Early agate
ON THIS DATE
June 8
1954 – Charles L. (Chuck) Nelson is promoted to head football coach at Washington & Jefferson.
1961 – Cyrill A. Lane, freshman coach at McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, is hired as the new head football coach at Trinity, suceeding Bill McCandless.
1965 – Bill Virdon scores the winning run on Hal Woodeshick’s bases-loaded balk with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning as Pittsburgh beats the Houston Astros, 7-6, for the Pirates’ 16th victory in 18 games.
1966 – The National Football League and American Football League announce plans to merge into a grand circuit of 26 teams in 25 cities beginning in 1970.
1972 – Jerry Chambers, who resigned as Trinity High School’s wrestling coach at midseason because of health concerns, is rehired to coach the Hillers.
1977 – Bob Whitfield of Charleroi, an infielder at Alderson-Broaddus College, is drafted in the 21st round by the Baltimore Orioles.
1979 – Vic Lapkowicz, head football coach at Carmichaels for 11 years, resigns with a 46-35-2 record.
1987 – Bill Tornabene resigns after four seasons as Waynesburg College’s head football coach to become defensive coordinator at Hampden-Sydney.
1988 – Brad Auld and Diontae Walker combine to drive in six runs and provide stellar relief pitching as Washington defeats Mount Union 9-7 in the PIAA Class AA baseball semifinals at Indiana University.
1988 – Carmichaels scores in the first inning and Nikki Gasti throws a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts as the Mikes defeat Sto-Rox 2-0 in the PIAA Class AA softball semifinals at California University.
1989 – Bentworth High School hires Joe Scorza as its head football coach, replacing Ron Skiles, who resigned in February. Scorza had been the head coach at Mon Valley Catholic.
1995 – Tom Kendall, who guided the University of Winnipeg to three Canadian national championships and an 88-game winning streak, is hired as women’s basketball coach at California University.
2007 – Jim Gallagher, a junior outfielder at Duke University and a Peters Township graduate, is drafted in the seventh round (239th overall) by the Chicago White Sox.