America's Football Factory

Wayne Stewart

Description

A small area of western Pennsylvania around Pittsburgh has produced almost 25 percent of the modern era quarter- backs enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That percentage is wildly disproportionate to the number of superstar quarterbacks any one state might claim, let alone a mere sliver of a state-an area representing just one-fifth of one percent of the total country.The list of the greats starts with George Blanda, the "old man" of the game, and continues with the incomparable Johnny Unitas, followed by "Broadway" Joe Namath, Joe "the Comeback Kid" Montana, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly.Their stories, feats, and statistics are brought to life in America's Football Factory through riveting anecdotes, extensive research, and exclusive interviews with their coaches, friends, family, and peers. Readers will appreciate getting to know these athletes as people, not merely as football heroes. Stewart also explores the many theories as to why one part of the nation has churned out so many greats.Hall of Famers Raymond Berry and Mike Ditka lavished praise on the first edition of this book. "Any fan of my era, of my friend Johnny Unitas, or, for that matter, any fanof football in general should enjoy Wayne Stewart's book," said Berry.Ditka, himself a Western Pennsylvanian, wrote in the book's introduction, "You can't get much better than the primary six men featured in this book." He's correct-upon their retirement, all six of the book's featured quarterbacks were in the top 12 for touchdown passes, and five of them were in the top 10.America's Football Factory also features other greats from the Pittsburgh vicinity, including Johnny Lujack, Babe Parilli, and Marc Bulger, and the area's best high school programs for producing quarterbacks are also discussed.

Sujets

• USA
• Fútbol americano
• Pensilvania
• American football
• Pennsylvania
• États-Unis
• Pennsylvanie

Informations

• Publié par: The Kent State University Press
• Date de parution: 14 mai 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781631013317
• Langue: English

Extrait

AMERICA’S FOOTBALL FACTORY
WAYNE STEWART • Foreword by Mike Ditka
AMERICA’S
.....................  Western Pennsylvania’s         
FOOTBALL 
.....................  Cradle of Quarterbacks from
FACTORY    
  .....................  Johnny Unitas to Joe Montana
SECOND EDITION
© 2018 by Wayne Stewart Foreword ©2018 by Mike Ditka All rights reserved
ISBN 978-1-60635-351-6
Manufactured in the United States of America

Black Squirrel Books®
Frisky, industrious black squirrels are a familiar sight on the Kent State University campus and the inspiration for Black Squirrel Books®, a trade imprint of The Kent State University Press. www.KentStateUniversityPress.com
Cataloging information for this title is available at the Library of Congress.
22  21  20  19  18         5  4  3  2  1
To the Stewart family: My wife Nancy, our sons Sean and Scott, daughters-in-law Rachel and Katie, and our grandson Nathan. Also, to my parents: O. J. Stewart, who taught me to love words, and Margaret (Jones) Stewart, who taught me the joy of reading .
 
CONTENTS      
Foreword by Mike Ditka
Acknowledgments
1 THE CRADLE OF QUARTERBACKS
2 GEORGE BLANDA— The NFL’s Methuselah
3 JOHNNY UNITAS— The Man with the Golden Arm and a Heart to Match
4 JOE NAMATH— “No Brag. Just Fact”
5 JOE MONTANA— A.K.A. “The Comeback Kid”
6 DAN MARINO— “We Didn’t Come Here to Tie”
7 JIM KELLY— The Linebacker-Tough Quarterback
8 SOFT COAL AND HARD QUARTERBACKS: Prevailing Theories for Western Pennsylvania’s Quarterback Dominance
EPILOGUE: Final Thoughts
APPENDIX 1: Partial List of Star Western Pennsylvania Quarterbacks from Top Area High Schools
APPENDIX 2: Rankings of “The Six” upon Their Retirements
Sources Cited
Index
 
FOREWORD      
I GREW UP in Western Pennsylvania in the town of Aliquippa, which produced almost as many football players as it did steel. I believe Aliquippa High School has sent 11 players to the NFL. I was one of those men, playing my college football for the Pitt Panthers before moving on to the NFL, playing there for the Chicago Bears, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Dallas Cowboys from 1961 to 1972.
A few other stars out of Aliquippa include two All-Pros, Ty Law and Darrelle Revis, and you can toss in Sean Gilbert, who was on a Pro Bowl team once. Having one kid make it to the NFL out of a small town is a noteworthy accomplishment. To produce multiple NFL players is to defy incredibly long odds—but, then again, determined Western Pennsylvanians have a long history of doing just that.
I have always had a warm spot in my heart for Western Pennsylvania and the people of that area, from towns such as Donora, which produced men I admire greatly in Stan Musial and Deacon Dan Towler, to Monessen, which also sent more than 10 players to the NFL, and to places such as Beaver Falls, home of nine pro players, including Joe Namath, Jim Mutscheller, and Joe Walton.
The area around Pittsburgh was packed with people who wanted to better themselves and who were very competitive. For example, I always strived to show that I was as good as anyone. Our rugged blue-collar attitude and strong work ethic helped carry us to success.
I’ve always believed that you can be anything that you want to be if you work hard for it. Western Pennsylvanian athletes were given the chance to take their skills, diligently work on them, and then carve out a good career for themselves. My part of the country—and for that matter, our entire nation—has always been a great land of opportunity.
As I said, Western Pennsylvania has churned out many great athletes in general, but somehow, again, against all odds , the area was able to manufacture an unbelievably high percentage of standout quarterbacks and export them to the highest levels of football.
A kid doesn’t start playing football thinking that he’ll eventually make it to the Hall of Fame—they start because they love the game. Still, six kids from Western Pennsylvania were able to turn their love of the game into outstanding Hall of Fame careers.
You can’t get much better than the primary six men featured in this book: the ageless, highly competitive George Blanda; Johnny Unitas, the man I consider to have started something big by perfecting the forward pass as a vital, frequent weapon; Joe Namath, who was as tough as nails; Joe Montana, an unbelievable quarterback I had to coach against; Dan Marino, who, like me, went to Pitt and set records; and Jim Kelly, who turned the Buffalo Bills into a winner. What a group!
M IKE D ITKA, Hall of Fame tight end
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS      
T HANKS GO OUT to the following people, listed in no particular order: Betsy McGurgan, Steve Higgins, and Ken Thomas of Beaver Falls, for their help regarding Joe Namath. Chad Unitas, Shirley (Unitas) Green, Paige Unitas, Leonard Unitas, Sandy Unitas, Joe Unitas, Fred Cox, Chuck Crummie, Carl Crawley, Joe Emanuele, Rudy Andabaker, Rich Erdelyi, Steve Russell, Joe Ravasio, Paul Zolak, Scott Zolak, Mike Ditka, Mike Lucci, Raymond Berry, Rick Volk, Tom Matte, Ken MacAfee, Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, Ulice Payne, Jim Houston, Sam Havrilak, Andy Nelson, John Ziemann, Mike Gallagher, Rick Slager, Kris Haines, Tom Caudill, Stanley Fabin, Vagas Ferguson, Bernie Galiffa, Bimbo Cecconi, Terry Henry, Speer Ruey, Tim Stokes, David Sarkus, Chuck Smith, and to all the people who gave up their time and shared their memories and expertise when they agreed to be interviewed for this book.
1
THE CRADLE OF QUARTERBACKS    
W ESTERN P ENNSYLVANIA is a slice of the country that is peppered with geographic names of American Indian origins. Towns that boast of producing star players such as Joe Montana also proudly bear names such as that of his hometown, Monongahela. It is also a part of the country teeming with football talent dating back to … well, not quite as far back as the days when Native Americans alone populated the country, but certainly back to the earliest days of the sport’s existence.
In fact, some of the game’s oldest roots are firmly planted in Pennsylvania soil. The first professional football game ever played was between the Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Allegheny Athletic Association. On November 12, 1892, the victorious Allegheny team’s illegal action of paying one of its players—a William Heffelfinger—made their game that day, the first professional football contest. Furthermore, the Latrobe Athletic Association, a Pennsylvania squad that existed from 1895 to 1909, is considered to be the first football team to play a complete season (1897) employing a full roster of professional players. Actually, the Allegheny Athletic Association had already been the first organization to field a complete roster of pros, but did so in its abbreviated 1896 season.
Then there was Grant Dibert, who signed the first known professional contract, joining the Pittsburgh Athletic Club in 1893; and John Brallier, who became the first player to openly play pro football when he was paid the princely sum of $10 in 1895 by the Latrobe YMCA team.
In addition, although it took more than a few decades to make the discovery, the Keystone State, especially the western part of that state, became the greatest area in the nation for producing quarterbacks. For that matter, it was also a fantastic area for the mass production of football stars, period—regardless of position played. Just ask fans of Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka, Ty Law, Jim Covert, Bill Fralic, Curtis Martin, or Dan Towler,
Quick aside: Mike Gallagher, a sportscaster who went to the same Pittsburgh high school as Dan Marino, was, due to his friendship with Marino, invited to take part in a “Quarterback Challenge,” sponsored by Jim Kelly for charity. Gallagher recalled:
There’d be a hole just big enough to fit a football through it, and all the quarterbacks and celebrities would line up and throw a ball 30, 40 yards. If someone got it through the hole, their charity would get one million dollars.
They picked one or two local media guys, so Danny makes the comment to Kelly, “I want Gallagher to throw—if he doesn’t throw, I don’t throw.” I get up for my turn and threw a nice pass, a good, tight spiral. As it bounces off the target, Earl Morrall turns to Danny, “Hey, Marino, your reporter friend here has got an arm.” Marino turns and says, “Of course he does; he’s from Pittsburgh. Everybody from Pittsburgh can throw a football.”
Well, not everybody, but it is staggering how many great arms came out of that area. Some experts go so far as to say the area is the most productive of any geographic area for turning out athletes, regardless of the position they play. The introductory commentary from a video entitled The Greatest Moments in Western Pennsylvania Sports History noted: “The families of a proud Pittsburgh and her surrounding communities have forged a hard-working tradition all their own. The offspring of this unwavering discipline and proud heritage was a breed of athlete that would soar above all others.”
As far as football goes, it seems apparent that, if being endowed with the skills necessary to become a stellar quarterback is a from-the-cradle, God-given gift, then He must have favored those born in the Pittsburgh area, as He generously blessed them with a preponderance of talent.
It seems almost indisputable that Western Pennsylvania reigns as the greatest cradle of quarterbacks ever. Consider what the Rankopedia website listed as that area’s top 10, dominated by men from the general Pittsburgh vicinity, with their countdown building up to their pick as the greatest of them all:
10. Marc Bulger (Pittsburgh) was a two-time All-Pro who threw for more than 22,000 yards in the NFL.
9. Gus Frerotte (Ford City) through 2016 is still in the top 100 for total yards passing in the NFL.
8. Jeff Hostetler (Hollsopple), along with Joe Montana, is one of only two quarterbacks to go from being a third-round draft player to starting and winning the Super Bowl