Oct 8, 2021 4 min read

ON THIS DATE

Oct. 9

1959 – Mickey Bitsko scores five touchdowns and Charleroi remains undefeated with a 30-7 victory over Beth-Center. Bitsko scores on runs of 1, 10, 7 and 50 yards and returns an interception 102 yards for his final touchdown.

1969 – Danny Murtaugh is again hired as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Murtaugh, who guided the Pittsburgh Pirates to a world series championship in 1960, retired in 1964 after seven years of managing because of ill health.

1972 – Manny Sanguillen hits his first home run in nearly two months and drives in the game-winning run in the eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2, in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Riverfront Stadium.

1981 – Fred Fallenstein kicks a 32-yard field goal in the game’s final minute to give host Charleroi a 21-20 victory over Albert Gallatin and sole possession of first place in the Century Conference.

1987 – Garrett Rawls rushes for 158 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, Mike Palm boots a 43-yard field goal and Charleroi holds Burgettstown to only one first down in the second half as the Cougars remain undefeated with a 24-0 victory.

1991 – Andy Van Slyke hits a solo home run in the first inning and an RBI-double in the third as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Three Rivers Stadium.

1991 – Pittsburgh Penguins owner Edward DeBartolo agrees to sale the Stanley Cup champions to a group headed by former Hartford Whalers chairman Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg, who briefly owned the Minnesota North Stars.

1999 – Wesley Cates rushes for 253 yards and four touchdowns in California University’s 33-12 victory over Lock Haven and sets the Vulcans’ single-season rushing record with 1,251 yards.

2009 – Avella’s football team pulls off a stunning upset, scoring the final 16 points to defeat once-beaten Fort Cherry, 22-21. Aaron Mangari catches a 57-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Geresti and Jared Magon runs in the two-point conversion to give Avella the lead in the fourth quarter. After the game, Avella coach Frank Gray tells the Observer-Reporter, “I’m as happy right now as I’ve been in my whole life. … This is one for the ages.”

Oct. 10

1936 – Ohio State trumpet player John Brungart dots the ‘i’ in “Script Ohio” for the first time during halftime of the Buckeyes’ 6-0 loss to Pitt at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. After Brungart, the honor began to go exclusively to sousaphone players, with exceptions made for well-known fans of the Ohio State program, like John Glenn, Jack Nicklaus and Bob Hope.

1964 – John Henry Johnson of Pittsburgh, at age 35, outrushes Jim Brown 200 yards to 59 as the Steelers defeat Cleveland, 23-7, at Municipal Stadium.

1974 – John Colombo has a hat trick and Dave Severding scores two goals as Trinity High School defeats Charleroi 5-1 as the Hillers win the school’s first WPIAL section boys soccer title.

1976 – The Cleveland Browns defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 18-16, behind the play of third-string quarterback David Mays. Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw suffers a neck injury when he is dumped on his head by the Browns’ Joe “Turkey” Jones.

1980 – Jim Edwards rushes for 196 yards and touchdowns of 42, 15, 3 and 46 yards as Charleroi beats Washington, 42-21, in a Century Conference game.

1980 – Brendan Folmar rushes for 94 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and completes six of 11 passes for 70 yards, including a 14-yard TD to Brian Schaum, as California defeats visiting Jefferson-Morgan 23-12.

1986 – Two botched snaps from center on punts, including one that sets up Brian Hilk’s game-winning one-yard touchdown run with 2:49 remaining, prove to be the difference as Trinity rallies to beat Uniontown 15-12 at College Field. The win keeps the Hillers undefeated at 7-0.

1994 – Trinity’s Mike Gasper shoots 7-over par 78 to finish in second place, and Steve Wheatcroft finishes in a tie for fifth place with an 81, at the WPIAL Golf Championships at Champion Lakes Golf Course. It marks the first time in school history that Trinity has advanced two golfers to the PIAA Championships.

1998 – Grove City’s R.J. Bowers, the leading rusher in NCAA Division III, gains 288 of the Wolverines’ 442 rushing yards in a 31-7 victory over Washington & Jefferson at Cameron Stadium.

2005 – Waynesburg freshman Rachel Rohanna shoots a round of 76 to win the WPIAL Girls Individual Golf Championships by three strokes at The Club at Nevillewood. Rohanna becomes the first girl from Washington or Greene counties to win a WPIAL golf title.

2006 – Waynesburg sophomore Rachel Rohanna shoots 2-over par 75 and settles for second place at the WPIAL Girls Individual Golf Championships at the Pittsburgh Field Club. Shady Side Academy’s Margaret Pentrack wins the title with an even-par 73.