Jun 4, 2019 8 min read

Guy Montecalvo and Gary Tranquill have accumulated their share of awards for athletic and coaching achievements. However, none means as much as their recent recognition. Both were inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame last Saturday at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Greentree.

“It means a lot to be inducted,” said Tranquill, who entered the Hall of Fame for his excellence as a football player at Avella High School. “It’s always a good feeling when you are honored. I feel very humbled.”

Montecalvo agreed. He said that he was “stunned” to receive the call because it was “totally unexpected,” though he entered the Hall as a very successful coach, amassing a 225-107-2 record, complete with two WPIAL championships and four other runner-up titles.

“To win something like this to me is extremely humbling and something that I will really cherish because the WPIAL, to all of us as athletes and coaches, means everything. The league has a great tradition, great history and wonderful leadership. This league is known across the country because of the excellence of athleticism and coaching.”

Tranquill and Montecalvo are known for both. Each excelled athletically then went on to become standout coaches.

Tranquill the athlete

A four-year letterman, Tranquill quarterbacked Avella to a share of the WPIAL Class B title. The Eagles tied Montour for the championship.

“It’s true,” Tranquill said about how the feeling of winning a WPIAL championship never leaves a player. “You always think back on it. We had a lot of good football players for small high school. While we can’t take credit for being the sole champ, it was a great experience.”

Because of coach Ray Fiorini, winning the district title was a memorable, impactful experience for Tranquill.

“I owe a lot to Coach Fiorini,” Tranquill said. “I learned a lot from him because we ran the gamut as far as offensive football was concerned.”

Tranquill continued to learn when he matriculated to Wittenberg University, where he was named Little All-America by his senior season. He also was recognized as the top offensive back in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Because his three-year stint at Wittenberg resulted in a 30-0 record and a national championship, Tranquill said he thought “this coaching racket was going to be an easy thing.” But he found out later it was not that way.

After stints at Ball State, Bowling Green, Ohio State and West Virginia, Tranquill became the 32nd head coach at the United States Naval Academy in 1982. After serving as the offensive coordinator at Virginia, Tranquill moved on to the NFL. He worked on Bill Belichick’s staff as a quarterbacks coach for the Cleveland Browns from 1991-93. He returned to the college ranks at Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Virginia again then North Carolina before working closely with Nick Saban at Alabama.

“I have actually been very lucky because I have worked for seven coaches who are in the College or Pro Football Hall of Fame and there are two more guys that have an outside chance of getting into a Hall of Fame,” he said of Saban and Belicheck.

Tranquill continued to display his humble, yet humorous, side when he answered WPIAL HOF banquet emcee Chris Shovlin’s query as to who the most unique personality he encountered in his coaching career.

“A guy over at Ohio State named Woody Hayes,” Tranquill answered quickly. “You talk about unique. Woody certainly was, and I suffered the consequences at the Gator Bowl game when he took a shot at one of the opposing players and that was the end of my experience at Ohio State along with the whole staff.”

Ending a beginning

A knee injury ended Montecalvo’s playing days but opened the door to his coaching career.

At Wash High, Montecalvo was a two-sport standout.

In football, he was a three-year starter at tailback and defensive back. He held the school career rushing record until Brian Davis, a 2009 WPIAL Hall of Fame inductee, shattered the mark. An All-WPIAL and All-state performer, Montecalvo played in the Big 33 game.

In track, he was a three-time WPIAL champion and three-time silver medalist. He won three medals in PIAA competition. As a senior, he set the WPIAL record in winning the 220-yard dash and was named the district’s Most Valuable Performer in track.

Montecalvo earned a football scholarship to Penn State. However, four knee surgeries put an end to his playing career but opened up a wonderful life for the Washington native.

“At the time, when I was young, I thought about what ifs but not anymore. Life takes funny turns and God does not make mistakes. So, had I not gotten injured, I would not have gone to grad school and been a GA. Consequently, I would not have met my wife of 39 years and I would not have had the wonderful children that I have had. I don’t regret anything at all. Yes, it’s really great how things work out.”

Because of his participation in sports, Montecalvo said he encountered the people that impacted his life and coaching career. He said the person that he is today was the doing of a lot of people.

It started with his mom and dad, whom he said were devout Christians. His high school coach, Dave Johnston, “inspired” him in football and track.

Montecalvo added, “To have had the opportunity to play for Coach Joe Paterno and to coach with him for three years, to have a roommate like Tim Curley for four years and have him to call on the last 45 years for advice and bounce things off each other regardless of what anybody thinks, all those things had an impact on the philosophy that I developed over the years.”

It took some time for Washington to embrace Montecalvo’s philosophy. He admitted it was a challenge at first to return home to become a stellar head coach at his alma mater.

“It was exciting to go back there and coach but it certainly was a challenge because we were not real good at the time. We struggled a bit. We knew that we were going to have to circle the wagons and put in an awful lot more work than what had been done by previous groups.

“The downside of it was people knew where I lived,” Montecalvo added with a chuckle.

Montecalvo had the backing, however, of athletic director Bob Wagner.

“I was very fortunate to have an athletic director that was willing to take a chance on a young guy,” said Montecalvo, who was 24 at the time and only had three years experience as a graduate assistant at PSU. “It was just a matter of opportunity and timing. The timing was right and I was very lucky.”

Montecalvo was also fortunate to assemble a staff that even after decades of coaching remain friends today. Together they produced WPIAL titles in 1993 and 2001 and added four runner-up awards. The Prexies also won a PIAA title in 2001, capping a 15-0 season. They were state runners-up in 1993.

For 13 years, Montecalvo also coached track at Wash High. His girls team won WPIAL and PIAA titles in 1996 and the boys won the 1998 and 2000 WPIAL crowns. Additionally, 24 team members won individual gold medals at WPIAL championship meets.

Montecalvo later spent seven seasons as football coach at Canon-McMillan. He finished his career with a 225-107-2 record.

Montecalvo also was the Big Macs’ athletic director. In 2014, he was named Pennsylvania Athletic Director of the Year.

Montecalvo noted there were many joys in coaching but the biggest satisfaction he experienced was developing long-term relationships.

“Naturally, you would think it’s the WPIAL championship or state championship, but no, it’s the relationships that you build with your kids. As a coach, it’s a great honor and an awesome responsibility to be a coach,” he said. “You have a captive audience. You have a hook with those kids and you have a chance to make a real impression on their lives. You have a chance to help them become the best version of themselves that they can become.

“I think the joy is in the relationships that you build with kids and the combatants that you go against and more than anything else, I have had a great group of coaches, some of whom have been with for 30 years and that’s doesn’t happen very often. I have my family at home but my family away from home are those guys. All these things would not have happened had I not had the opportunity to be called coach.”