Donora High School athletes to share memories
DONORA – Legendary professional baseball player Stan “The Man” Musial of Donora once ate a breakfast of bread smeared with ketchup before school.
“That’s an example of the humble beginnings he had,” said Bob “Bones” Rosborough, whose uncle Adam Koday witnessed that scene while he and Musial walked to school together.
“After Stan Musial left Donora, his hat size never changed,” said Rosborough, who will share stories from his childhood next month in an athlete-themed program sponsored by the Donora Historical Society.
Musial went on to play for 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, with the St. Louis Cardinals. Musial, who died in 2013, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Rosborough was part of a history-making football team at the University of Pittsburgh in 1955 when it was invited to play in the Sugar Bowl.
Pitt had a black player named Bobby Grier of Ohio at a time when people of his race were not allowed on the field at the bowl game.
Their coach left it up to the Pitt players to decide whether they would go to the game with or without Grier. The team reached the decision within 10 minutes that it would take the field only if Grier came with them to Tulane University in New Orleans in January 1956, said Rosborough, 84, of Whitehall.
Meanwhile, the Georgia governor intervened in an attempt to persuade Georgia Tech to take issue with the game because of Grier. Georgia’s team wanted the game to be played, resulting in Grier becoming the first African-American to break the color barrier at the Sugar Bowl. In January of this year, Grier was inducted into the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame.
The idea to have the storytelling event grew out of a program two years ago when the society showed silent films of Donora football games from the 1960s.
“There were pockets of people telling stories. They loved it,” said Mark Pawelek, a society member.
Rosborough will be joined at the event by standout athletes Rich Mongelluzzo, Lou Cecconi and Nick DeRosa.
“Part of it is these guys want to tell people why they cherished growing up in Donora,” Pawelek said.
“It just was a terrific steel mill town,” Rosborough added.
The afternoon of storytelling will begin at 1 p.m. June 1 in Donora Pubic Library, 510 Meldon Ave.