Fort Cherry’s 1961 team set the basketball standard
The 1960-61 Fort Cherry basketball team had a 24-4 record and won WPIAL and PIAA championships. The state title was the first won by a basketball team from Washington County.
Chad Williamson
Mark Wise
Before there was the Washington High School’s dynasty in the mid-1980s, and long before Ringgold became the first WPIAL school to win the PIAA Class AAAA championship, Washington County had a state basketball champion.
The team thathas the distinction of being the first boys basketball state champion in the area is the 1961 Fort Cherry Rangers, who were guided by head coach Ed Hepe and assistant Leo Gispanski. Washington and Ringgold followed, but it was Fort Cherry that set the standard.
The 1961 Fort Cherry High School basketball team and 14 individuals will be inducted this year into the Washington-Greene County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. The Rangers will be inducted as a Team of Yesteryear.
The individuals who will be inducted include Ray Kemp of Fort Cherry (football), Ed Malinowski of Chartiers-Houston (football), Andy Migyanko of Trinity (wrestling), Frank Mosier of Trinity (wrestling), Leon Pagac of Centerville (football), Brian Pelkey of Washington (football), Dan Petrola (youth service), Albert Sabol of Beth-Center (football), Marty Schottenheimer of Fort Cherry (football), Ron Skiles of Ellsworth (football and golf), Joe Throckmorton of Waynesburg (wrestling), Chad Williamson of Trinity (football) and Mark Wise of Washington (football).
Ceremonies will take place 6 p.m. Friday, June 9, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands. Tickets are $45 each and can be purchased by calling B.J. at 724-678-4320. In addition to the inductees being honored, Bill Cowher and Ralph Cindrich will be guest speakers.
The following is brief history of three of the inductees:
Fort Cherry put together a 24-4 season that included a 15-1 mark en route to the Section 15 title.
In the WPIAL playoffs, Fort Cherry edged Bentworth, 54-49, in a quarterfinal game played at Mt. Lebanon High School. It was on to the semifinals at the Pitt Field House and Fort Cherry edged Trafford, 55-52. In the WPIAL championship game, also played at Pitt, Fort Cherry crushed Wampum, 77-56.
In the PIAA playoffs, Fort Cherry edged Marion Center, 60-59, in the quarterfinals at Monessen, then stopped Cochranton, 71-44, in the semifinals at Farrell High School.
Fort Cherry won the state title with an impressive 51-41 victory over St. Clair at Pitt.
Team members were Bill “Penn” Lowe, David Randour, Bill Berry, Paul Brown, Terry Holder, Lou Rocher, Danny AcAnany, Bill Jemison, Richard Hallam, Marty Schottenheimer, Ken Parkinson and Fred Shingledecker.
The starting five was Holder, Schottenheimer, Hallam, Brown and Rocher.
Williamson was a three-year letterman in football and basketball at Trinity High School (1993-1995). He started every game as a junior and senior in football and four games as a sophomore. In basketball, he started every game as a junior and senior in basketball.
Williamson was a team captain and made all conference in football and basketball. He recorded more than 100 tackles as a senior on defense and once recorded 23 tackles in a single game. He had 18 receptions for 309 yards at tight end and recorded two defensive touchdowns as a junior.
In basketbal, he averaged 18 points a game as a senior and scored 20 or more points in a game 11 times. He was named co-MVP of Washington-Greene All-Star Game.
Williamson received a full athletic grant from Lafayette College (1996-1999) and was a four-year letterman as a defensive lineman. He led the defensive line in tackles and sacks as a junior and once recorded 14 tackles in a game against Lehigh. He was voted team captain as a senior.
As a senior, he led the defensive line in tackles and sacks and averaged double digit tackles as a senior, leading the Patriot League. He was voted defensive MVP in 1999.
Wise was a multitalented athlete at Washington, playing football, basketball and track. He won 10 varsity letters: three in football, three in basketball and four in track. He was named the William E. Amos outstanding senior athlete and was all-county and all-conference (1982-1983). He was a three-year starter and senior captain with more than 1,900 career passing yards.
In basketball, he scored 988 career points, was co-captain of the Little Prexies’ 1984 state championship team and was a three-year starter. Wise was Wash High’s leading scorer and second-leading rebounder on the 1984 team.
In track, Wise was a four-year letterman and senior captain. He was part of the record-breaking 400-meter relay team and ran a leg on the 400 and 1,600 relay teams.
He began his college career at Virginia Tech and transferred to Penn State, where he was a member of the Nittany Lions’ 1986 national championship team.
He returned to Washington to coach in 2003. He joined the high school staff from 2004-08, where he handled the quarterbacks and defensive backs. Wise served as offensive co-coordinator from 2005-2008.