‘Black Friday’ brought sad news to St. John HS
This is Part 1 of 4 in a series of stories remembering the final season of the St. John High School boys basketball team.
Although Frank Stanley didn’t coach a game or design an offensive set, the impact he had on high school athletics in Pennsylvania remains nearly five decades later.
State representative Frank Stanley, D-Lehigh, championed legislation that paved the way for schools not participating in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), namely those who were members of the Pennsylvania Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association (PCIAA) to join the state athletic association.
St. John High School, in Uniontown, and Father Geibel, as the Connellsville Township high school was known at that time, made the move together in 1974 after both Fayette County schools had successful runs in the PCIAA. St. John’s won a state championship in 1965, while Geibel lost in the 1967 title game to Scranton Catholic.
(Masontown Kolb Memorial — Father Kolb — lost in the 1966 state title game to St. Gabriel’s, of Hazleton, coached by Digger Phelps, to give the county three straight finals appearances.)
St. John and Geibel were immediate players in the WPIAL with the Eagles winning the Section 19-A crown in 1975 without a loss and continuing the momentum through the WPIAL playoffs, defeating Edgewood, 82-60, for the Class A title.
The Eagles were running through Section 19 again in the 1975-76 season when Bishop William G. Connare and the Diocese of Greensburg dropped a bombshell on the small Catholic high school when it was announced on Friday, Feb. 13, 1976, that St. John would be closed at the end of the school year.
“It was like a door slammed in our face,” said Marc Nebraski, a junior on the squad. “We didn’t see it coming.”
“It was a sad time,” remembered Paul Burns, who was a sophomore in 1975-76.
“They brought us into the gymnasium for the bad news,” Mark Lepore, a senior in the final season, reminisced.
“It was sad. We had heard about it forever, but everybody was stunned. It was just a shock,” said Kevin Murtha, also a senior on the squad.
The announcement came just hours before the Eagles’ road game at Geibel.
“Laurel Highlands-Uniontown might be a more fierce rivalry, but nothing tops St. John’s-Geibel, the excitement, enthusiasm, intensity,” explained Vince Nesser, senior and leading scorer of the Eagles. “We were undefeated in the section and we were playing at Geibel.”
“The day the closing was announced (the mood) was real somber,” continued Nesser. “There was scuttlebutt (the school might close), but it was so abrupt. The priests’ homilies were about needing more money. The gist of what was going to happen (was felt).”
Bishop Connare showed up for the game and was seated a couple rows behind Nesser’s father and the Eagles’ veteran coach, James (Lash) Nesser.
“Dad didn’t change a thing,” Nesser said of his father’s coaching style.
Nesser added a light-hearted note he had during the intensity of the action.
“Whenever there was a timeout, I didn’t look up. You’re told at confirmation the bishop is going to ask you a question. I didn’t look up because I was afraid the bishop was going to ask me a question,” Nesser said.
The final game between the old rivals was an instant classic with the Gators pulling out a 77-74 overtime victory, handing St. John its first section defeat of the season.
The Eagles opened the final quarter down by nine points, 57-48, and an 8-2 quarter-opening run pushed the disadvantage to 65-50. St. John, sparked by Vince Nesser and Rob John, went on a 14-0 run.
A free throw by the Gators’ Greg Novak and a field goal by Mark Brooks pushed the score to 68-64, only to have Vince Nesser score four points in the final 90 seconds, including the tying field goal with 10 seconds remaining.
The game remained close in overtime until Geibel’s Ron McKlveen hit a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to clinch the victory, and Regis Quinn capped the score with a free throw with three seconds remaining.
Vince Nesser poured in a game-high 38 points with John adding 18.
Brooks led the way for the Gators with 22 points. Mike Smarto, who fouled out in the fourth quarter, finished with 18 points. McKlveen had 16 and Novak, a sophomore who was a key member of the Gators’ 1978 WPIAL and PIAA title team, finished with 14.
Coming on Sunday: Part 2.