Early agate
ON THIS DATE
Jan. 26
1913 – Jim Thorpe gives up his track medals from the 1912 Olympic games as a result of his having been a professional. He had been paid $25 for playing in a semi-pro baseball game.
1954 – Chuck Williams, a 177-pounder out of Trinity High School, and heavyweight John Barish win decisions in the final two bouts to give Waynesburg College’s wrestling team a 16-15 victory over Purdue of the Big Ten at College Gym.
1960 — Pete Rozelle is chosen the new commissioner of the National Football League.
1964 – Duquesne’s Willie Somerset sets the Civic Arena scoring record for a college game with 47 points as the Dukes beat Xavier, 83-76.
1969 – Carl DePasqua, a former Pitt and Pittsburgh Steelers assistant, becomes the 25th head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh. DePasqua coached Waynesburg College to the NAIA national championship in 1966. DePasqua says that Lou “Bimbo” Cecconi, a Donora native and assistant coach at Indiana State, will be one of the Panthers’ assistants.
1969 – Duquesne, ranked No. 10 nationally, overcomes a 35-point performance by St. Bonaventure’s Bob Lanier and a seven-point halftime deficit to beat the Bonnies, 84-69, before a Civic Arena record crowd of 12,114. Billy Zopf leads the Dukes with 25 points.
1973 – Ulice Payne and Joe Montana each score 13 points as undefeated Ringgold beats Laurel Highlands, 68-58, in a battle of section leaders. Rick Trainor scores 20 for Laurel Highlands.
1973 – Karl Knoneberg (167), Carl Group (185) and Tom Antion (heavyweight) end the match with consecutive falls to rally McGuffey to a 30-27 victory over Trinity. It’s the first win over Trinity in McGuffey wrestling history.
1985 – Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his 50th goal in the 49th game of the season, a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
1987 – Jennie McVicker sets Fort Cherry’s single-game girls basketball scoring record with 35 points in the Rangers’ 81-26 victory over South Fayette.
1989 – Nika Washington scores 18 points, Kim Wise has 16 points and six steals and Elizabeth Proudfit has 11 points as Washington beats Immaculate Conception 54-50 to take sole possession of first place in Section 15-AA-A.
1993 – Joe Ravasio submits his resignation after seven years as Ringgold’s football coach.
1996 – Jeremy Smith scores 32 points to become Waynesburg’s all-time scoring leader (1,051 points) but the Raiders lose to Thomas Jefferson 85-61.
1998 – Kristin Polosky scores 38 points, grabs 14 rebounds, makes nine steals and blocks six shots as Mapletown defeats Carmichaels 50-38 in a Section 2-A girls basketball game.
2007 – Mark Recchi scores two goals, including the 500th of his career, in Pittsburgh’s 4-3 shootout win over Dallas.
2010 – Phil Horensky makes seven of Peters Township’s 12 three-point field goals and scores 22 points as the Indians win at Ringgold, 78-61.
2011 – Despite being without three starters, Chartiers-Houston’s wrestling team wins the 1-AA team tournament, defeating Burgettstown 60-18 in the finals.