Professional Athletes
H S Boys
H S Girls
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The Saint Clair Athletic Club - Professional Basketball, Baseball and Track teams Here is a metal given to an athletic for winning 2nd place award at a Cross Country Run sponsored by the Saint Clair Athletic Club. The event was held on October 2, 1897. The winner's name is Chas. T. Blacker. |
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| Races down 2nd Street were very common. | Everyone in town turned out to see the race |
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ST. CLAIR'S FAMOUS OLD-TIME FIVE "Saint Clair's basketball teams of the early 1890's were outstanding. The above group picture includes athletes whose names still are watchwords among sports followers of this vicinity. In the picture above, the players are - Top Row: Left to right-- Sam Ray, an early expert in drawing fouls: Joe Crosby, one of the sturdy members. Red Hughes, a rugged floor man who was considered tops as a guard among players of the period. Bottom Row: --Bill Morris, whose funeral took place last Tuesday; Jack Titus, famous all around athlete who played baseball for Pottsville and later for the Phillies, being a big league star for many years; Harry Kear, manager of the club: Bill Taylor, fast-dribbling guard who afterward played on the Pottsville five of the Hummel's Hall day; Jim Morrow, one of the younger members of the club. In front, Harry Rhoads, mascot." - The Pottsville Journal, May 26, 1949
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top To contact grandson of Sam Ray (top row on left) samray@g-cnet.com
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SPORTITORIAL - 5/25/1949 by Walter S. Farquhar "Bill Morris who played on an illustrious old-time St. Clair basketball team, died recently. He was on the St. Clair teams which flourished in the first few years of the 20th Century and which upheld a claim to a National Championship - not interscholastic, professional. On the team with Morris were Jack Titus, who afterward became a great baseball star for Pottsville and the Phillies; Bill Taylor, a great dribble who afterward played on the Pottsville Hummel's Hall clubs. Sam Ray, an exceptionally clever man at drawing fouls; Bert "Red" Hughes, a rugged floor man of the Jim Troy type; Jim Morrow and Joe Crosby. Dan Kear managed the club and Harry Rhoads the mascot. Bill Morris is said to have played basketball from 1895 to 1902. It was the 1901 or 1902 team which met all the best teams in the game at that time and which won by such one-sided scores it gained recognition as national champion. A few years later the St. Clair outfit played a crack Pottsville team at the outdoor court, Tumbling Run, when Gus Swaving, Bud Whitehouse, Sammy Potts, Cliff Beching and Harry Potts were going strong. Later Taylor joined the Pottsville team and became one of the greatest dribblers that ever played here. A feature of the St. Clair team's practices, was that two substitutes were put on each of the regulars so that competition became more equal and the first stringers were given a handicap they were not required to meet in the regular game. St Clair teams of the period played in a little stone building near the railroad station. Like most halls of the time, it would be considered small, today, and was in contrast to the narrow Hummel's Hall court which was 90 feet long.
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Bill Morris played a forward position. He was the kind of a marksman who scored from any part of the floor, dropping the ball through the cords cleanly and not after it contacted the backboard. In fact the home baskets were on the wall ant it may have been that backboards as they are known today were not employed. Of the team referred to , Bill Taylor is living in Ashland, retired. he was outside superintendent for five collieries, there, for many years, after which he joined the Bazley Company. Many people in Pottsville have been wondering where he was. "Red" Hughes is a colliery superintendent in Providence, near Wilkes-Barre--not Rhode Island capital. And Jim Morrow perhaps the youngest of the outfit, is living in Wadesville. Harry Rhodes, who was mascot of the old-time team reported to, still be in St. Clair, of course, and is going strong as he did when he was a student at Pottsville High. Bill Morris was among the baseball pioneers. He is said to have played as early as 1895, only fours years after the game was invented. And those old-timers could play; they'd be fast and skillful today." Sportitorial by Walter S. Faruhar, printed may 25, 1949 in The Pottsville Journal |
William John Morris was born in Wadesville, Saint Clair on August 26, 1875. The players above played for the Saint Clair Athletic Club, a professional basketball of that time. From different research I believe they played basketball in Walker's Hall. In the early 1900's, after his basketball career, he married Elizabeth Edwards also of Saint Clair. 1903 trained and became a railroad engineer and began working for the Saint Clair Coal Company in 1900. He worked for the St. Clair Coal Company 49 years, he died one month after retiring.
SPORTS IN SAINT CLAIR
Mickey Walker a welterweight and middleweight champion of the roaring 20’s and 30’s fought his first professional fight in Boone’s Hall, St. Clair. He also boxed in higher weight classes of light heavyweight and heavyweight. In 1939 compiled a record of 94-19-4 with 61 knockouts, 45 no decisions, and one no contest. He ended up broke, homeless and affected with Parkinson’s Disease, amnesia and arteriosclerosis from the punches and overuse of alcohol.
Athletes that went onto professional teams
(If you know of anyone else who belongs on this list, please email me with the information) |
THE EARLY YEARS OF BASEBALL from CBS SportsLine.com
1845-1900 - Contrary to the Doubleday-Cooperstown myth created by the Spalding Commission, baseball evolved rather than having been invented. From the first recorded game in 1845, through the establishment of professional teams in the 1860s and leagues in the 1870s, the 19th century was baseball's formative period in which the basic rules and structures of the game gradually assumed the form we know today.
The Dead-Ball Era
1901-1919 - Runs were scarce during the first two decades of 20th-century baseball as pitchers like Cy Young, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson dominated the action. Legendary stars like Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Tris Speaker used speed and base path bravado to generate offense in a game that seldom witnessed a home run. These years also saw the establishment of National and American League hegemony (leading to the birth of the World Series), the production of modern steel-structured downtown stadiums for every major league team, and the devastating "Black Sox" scandal of 1919 that threatened to drop baseball from its exalted standing in American sports.
Check out their web site for more....
Jack Titus continued as a professional athletic, but not in basketball -- baseball. In 1903 he played with the Philadelphia Phillies until 1913 (11 seasons). Debut: June 8, 1903. He was born Feb. 21, 1876 in Saint Clair and died on Jan. 8, 1943 in Saint Clair. He threw and batted Lefty, was 5'9" and weighed 156lb.
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Joseph
"Socks" Holden |
Born in Saint Clair in June of 1913,
Joe “Socks” Holden first made his mark on the county baseball diamonds. After attending Saint Mary’s Grade School,
Joe graduated from Pottsville Catholic High School in 1932.
Although having been awarded a scholarship to Duke University, Joe signed a
contract with the Philadelphia Phillies that led to a lifelong association with the sport. Playing in parts of three seasons with the Phils
and studying the nuances of the game in the minors, Joe became will prepared for a 30-year
career as a scout with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, and finally back with the
Phillies. He was awarded a World Series ring
with the 1968 Detroit Tigers.
Robert "Bob" Ryan
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ED SHAROCKMAN |
An outstanding athletic, not only in Football, but basketball and baseball. He was a graduate of the Saint Clair class of 1957. Received a football scholarship to play football for the Univeristy of Pittsburg. In the sprint of 1961 he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. He played in Super Bowl IV when the Vikings played the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1969-70 season. His career with the Vikings lasted 12 years.
Voted "Best Schuylkill
County's High School Athlete of the Century" --Pottsville
Republician & Evening Herald--January 1, 2000
George Sommers |
George Sommers lived on Nichols Street in Saint Clair. He graduated Saint Clair Area High School in 1932 and continued his education at LaSalle University. In High School and College he played football. After school in the late 1930's he joined the "Frankfort Yellow Jackets," which later became the "Philadelphia Eagles" and played with the famous quarterback Davey O'Brien.
George died in 1964 and left a wife and two children.
(I want to thank an unidentified gentleman who stopped in my office one day to tell me about Mr. Sommers. Help like this is greatly appreciated.)
Jack Quinn |
1883-1946
Jack's parents were Michael Picus and Anna Czarick who lived in Saint Clair and went to the Immaculate Conception Church on Diener's Hill.
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Given Name:
born John Quinn Picus
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| IP | W-L | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 3934 | 247-217 | 3.27 |
| World Series | 10 | 0-1 | 8.44 |
Spitballer Quinn pitched for eight teams in three major leagues during
four different decades and made his final ML appearance at age 50. One
of the major league pitchers allowed to continue using the spitter after
the pitch was outlawed in 1920, Quinn was effective as both a starter
and reliever. He helped pitch the Yankees to their first pennant in 1921
and aided the A's to two successive flags in 1929-30. His best and worst
seasons were in the Federal
League: 26 wins in 1914 and 22 losses the following year. On three
occasions he won 18, including an 18-7 mark and 2.90 ERA with the 1928
A's at age 45.
Always vague about his birth date, Quinn set records as the LN x x oldest player to win a ML game (49), start a WS game (46), finish a WS game (47), and lead in a major pitching category (49) with six saves in 1932. He is also the oldest player to hit a home run (47). He was the teammate of 31 Hall of Famers. (JL)
Information from The Baseball online library at CBSSportsLine.com
FEMALE ATHLETICS
 Michelle
Swatner - 2,859
1984 Michelle's jersey No. 32 has been retired. |
Cheryl
Rodrian - 1,701
1984 |
Jeanette
Zembas - 1,077
1983 |
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS - MALE
1923
Football Team
Players names
Saint Clair High School Football team of 1928
(Top row, 2nd from left is my father, Herman E. Morris)
My father told of some schools using miners instead of students for players and how tough those games were. The 1928 Saint Clair team consisted of, front row, from left, Allen Sterner, Bud Stephenson, Tom Birch, "Babe" O'Brien, Francis Lundy, Joe Carpency, Tony Belmont, Clem Lachovich; second row, Bobby Jones, equipment manager; Al Zelinsky with mascot "Snags" Tipping, Pete Zuckis, Vince Brady, Leo McDonald, Mike Homa, Sam Ray, Bill Brobst, Mike Steranko; third row, Coach Elwood S. Bodenhorn, Herman E. Morris, Leo Noga, Wally Scanlan, Ed Twardzik, Clarence Vovely, Tody Hyers, Joe Monaghan, manager. (Joe M. is the only one still living) |
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Read about a recent reunion of the 1942 Saint Clair Football Team - Fall 2000
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Saint Clair Football stadium was built in 1950. The pictures here are the first Seniors graduating in 1951 after the field was completed. It is located at the north side of Morris Street and the street running in front of stadium is Nicholas St. |
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Center with Basketball - Francis Welker -1925 |
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This team went on the win the Pennsylvania State Basketball Championship for Class "C" teams.
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Little League Baseball around 1950-51. On Left is Manager, William Wolf, Vincent Harlock, Michael Homovick, James Lapey, Eugene Trusow, Jon Reese, Red Marcavage. Legion Representative. 2nd row-Coach Lowert, ted Schroding, Ronald Frantz, Renold Jenkins, thomas Skosneck, Kenneth Folta. 3rd row--Coach ? Goodman, Michael Carlie, Edward Stakes, ?, My brother, David Morris (arrow points to him) Other names cannot be read on my copy. The Saint Clair Little League was Incorporated on May 7, 1951. It had 6 teams at that time. Saint Clair teams were District 24 Champions in 1952, 1966, 1970, 1987, and 1989. Present teams today are; T-Ball minor league, Major League, Arnots G/S, Columbia Hose, Fish & Game, Legion, and Independent Hose. The Softball Major Leagues consists of these teams; Delcamps, Giorgio's and Miller's. The Senior Softball; TNT Deli and Quirins.
June 2000 - Saint Clair Little League Field -
Saint Clair boosts the first know female President of the Little League Association - Mimi Mettam Bulino.
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