Early agate
ON THIS DATE
Feb. 11
1946 – Steve Stepanian resigns as coach of four sports at Charleroi High School. Stepanian’s football teams had a 145-59-30 record and won the WPIAL championship in 1936. His basketball teams were 203-65 and won the 1940 WPIAL title.
1964 – Bentleyville-Ellsworth clinches its third straight Section 18 basketball title by defeating Carmichaels 98-57. Frank Smith scores 16 points for the winners.
1969 – John Billetz scores 22 points and Mapletown improves to 11-0 in Section 19 basketball with a 54-46 victory over Fairchance-Georges.
1972 – Washington becomes the first area boys basketball team to clinch a spot in the WPIAL playoffs by winning the Section 20-B title with a 61-48 victory over host South Park. Ernie McNeely sparks Wash High with a game-high 17 points. It’s Washington’s second section championship in as many seasons under head coach John Unice.
1974 – John Bacha, who directed Peters Township to its first WPIAL football playoff appearance in 1972, resigns to become head coach at Southmoreland.
1979 – Sam Clancy scores 23 points and grabs 11 rebounds as Pitt upsets third-ranked Duke, 71-59, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
1982 – Behind 38 points by Renee Rockridge, Charleroi’s girls basketball team moves into first place in Section 11-AA with a 66-63 victory at Albert Gallatin
1990 – Mike Tyson loses for the first time when James “Buster” Douglas knocks him out in the 10th round and captures the heavyweight championship in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.
1990 – Waynesburg College’s Vance Walker scores 43 points but the Yellow Jackets lose at Daemen, 105-101.
1992 – The Atlanta Falcons trade backup quarterback Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers for a first-round draft pick.
2000 – The Penguins’ Martin Straka scores twice in 7 seconds in the first period of a 2-2 tie between Pittsburgh and Edmonton. The NHL record for quickest goals is 5 seconds.
2001 – The implosion of Three Rivers Stadium, home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates for 30 years, takes only 19 seconds and leaves a pile of rubble and memories.
2012 – Canon-McMillan’s wrestling team wins its first PIAA Class AAA Team Tournament title by defeating District 10 champion Erie McDowell 35-20 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Feb. 12
1959 – Merwin Holland scores 42 points on 21 field goals as Midway High School defeats East Washington, 63-59, in overtime.
1963 – West Greene’s Rick Sonneborn scores 42 points as the Pioneers outlast Jefferson-Morgan 72-71 in a double-overtime basketball game.
1969 – Ray Greene’s 41 points power California State to a 105-96 victory over Point Park.
1972 – The Soviet Union ice hockey team wins the gold medal with a 5-2 victory over Czechoslovakia at the Winter Olympics. The United States is awarded the silver because it had beaten and tied Czechoslovakia.
1973 – Waynesburg High School’s wrestling team wins its 50th consecutive match, defeating Trinity 26-22 when heavyweight Mike George wins the final bout by fall.
1980 – Doug Silbaugh scores 24 points to lead Immaculate Conception to a 55-51 win over Washington in the third meeting of the season between the boys basketball teams. The win clinches a WPIAL Class AA playoff spot for the Comets.
1985 – Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux becomes the first rookie to be named most valuable player at the NHL All-Star game. The 19-year-old center scores two goals, including the game-winner, and has an assist to lead the Wales Conference to a 6-4 win over the Campbell Conference.
1986 – Chartiers-Houston’s Tim Oakley scores 13 points, including his 1,00th career point, in the Bucs’ 68-50 win over Avella.
1988 – Wade Timmerson scores 44 points, is credited with 15 assists and leads Fort Cherry to an 85-76 victory over Avella in Section 15-AA-A.
2010 – Canon-McMillan advances to the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Team Tournament semifinals with a 31-30 victory over District 4 champion Shikellamy.
2010 – Gilbert Brown and Ashton Gibbs make two free throws in the final 30 seconds and No. 25 Pitt outlasts No. 5 West Virginia 98-95 in triple overtime. Gibbs and Brad Wannamaker each score 24 points for Pitt. WVU’s De’Sean Butler has a game-high 32 points and 11 rebounds.