Blount to be honored at Washington-Greene Hall of Fame event
Jim McNutt/Observer-Reporter Mel Blount, freshman football players from the University of Pittsburgh and youngsters from the area listen to Pitt Assistant Athletic Director Penny Semaia before beginning drills Friday morning. About 40 freshmen from the Pitt football team mentored nearly 40 youngsters of all ages from around the area for several hours of basic football drills and skills Friday at the Mel Blount Youth Home in Buffalo Township.
It will be easy to pick him out at this event, or any other event.
Just look for the signature white cowboy hat.
Mel Blount, a cornerback on some of the great Pittsburgh Steelers championship teams of the 1970s, will be honored with 11 others at the induction ceremonies for the 30th anniversary of the Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held June 10 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.
Tickets are $45 apiece and can be purchased by calling B.J. at 724-678-4320.
Blount will receive the Youth Service Award for the accomplishments of the Mel Blount Youth Home. Blount, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989 and who named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team in 1994, has received numerous awards, including the Al Abrams Award at the Dapper Dan Banquet in 1990 and the Jerome Bettis Humanitarian Award in 2012.
Others inductees include Mark Angle (wrestling), Chris Sidick (baseball), and Henry Armstrong (track and field) of Canon-McMillan; Jamey Bennett (football) of Fort Cherry; Frank Bernadowski (football) of California University; Michael Bonus (baseball), the late Jerry Lattimore (wrestling), Kory Sensky (soccer) and Kevin Holley (football) of Trinity; Kaitlyn Orstein-Fife (swimming) of Washington & Jefferson; the late John Guzik (football) of Cecil High School; Fred Pagac (football, Athlete of Distinction) of Beth-Center; Kristin Polosky-Puskas (basketball) of Mapletown; and Tom Trettel (Meritorious Service) of Charleroi.
The following are bios from a portion of the inductees. The remaining bios wll be published at a later date.
Angle was a four-time WPIAL champion, a two-time PIAA qualifier, and a state champion in 1995. Angle had a career record of 148-3. He was part of the Big Macs’ 1992 PIAA Team Tournament champions and the 1994 and ’95 teams that won WPIAL Team Tournament titles.
Angle was a six-time Junior Olympic state champion and eight-time Pennsylvania freestyle state champion
At Clarion University, Angle was a three-time NCAA Division I All-American, a three-time Eastern Wrestling League champion and a three-time PSAC champion. He had a 136-11 record, including 45-1 in dual meets, and was a three-time University National Freestyle All-American.
Canon-McMillan / WVU
Armstrong was a team co-captain and MVP for the 1961 and ’62 track teams at Canon-McMillan. He received the Outstanding Player Award at the 1961 Canonsburg Relays. He left the school as the record holder in the 220-yard dash (22.3 seconds).
At West Virginia, Armstrong was one of two African-Americans to be awarded a track scholarship. He was a team co-captain in 1965 and ’66, and the top team scorer in 1964. He anchored the 440-yard relay team that set the school record of 43.1.
Bennett left Fort Cherry as the only player in school history to start on offense and defense for four years. He was a four-time All-Black Hills Conference selection. Bennett was team captain and conference Defensive MVP in 1994. He was a first team Blue Chip Illustrated All-American in 1995 and a Big 33 nominee.
In wrestling, he was the school’s Outstanding Wrestler three times and captain in 1994 and 1995. He was a two-time WPIAL heavyweight champion (1993, ’95) and a Southwest Region champion (1995).
At the University of Akron, Bennett was a four-year letterman in football and earned the Scholastic Academic Excellence Award in 1998 for on field excellence and academic achievement. Bennett signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999 and the Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) in 2000.
Bernadowski was a three-sport, six-time letterman in football, basketball and baseball. He was named MVP in basketball and given the Outstanding Football award as a senior. Bernadowski was inducted into the Elizabeth-Forward Alumni and Friends Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
He attended California University, where he was a four-year starter at defensive back. He was a member of the Vulcans’ undefeated 1958 team and played on four teams that lost a total of five games during his career. He set PSAC and school records for interceptions (29) that still stand today. He was inducted into the California University Hall of Fame for football and basketball in 1998.
Bernadowski played for the Wheeling Ironmen in the United Football League and the Pittsburgh Ironmen in the Atlantic Coast Football League. He led the ACL with 11 interceptions and tied for the league lead the following year with 9 while making the Atlantic Coast League All-Star team
Bernadowski coached boys and girls basketball in Ohio and Pennsylvania for more than 40 years. He coached two Brownsville High School girls teams to the PIAA playoffs and was named Section 3 Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996.
Bonus was starting quarterback for Washington in 1992 and 1993 and had a 20-4 record as a starter. He helped the Prexies to a WPIAL title and PIAA silver medal in 1993. He had 23 career touchdowns and passed for more than 1,800 yards. He was named to the Observer-Reporter All-District Team in 1993.
Bonus was a two-time All-Section baseball selection. He hit .378 in 1993, and .410 in 1994. He had 10 career home runs and was 10-1 as a pitcher.
In Pony League Baseball, Bonus had a .550 average and 12 home runs, including four in one game. He received the John Voytek Award for the highest average in the Pony World Series with a .667 average.
Bonus was a Keystone State Games participant in 1993 and named Player of the Week in the Tri-State Palomino League in 1994.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Edinboro University in 1999 and a master’s degree from Duquesne University in 2005. He served as a volunteer assistant quarterback coach for the 2000 WPIAL and PIAA champion Washington team and continues to play baseball in the Washington-Greene County Adult Baseball League.
At Mt. Lebanon, Orstein-Fife was a 25-time NISCA All-American and seven-time PIAA champion. She was named PIAA Swimmer of the Meet in 2004 and won 15 gold medals and a silver medal in WPIAL competition.
She was named Athlete of the Year by The Almanac. Orstein-Fife left Mt. Lebanon with nine team records.
At Washington & Jefferson, Orstein-Fife was an eight-time NCAA Division III champion and a 25-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference champion. Orstein-Fife won the 200 individual medley in 2005, 2007 and 2008, the 400 individual medley in 2005 and 2006, the 200 breaststroke in 2007 and 2008, and the 100 breaststroke national title in 2008. She established 18 W&J, 10 PAC records and five NCAA Division III records.
Orstein-Fife was a 14-time NCAA Division III All-American held the national record in the 200 individual medley (2:00.27) for five years. Orstein was named the PAC Swimmer of the Year during all four years on the squad and led the Presidents to the 2005 and 2008 PAC team championships, two of the eight in W&J’s history.
Following her sophomore season, Orstein-Fife was invited to represent Team USA at the Maccabi International Games in Sydney, Australia and won five gold medals.
She was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2015, the W&J Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and named the 2004 Dapper Dan Female Athlete of the Year.
The late John Guzik played guard and linebacker for the Pitt Panthers and was named first team All-America in 1958. He captained teams in the Hula Bowl, East-West Shrine and the College All-Star games. He was named NCAA College Lineman of the Year.
Guzik was a first-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams in 1959, receiving the largest contract ever offered to a college lineman at the time. He also played with the Baltimore Colts and Houston Oilers of the AFL before injuries ended his career.