Tough as nails: Uniontown great Caramano helped Red Raiders win 1962 WPIAL football title
Submitted photo
Nick Caramano (standing, at left) poses with Gene Huey (standing, middle) and Tony Mercadante in back of Tod Trent and Erma Trent during the 2014 Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame banquet.
Submitted photo
Nick Caramano is shown during his playing days at Uniontown.
During the “Golden Age” of Uniontown High School football in the 1950s and 1960s the Red Raiders were blessed with some outstanding players.
One of them was tough-as-nails offensive guard and linebacker named Nick Caramano.
Caramano was a well-rounded athlete who played several sports.
“I was always playing something, I loved sports,” Caramano recalled. “I loved basketball the best, but I never grew taller than 5-8. I told Abe Everhart I was going to come out for basketball and he said stick to football.
“The playgrounds were a big influence on all of us in basketball mainly. That was the best, the playgrounds were great. I played basketball for Ben Franklin Junior High. On the football side we played together, BF and Lafayette. BF basketball I played with Ron Sepic and Pete Smith, we had a really good team and it was the first time we beat Lafayette in a long time. There were six seconds left and I hit a shot from the corner and we won that game.
“In football we were together and we practiced at Bailey Park. Bill Barron was the junior high football coach. We had a great feeder system and by the time we got to high school we were well schooled into Uniontown’s system. We didn’t lose a game in junior high in three years.”
Caramano caught the eye of Bill Power and the Uniontown High School coaching staff at an early age.
“What they wanted to do was move me from ninth to 10th grade and they came to my house,” Caramano stated. “They wanted to move me to 10th grade so I could be with the varsity. I went to football camp and I came back and the school board said they couldn’t do that. I still went down and practiced after junior high practice. I went down and practiced with the varsity when I was in ninth grade, but I couldn’t play with the varsity.”
When Caramano showed up on the varsity as a sophomore in 1961 he was a starter at offensive guard and as a defensive guard.
“That was unusual because you usually had to bide your time to get varsity playing time as a young player with the Red Raiders,” Caramano said. “I was a three-year starter.”
Caramano played on some outstanding Red Raider squads. Uniontown posted a record of 8-1 in 1961, the lone blemish being a 21-20 loss to Mt. Lebanon.
In 1962 the Red Raiders went 10-0 and won the WPIAL Class AA football title. The Red Raiders knocked off Fairchance-Georges 41-0, Trinity 26-6, Redstone 38-14, Washington 35-6, Baldwin 38-6, Charleroi 27-13, Mt. Lebanon 14-7, Connellsville 54-0, Brownsville 41-13 and Johnstown 12-0. Uniontown was awarded the title because it had the highest Gardner Points rating.
The 12-0 victory over Johnstown on the road in the rain and mud put the Red Raiders over the top. It was Uniontown’s first WPIAL Class AA football title.
“It was an unbelievable period in Uniontown football,” Caramano opined. “It was just unbelievable. In 1962 we only gave up a total of 65 points. I played guard and linebacker my junior and senior seasons. I didn’t want to play linebacker because of my height.
“On offense it was a joy to block for the backs we had. Tom Bubanovich, Jim Shaner were good backs. Pope Gregory was special, he was a great back.”
In Caramano’s senior season in 1963 Uniontown finished 7-1-1 with a 20-19 loss to Washington and a 20-20 tie with Charleroi.
Looking back Caramano said with a break here or there the Red Raiders could have won three consecutive WPIAL titles.
“We could have been unbeaten all three years,” Caramano said. “It was something, but we were that good. When we lost a game it was unexpected.
“Bill Power was a good guy and a real good football coach. We had really good coaches back then.”
Caramano was First Team All Western Conference, Associated Press Fourth Team All State, United Press International Honorable Mention All State and a WPIAL Class AA All Star as a senior. He played for the East squad in the Fayette County Coaches Association East-West All Star game. The East beat the West in that game 14-0.
“I’m still proud of the honors,” Caramano stated. “It was real nice. When you work hard it’s nice. I was happy with it.”
When Caramano graduated from Uniontown in 1964 he wound up going to play football at Arizona Western.
“I went to Arizona Western in Yuma, Arizona,” Caramano said. “I went for a year until I didn’t want to study anymore. I came back home and went to Barber School and was a barber for about four or five years. I started working in the coal mine at Maple Creek for 25 years until I hurt my back. It got worse and worse until I can’t even walk now.”
Caramano, 77, resides in Uniontown with his wife of 50-plus years, Monica. They had three children.
Looking back, Caramano still regards wearing that Red Raider football uniform with pride.
“To us it was like going to the Pros,” Caramano explained. “There were so many football players at Uniontown if you made the team it was special. We knew the history of that uniform and the guys that played for Uniontown. It was a great period in my life.”
George Von Benko’s “Memory Lane” column appears in the Sunday editions of the Herald-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.