Early agate
ON THIS DATE
Feb. 4
1970 – Trinity High School’s wrestling team wins its 13th consecutive dual meet, a 29-14 victory over host Canon-McMillan, in front of a standing-room-only crowd and another 300 to 400 people watching on closed-circuit television in the school’s auditorium.
1975 – A 44-point performance by Glenn Lowe carries Avella to a 92-82 victory over Waynesburg in a Section 12-B basketball game.
1979 – Willie Huber scores two goals and two assists as the Detroit Red Wings rout the Pittsburgh Penguins 8-3. The game is marred by a 15-minute brawl in the third period that resulted in 71 minutes of penalties.
1985 – Bentworth’s boys basketball team defeats Chartiers-Houston, 67-53, to give Bearcats coach Vince Quattro his 200th career victory.
1986 – Trinity defeats Canon-McMillan 24-20 to end the Big Macs’ 28-meet wrestling winning streak. The match is contested before a crowd of about 3,000 fans at Washington & Jefferson’s Henry Memorial Center and isn’t decided until Trinity heavyweight Brian Hilk wins a 7-3 decision in the final bout.
1989 – California University spends its longest night on a basketball court. The Vulcans outlast host Edinboro, 128-122, in five overtimes. Joe Miller scores 42 points and plays 63 minutes for California, which attempts 64 free throws. Edinboro, which has seven players foul out, attempts 106 shots.
1991 – The doors of Cooperstown are slammed shut on Pete Rose when the Hall of Fame’s board of directors votes 12-0 to bar players on the permanently ineligible list from consideration.
1992 – Mike Cook leads six Waynesburg players in double figures as the Raiders roll to a 115-62 win over visiting Brownsville in a Section 9-AAA game. Waynesburg scores 59 points in the first half.
1997 – Bill Wagner scores 13 points in Charleroi’s 62-42 victory over Derry and becomes the Cougars’ all-time scoring leader with 1,403 points. he breaks th erecord held by Ollie Payne.
1997 – Mario Lemieux becomes the seventh player in NHL history to score 600 career goals as he slides a puck into an empty net with 55 seconds remaining in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. The goal leads to a three-minute standing ovation from the crowd of 17,355 at the Civic Arena.
2011 – Canon-McMillan’s Sam Minor catches Cole Landowski in a headlock and pins him in 43 seconds to take the air out of a Kiski comeback and cement the Big Macs’ 46-20 victory in the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament semifinals.
2011 – Chartiers-Houston’s wrestling team wins a spot in the WPIAL Class AA Team Tournament finals and a berth in the PIAA event by thumping Kittanning, 54-18.
2012 – Canon-McMillan lives up to its No. 1 seed by defeating North Allegheny 53-12 in the WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament championship match at Chartiers Valley.
2013 – Sammie Weiss scores 23 points and Rachel Czulewicz makes two key free throws with 38 seconds remaining as McGuffey defeats Washington 57-55 to clinch the Section 5-AA title.
Feb. 5
1954 – Cumberland Township High School’s Jack Kesock sets the Ellsworth court scoring record with 39 points in the Mikes’ 69-53 victory. Kesock’s total includes 17 field goals.
1974 – Waynesburg’s Bill George is one of four former players chosen for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The others are Tony Canadeo, Lou “The Toe” Groza and Dick “Night Train” Lane. George, the first middle linebacker in NFL history, played in the league for 14 years with the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams. He played in eight consecutive Pro Bowls.
1982 – Brothers Tony and Jeff Conn combine for 43 points and Bentworth (16-1) takes sole possession of first place in Section 9-AA-A with a 74-69 basketball win over host Washington (11-2).
1986 – Heavyweight Brian Hilk wins a 7-3 decision over Canon-McMillan’s Olen Scott to secure Trinity’s 24-20 wrestling victory over the Big Macs. The loss ends Canon-McMillan’s 28-dual-meet winning streak. Because of the interest in the match, it is held at Washington & Jefferson’s Henry Memorial Center and draws a crowd estimated at 3,000.
1988 – Thomas Jefferson outlasts host Waynesburg 90-88 in overtime in a foul-filled Section 9-AAA game. Jason Lawson, one of six TJ players to foul out, scores 28 of his 40 points in the second half. Kerry Marisa scores 35 for Waynesburg.
1990 – Notre Dame bucks the College Football Association and becomes the first college to sell its home games to a major network, agreeing to a five-year contract with NBC beginning in 1991.?
1992 – Ted Simmons, director of player development for the St. Louis Cardinals, is hired as general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1994 – Terry Wilkins scores 32 points and grabs 15 rebounds, and Matt Johnson scores his 1,000th career point as Washington & Jefferson defeats visiting Frostburg State, 75-58, to improve its basketball record to 15-2.
1999 – Ringgold defeats Albert Gallatin, 61-43, to give Rams boys basketball coach Phil Pergola his 400th career victory.
2005 – Kevin Pittsnogle scores 27 points and West Virginia overcomes a seven-point halftime deficit to upset No. 16 Pitt, 83-78, in overtime.
2006 – The Pittsburgh Steelers win a record-tying fifth Super Bowl, but their first since 1980 with a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
2011 – Alex Hutchin’s first-period pin at 130 pounds provided the spark and Canon-McMillan followed with a firestorm of lightweights to take a 36-19 victory over Latrobe and win its second consecutive WPIAL Class AAA Team Tournament championship.