Early agate
ON THIS DATE
Jan. 31
1950 – High school pitcher Paul Pettit signs with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a record $100,000. To do so, Pittsburgh has to purchase his contract from a film producer who had signed Pettit to an exclusive contract as an athlete/actor.
1954 – Frank Leahy resigns as football coach at Notre Dame. Leahy has an 87-11-9 record. He is replaced by 25-year-old Terry Brennan.
1956 – Dormont ends Washington’s 74-game section basketball winning streak by defeating the Little Prexies 50-44. It’s Washington’s first loss in a section game since Feb. 4, 1949.
1974 – Bernie O’Keefe makes an 18-foot jump shot at the buzzer in overtime as Duquesne shocks seventh-ranked Providence, 88-87.
1981 – All five Canon-McMillan wrestlers who make the finals – Tim Grego (112), Harry Hritsko (119), Craig Dellorso (126), Mario Marinelli (145) and Dominick Broglia (185) – win titles at the Burgettstown Tournament and help the Big Macs win the team title.
1981 – The District of Columbia, led by future NBA first-round draft pick Earl Jones, defeats Cal State 89-58 at Hamer Hall. Jones scores 19 points and blocks five shots.
1985 – Waynesburg High School’s Tammy McIntire scores 21 points, including the 1,000th of her career, in the Raiders’ 51-27 victory over Mon Valley Catholic.
1986 – Two-time defending WPIAL champion Eric Smith pins Freedom’s Eugene McCune at 1:22 of the heavyweight bout to give Avella a 39-30 victory and clinch a berth in the WPIAL Team Tournament for the Eagles.
1995 – The Roundball Classic, the longest-running national all-star high school basketball game, is cancelled after a 30-year run in Pittsburgh.
1998 – The Pittsburgh Penguins top the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2. Pens goalie Tom Barrasso makes 51 saves, the most by any Pittsburgh goalie in Mellon Arena history.
1998 – Mark Keener makes a game-winning shot from 10 feet with one second remaining as Waynesburg College overcomes a 13-point first-half deficit and defeats host Grove City, 67-65. It is the 14th consecutive win for the Yellow Jackets (15-1).
2003 – LeBron James is declared ineligible for the remainder of the basketball season because he accepted free sports jerseys, the Ohio High School Athletic Association rules. A senior at Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary, James was given two retro sports jerseys – valued at $845 – for free from a clothing store.
2005 – Rachel Phillips scores 41 points, including all 18 of West Greene’s points in the fourth quarter, as the Pioneers defeat Mapletown 56-49.
2006 – West Greene’s Rachel Phillips scores 22 points in the Pioneers’ 47-43 win over Riverview to become the school’s all-time basketball – boys or girls – scoring leader with 1,759 points.
2007 – Jon Koch scores 12 points in Washington & Jefferson’s 85-63 basketball victory at Waynesburg to become the Presidents’ all-time scoring leader with 1,660 points. He breaks the record held by Nolan Larry.
2011 – Travis Taylor scores 15 points and makes two free throws with four seconds remaining, giving Jefferson-Morgan a 50-48 win over Bentworth. It is the Bearcats’ first loss in Section 3-AA.