John Sacco

Not many athletes have accomplished as much and been part of so much history than Doug Crusan.

The many hats Terry Havelka has worn at Burgettstown High School always looked just right on his head.

Joe DiDonato was selling hot dogs from commissary 243 on the second level of Three Rivers Stadium as he had all season long.

One called him a “slow and average” running back.

Andy Retucci learned the value of hard work at a young age.

As sophomores, they beat up on the first team.

For the better part of the first half of the 1982 season, the Washington High School football team was trying to gain a foothold in the Class AA Century Conference.

At least publicly, Richard Stillings was not exactly optimistic about Jaguar Spur’s chances in the 1987 Little Brown Jug.

Its path to the Pony League World Series 50 years ago was unlike any other team from Washington.

Don Yenko lived an interesting, diverse and prolific life – albeit a short one.

Attitude.

Twenty years later, the Washington Wild Things are still winning – on the field and in the community.

Don Hartman might not know the difference between a boy band and a good slogan but this guy can coach – boys and girls, baseball and softball.

Officially, it says Scott Litwinovich is the head track coach at South Fayette High School.

One look at Delmore Beshore in his basketball playing days at California University would not evoke thoughts of him being an NBA player.

Even the best athletes can use some helping hands from time to time.

The talent and coaching were unquestioned.

Sometimes the ball bounces a team’s way and that leads to special wins and unprecedented accomplishments.

Once Darrell Harding was loose and in open space, he became one of the most dangerous and prolific running backs in Washington County and Pennsylvania history.

In the summer of 1999, Ashley Josay Zullo, a top-notch softball player at Monessen, was involved in an automobile accident, suffering head, knee, and other injuries. Today, she's full of life as vice president of Thiel College.

His competitive fire and desire pushed Justin Schrader to give baseball one more try – pitch one more season.

Once upon a time, the Pirates were good.

Not in her wildest imagination did Dawnelle Mock think she would be one of the driving forces at The Meadows racetrack and in the harness racing industry.

She has been a long-time fan of the popular old sitcom Golden Girls. Takes one to know one – or four.

A loss in the section opener against Immaculate Conception High School April 1, 1986 was certainly no joke for the Fort Cherry High School baseball team.

When she was a young, hopeful youth softball player, Tricia Alderson could not always hit her target.

By his own admission, Washington & Jefferson College football coach Mike Sirianni learned a lot in the past couple of years.

Defense, pitching and fundamental offensive baseball were the staples of Fran Celaschi’s Charleroi High School program for many seasons.

“He was there for the birth of the Bentworth High School wrestling program. He was there when no one else was. He was there when no one else cared. He was there to agonize over all the losses, all the frustration, all the pain. For 15 years, Tom Teagarden was there for – as he would say – th…

His bigger-than-life aura made him a constant presence on football fields across the United States.

Morgan “Bunny” Denson was one of those athletes a fan or opponent could not take their eyes off.

Shellie Cotton Smith led Charleroi to consecutive PIAA (1999 and 2000) and WPIAL championship appearances and scored 199 career goals.

What the 1980 Pitt football team is remembered for is the unprecedented individual talent it possessed – offensive and defensive lines that were as good as any constructed in college football – one bad night in Tallahasse, Fla., and a resolve and will that is rare in any level of sports.

Forty years later, they are no longer adversaries or the leaders of crosstown rival football programs.

More than a half a century later, the legend of a pitching showdown between Richard Swinchock and Bob Clites still moves the emotions and stirs the memories of those who witnessed it.

He has seen some of the best of Pirates’ baseball and some of the worst.

As always, it seemed the New York Mets would be standing clearly in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ path to the National League East Division title in 1990.

Not every athlete gets to enjoy even one special, career-defining moment.

Kathy Knabb won 11 WPIAL gold medals in track and field and cross country, and two state indoor championships.

Hours of standing in front of the porch leading into the family home in Mather, throwing a rubber ball into the cement steps led to a discovery that changed Joe Gregula’s baseball career.