Monongahela to honor hometown NFL legends

City officials, friends and relatives will unveil a marker Saturday at Fourth and Main streets to honor NFL legends Fred Cox and Joe Montana.

By WAYNE STEWART
For the MVI

The odds of a small town producing an active NFL player in any given year is roughly 2% — in other words, very slim. And for one small part of that town, in this case, Park Avenue in Monongahela, the odds of producing two elite NFL players, prolific scorer Fred Cox and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana, are unfathomable, perhaps even incalculable.

When Cox was a rookie, Monongahela had a population of around 8,400, and when Montana left the Notre Dame campus, the population was about 7,000, yet they both defied the odds and excelled, which ultimately led to the celebration of their careers set for this weekend in their hometown.

Monongahela will unveil a historical bronze plaque at 11 a.m. Saturday at Fourth and Main streets to honor the NFL legends. Cox was the Minnesota Vikings’ kicker for 14 seasons and twice led the NFL in scoring. He’s the career scoring leader for the Vikings and the inventor of the Nerf football. Cox passed away Nov. 20, 2019, at the age of 80.

Montana led Notre Dame to a national championship, won four Super Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Ringgold’s football stadium was named after him in 2006.

Joe Ravasio, a 2026 Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame inductee who has been part of the planning for the event, said the plaque features information about Cox and Montana on each side, while also recognizing how unique Park Avenue is in the storied history of the city.

Dennis Dutch, who was instrumental in the project, described the historic marker in more detail. “It’s double-sided, 45 inches by 45 inches, and it’s drop-dead gorgeous, navy blue with gold lettering. It has pictures of Fred kicking the ball and Joe after throwing a touchdown with his hands raised.”

Dutch, a Monongahela High School graduate who grew up on Park Avenue, knew both the Cox and Montana families.

“He’s a legend, and I realized there was nothing within the city confines recognizing itself as the hometown of Montana. So that’s the basis of why I did that. Everybody knows who Joe Montana is and Monongahela deserves to be recognized for being his hometown.”

Longtime Monongahela resident Scott Frederick, who taught at Ringgold and coached track there for 36 years, credited Dutch for getting the project started.

“He felt it would be a nice thing to have a plaque recognizing their achievements. He made a phone call to Don DeVore and Ravasio asking them to be a part of a committee (to get things started). So they jumped on board.”

DeVore, a city business owner, agreed, saying, “Dutch was the honcho behind this. He kept us moving.”

Frederick said, “Park Avenue is kind of an unusual street in that we’ve had all these successful individuals who lived right on or just off of that street.”

Park Avenue was home to many people who achieved great success in life and was the subject of a documentary, “One Extraordinary Street,” which was produced by Monongahela’s Laura Magone. Magone is president of the Monongahela Area Historical Society and founder of The Wedding Cookie Table Community on Facebook, which has more than 425,000 members worldwide.

Aside from Cox and Montana, a handful of other notables are featured in the 2008, 90-minute documentary, including retired 31st U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Carl E. Vuono, commander of the U.S. Army during Desert Storm; James Jimirro, founder of the Disney Channel; Dr. Ronald V. Pellegrini, a cardiovascular surgeon known worldwide; and National Book Award Winner Dr. Deirdre Bair, Ph.D.

When Montana’s cousin Patty Kozon learned about the marker being erected in the city, she said she was “excited and happy for both Joe and for Fred’s family who still live around here.”

Kozon marveled at the coincidence of two NFL greats coming from the same street.

“It’s a small world and we’re finding more of those things happening every day — it’s amazing,” she said.

She added that her cousin “was honored to be remembered and have that plaque for him and for Fred. They’re always getting accolades of some kind or another, but from your own hometown it’s really an honor.”

Fred Cox’s wife, Bonnie, said she is “honored and appreciative that they remembered Fred and Joe.”

During Saturday’s marker celebration, Ravasio will introduce the speakers, which will include Mayor Greg Garry, Dutch, Jamie Taylor (a relative of Montana), and Susan Biasco, who will represent her father Fred. Parking will be available by the Monongahela Aquatorium and on Railroad Street.

The Rev. Levi Hartle of St. Andrew the Apostle parish will give the opening prayer. Relatives and friends of both families will be present and the public is invited to attend the event.

Bonnie said her husband was proud of going to the Super Bowl, “a fantastic achievement. Unfortunately, they didn’t win any. It was a team thing for him, and the guys that he played with, they formed really fantastic relationships. And he did the best he could. He did his job.

“When he and Joe have gotten together, Fred joked that they’re batting .500. Joe won four and Fred lost four. He said, ‘That’s pretty good for two guys from Monongahela.’ I thought that was kind of a neat comment on his part.”

Cox was selected as one of the 50 greatest Vikings ever, and he has been inducted into the Ringgold Hall of Fame as a charter member along with Montana, the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame, and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

DeVore described Cox as “a bigger-than-life guy, but to us he was just Fred Cox, a downto-earth guy.”

In fact, Bonnie said that, “when Fred had his speaking engagements, the group would be more interested in hearing about how he invented the Nerf Football than his NFL career.”

The affable Cox always complied.

Dave Sarkus stated, “There was so much time and effort that went into this event, and Joe Ravasio and his committee put in countless hours planning it to bring pride back to the Mon Valley because both Fred and Joe were proud of where they came from.”

The committee members who have spent the last 18 months planning the event include Ravasio, Frederick, DeVore, Kozon, Dutch, Mark Gadd, Montana family friend Jani Long, retired U.S. Brig. Gen. Dave Papak, Earl Gilpin, Garry, and Larry Tomich.