant a lot. I had an ally and a teammate who would cover my back and I would cover his back.”

“Jim is one of the finest guards that we have had at Uniontown in a long time,” Kaltenbach said when Ostrosky signed. The Raider grid mentor went on to say, “Only because of his hard work and dedication on the football field as well as in the classroom is he able to accept this opportunity. He’s a fine athlete and a fine individual whom we are very proud of. He should play a lot of football for Ohio University.”

Ostrosky played freshman football at Ohio U in 1969 and then was a part of varsity squads that posted records of 4-5 in 1970, 5-5 in 1971 (with wins over Kentucky and Tulane) and 3-8 in 1972.

“My freshman year I played both ways at linebacker and center. I was co-captain of the freshman team,” Ostrosky recalled. “I lettered the next three years at offensive guard. Bill Hess was the head coach and he was a good guy. It was a fantastic decision to go to Ohio U. Great experience, great education. I got to play against some great competition: Doug Kotar at Kentucky, Jack Lambert at Kent State and some other very good competition. It was a win-win, nothing but great memories.”

Ostrosky got it done in the classroom as well as on the field. His senior year he made the Mid-American Conference All-Academic Team.

Following his graduation from Ohio U in 1973, Ostrosky returned to Pittsburgh and worked in hospitality management and then co-owned a restaurant. In 1979 he sold the restaurant and took a job with a management consulting company, USC Consulting. He worked his way up the corporate ladder and is now president of the company and co CEO.

Ostrosky, 63, resides in Florida with his wife Patricia, they have two sons Michael and Shawn and they have two grandchildren.

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