Donora museum is a tribute to Mon Valley’s star athletes

Editor’s note: Ralph Stone has been writing about an imaginary family from Omaha, Neb., touring the Mon Valley on a summer vacation.

As the Higgins continued their tour at the museum, they learned that several decades following the greatness of those Dragon teams, there arose a school jointure that would unite the Dragons with their rival Monongahela Wildcats. That jointure would become known as the Ringgold Rams, a team that developed a young athlete who would go down in gridiron history as one of the very best quarterbacks to ever toss a pigskin. His name was Joe Montana, who like Stan “The Man” Musial, also has an area bridge named in his honor.

Following his high school days as an all-around athlete for the Ringgold Rams, he would go on to quarterback for the renowned Irish of Notre Dame. From there he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, where he would lead the team to four Super Bowl championships, making him one of the premier quarterbacks to ever play the game.

Indeed, if those baseball and football stars are not enough to label Donora as the Home of Champions, we can add a few outstanding athletes in other sports beginning with the 1940-1950s boxing middle weight crown holder, Lee Sala.

A few basketball greats also rounded out a championship Ringgold squad. They included Ulice Payne, who may arguably be the finest round baller to ever come out of the talent-rich Mon Valley. Following his outstanding high school career, he would go on as a star performer for the nationally recognized Marquette University. Payne’s teammates included Scott Nedrow, who would continue his own basketball career as a starting forward on the Pitt Panther squad. Jim Brantley a third member of that dynamic team probably could have continued his round ball skills in college but opted to be a football receiver at Indiana State. A fourth member of the championship Rams was Melvin Boyd, who often exhausted opposing defenders with his unbelievable endurance and dribbling skills. It was no great surprise since Boyd’s key sport came as a long-distance runner. He would continue his athletic career on Pitt’s track team.

To round out that very talented team was none other than Montana, whose accuracy in passing the pigskin was shown on the hardwood floor as he sunk many two-pointers long before the three-point rule arrived. Of course, his accurate setup passing also enabled an abundance of baskets for Payne, Brantley and Nedrow.

Yet another athletic skill to come from that Donora/ Monongahela partnership, was found in the foot of Fred Cox, who would also continue his athletic career at the University of Pittsburgh where he quarterbacked and became an exceptional place kicker. He would go on to become one of the most successful place kickers in NFL history.

The Donora Museum naturally centered its attention upon the combination of Donora/Ringgold athletes, but it also honored the skills of other Mon Valley greats. For instance, the heavyweight World Boxing champion, Michael Moorer, from neighboring Monessen, was also given a niche in the museum. Bert Rechichar, a 1940s product from Rostraver Township, was included with his record-breaking NFL field goal.

Among other Valley athletes to receive recognition at the museum were Freddie Ulman and Jim “Mouse” Chacko, both of whom excelled in basketball and would go on to become Major League scouts in the hardball domain.

Add Myron “Mo” Pottios to that list of Cougar greats. As a high school football star, he was sometimes described as “a man playing amongst boys.” He would go on to star at Notre Dame and on to the pros, where he became an All-Star performer.

Charleroi and Donora’s cross river rival, Monessen, found several members of their own championship 1961 team being honored in the Donora museum. After all, in many circles, that Greyhound team was considered as the nextbest Western Pennsylvania team. It consisted of three players who would become NFL professionals in Eric Crabtree, Billy Malinchak and Doug Crusan. Add one of the Valley’s finest running backs, Benny Jones, to that list and you have a good basis to proclaim that Greyhound team as the second best in Pennsylvania.

The museum even went outside of the immediate Valley in honoring Western Pennsylvania’s aggregate of outstanding athletes. In addition to Montana, it included a hotbed for great quarterbacks such as Joe Namath, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas and Johnny Lujack.

Young Danny Higgins found it difficult to believe that so many exceptional athletes could come from such a small area of this huge nation. His father, a self-professed sports expert, guaranteed his son that it was indeed true.

Upon exiting the museum, the Higgins family was convinced that Donora indeed was a Home of Champions, and that “Is Etched in Stone.”

Columnist Ralph E. Stone is a Monessen High School Class of 1951 graduate, has degrees from both California and Indiana Universities of Pennsylvania. A retired educator for 32 years and author, he resides in North Charleroi with his wife Marilynne. He is available for speaking engagements for church groups and social organizations by phoning him at 724-483-2132.