Ringgold icon Zolak remembered fondly

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

Paul Zolak was a man ahead of his time. As a husband, as a father and especially when it came to interscholastic athletics.

Zolak, the longtime Ringgold athletic director, died Tuesday in Florida after a long battle with inclusion body myositis. He was 72. IBM is a progressive muscle disorder characterized by muscle inflammation, weakness and atrophy.

He is survived by his wife Daryle and children Scott and Heather (Molina).

Zolak graduated from Donora High School in 1965, a standout tight end and the team’s punter and placekicker. He went to California University of Pennsylvania, where he was the starting kicker and backup quarterback.

After earning his degree, Zolak returned to Donora and went to work as a teacher and as an assistant coach at Ringgold under head coach Chuck Abramski and Lou DeFelices. 

But Zolak made his name at Ringgold as the athletic director, taking the job in 1977.

“He was an excellent athletic director,” Ringgold basketball coach Phil Pergola said. “He was ahead of his time on all the little things he did. Things that made your job easier and made it seem to be better than it was. We had an excellent relationship from the time I started there in ’86-’87.

“The thing is he had so many contacts. When we made the WPIAL championship and the state runs in 1990 and 1995, there wasn’t film. You didn’t have to exchange film with teams. Having a guy like him that was so well-respected by his peers, he was able to get information for us.”

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