Durham Burghs

When Jeff Capel came to Pittsburgh this past March to take the reins of the Pitt basketball program that had fallen fast from a lofty perch he was quoted as saying “It just felt right.” He was the latest North Carolina athlete to beat a path to Pittsburgh. 

There were others.  In 1998 the Steelers signed cornerback Dewayne Washington as an unrestricted free agent.  The former No. 1 draft pick out of NC State played here for 5 years.

Going back further us older fans remember the Bucs had a pretty good catcher from NC for 5 years between 1959 and 1964 – Smokey Burgess.

And it was only a few weeks ago that Carolina native Chris Archer beat a path the Burgh by way of Tampa Bay.

The road between the Burgh and North Carolina is an old one.  For all the NC athletes who made it up to the Burgh, they can never match the impact that local athletes had who traveled south from western PA – particularly to Durham, NC and the campus of Duke University.

Durham, NC is in the heart of Tobacco Road.  Genuine Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco is a local brand that dates to the 1850s. James B. Duke inherited a fortune in tobacco and in 1924 provided a $40 million endowment to what was then Trinity College.  That’s worth about $570 million in 2018 and that was enough for the Trinity powers to change the name to Duke University.

James B. Duke statue at Duke University

Two years later Duke started to build a football program.  They hired the head coach from nearby Washington and Lee University - Jimmy DeHart.  DeHart was an All American QB from Pitt.  He played for legendary Pitt Head Coach Glenn “Pop “Warner from 1914 through 1918. Pitt football proudly and rightly proclaims that it has accumulated nine (9) National Championships.  The first of three of those nine came were in 1915, 1916 and 1918 with Jimmy DeHart as QB.

Jimmy DeHart, Duke University Head Football Coach

While at Washington and Lee, DeHart had a fullback from Norwin High School in Irwin, PA.  He rose to become Captain of the Washington and Lee football team and in 1923 he lead the NCAA in scoring.  His name was Eddie Cameron.  When DeHart was hired by Duke he brought Cameron over with him to coach the Duke freshmen.  Thus began a long career at Duke University where his impact was profound.  Cameron served variously as head football coach and head basketball coach, but his greatest impact was as Duke’s Athletic Director (1951 – 1972).  He is considered one of the founders of the Atlantic Coast Conference.  Upon his retirement in 1972 Duke University renamed their basketball facility in his honor – Cameron Indoor Arena.

Cameron Indoor Arena

Eddie Cameron - Washington and Lee University 

DeHart would coach the Duke football team through the 1930 season.  In 1929 he convinced his old Pitt offensive line teammate and now Head Coach of the Pitt Panthers, Dr. John "Jock" Sutherland, to bring his powerhouse football team down to Durham to dedicate their new football stadium.  Pitt won that game 52-7 on their way to their 4^thNational Title and first without Jimmy Dehart as their QB.  

Duke would hire Alabama head football coach Wallace Wade to replace Dehart for the 1931 season.  They would rename Duke Stadium in his honor in 1967.  Duke still plays in Wallace Wade Stadium to this day.

In the early 1950’s Eddie Cameron helped recruit a local Pittsburgh kid from Swissvale High School to play at Duke. Dick Groat was an All American on the hard court in 1951 and 1952.  Upon graduation, Duke retired his number 10.  It was the first number ever retired at Duke and would remain that way until 1980 when Duke retired the basketball jersey number of Mike Gminski.

And finally, there’s the guy who shares his 1964 Topps rookie baseball card with Bob Priddy, the subject of my last Morningsider blog post.  Tom Butters was a central Ohio native who played college ball at his hometown Ohio Wesleyan University team in Delaware, OH.  He was signed by the Pirates Branch Rickey no less in 1957. Rickey was also an alum of Ohio Wesleyan.  A right-handed pitcher he made it to the major leagues as a September call-up in 1962 and again in 63.  In 1964 he came north with the team out of spring training and was used both in the bullpen and as a spot starter. On the way to Spring Training in 1965 he was involved in a car accident in North Carolina.  He suffered severe whiplash which essentially ended his brief major league career.  He was released in July 1965.  

Upon retiring after the 1967 season Dick Groat was contacted by Eddie Cameron who was now the Athletic Director at Duke.  Cameron offered Groat head baseball coach at Duke.  Groat declined the offer but recommended his old Pirates teammate Tom Butters.  By then Butters had been working at Duke as Assistant Director of Development.  Cameron hired the 29-year old Butters for the baseball job.

Using his prior experience in development Butters started one of the most successful alumni fundraising groups in college athletics – the Iron Dukes. In 1977 he ascended to Vice President and Athletic Director at Duke.  In 1980, against the wishes of many alumni he hired a then little known head basketball coach at Army to take over the program at Duke. Mike Krzyzewski is still the head coach 38 years later.

Butters retired in 1997. In 1999 Duke placed his name on a new athletic center building located next to Cameron Indoor Arena and across from Wallace Wade Stadium. He died in 2016.  In his Post-Gazette obituary, his long-time friend Steve Blass was quoted: “He was my friend, my teammate and my hero.”

 Alan D. Schwartz and Tom A. Butters Athletic Center at Duke University

A Priddy Life in McKees Rocks

Yesterday (9-2-18) I accompanied my wife Susan to a family reunion on her side of the family tree. When Susan's ancestors migrated to America they found a home in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Hardscrapple defines everyone from The Rocks.  They respect honest work, but they are street savvy just the same.  Like everyone from Pittsburgh they love the Steelers, Pirates, Penguins and any athlete who ever came out of The Rocks who made good.

You can define The Rocks as US Postal Zip Code 15136.  That zip code spawned a lot of noteworthy athletes - mostly football players.  Want to get a conversation started with some old timers you don't really know at a family reunion in McKees Rocks, simply bring up the names of old athletes.  That's what I did.

From Montour high school in the late 60s and early 70's there were QBs Chuck Burkhart and John Hufnagel and TE Ted Kwalick who all went to Penn State.  Pitt got their share of Montour Spartans too with QBs Billy Daniels, Bobby Medwid and Dave Havern.  Penn State Maxwell Trophy winner Chuck Fusina graduated from nearby Sto-Rox high school.  The best of them all, by consensus, was the all-around athlete from Bishop Canevin high school who won a National Championship with Notre Dame - Tommy Clements.  Before long I was hearing stories of the original Rox legend, Pitt All-American RB from the late 20s Toby Uansa. The life and times of Toby Uansa is perhaps a story for another day.

How about baseball players from 15136? That is a short list of one - Bob Priddy.  A 1958 graduate of McKees Rocks high school (years before it merged with Stowe high school to become Sto-Rox in 1966), he was signed to a free agent deal by his hometown Pirates before the 1959 season.  One of the old timers at yesterday's party said the signing took place at a now long gone restaurant that used to be located at the corner of Charters Avenue and Singer Avenue directly across from where a Pat Catans is located today. Priddy, at 6' 1", was signed as a shortstop who could hit in high school. Pitchers at the next level however, proved to be a bridge too far for Priddy.  But he had a shortstop's strong arm, so the Bucs asked him to try pitching (much to the dismay of his dad according again to the old timers at the party).  As a pitcher he made it to the major leagues.

Priddy debuted with the Pirates as a September call up in 1962.  He spent the entire 1963 season with the Pirates then AAA affiliate the Columbus Jets.  In 1964 he made it back to the major leagues where he stayed for the next 8 years.  In February 1965, the Bucs traded Priddy along with minor league infielder Bob Burda for veteran catcher Del Crandall.  Priddy spent 65 and 66 with the Giants, 67 with the Senators, 68 and part of 69 with the White Sox.  He played the final 3 years of his career in Atlanta with the Braves.  His last big league appearance came on September 12, 1971. Down 4-1 to the Giants in Atlanta, Priddy pitched the 9th inning, giving up a 2-run double to Bobby Bonds. The Braves lost the game 6-1.

A 9-year career is not shabby at all, but at best he was a journeyman right-handed relief pitcher.  He was a teammate of Clemente, Groat, Frank Howard, Mays, McCovey, Tommy John, Luis Aparicio, Aaron, and Cepeda to name a few. He finished his career with 24 wins and 38 losses and a 4.00 ERA. He pitched in 249 games and over 535 innings.

On July 3, 1966 while pitching for the Giants, Priddy surrendered a grand slam to Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger.  Later in that game Cloninger hit a 2nd grand slam off of Giants reliever Ray Sadecki.  Cloninger, who died this past July at the age of 77, became the first NL player to hit two grand slams in a game.  No other pitcher has ever accomplished this feat.  He remained the only NL player to hit two grand slams in a game until 1999 when Cardinals 3rd baseman Fernando Tatis hit two in the same inning against the Dodgers.

But the most curious trivia associated with Bob Priddy may the guy he shared his 1964 Topps baseball card with - Tom Butters.  That is a cool story for the another issue of Morningsider.

Every Journey Begins With A Single Step

"And awaaay we go!" That was Jackie Gleason shtick from when I was a kid.  It was the first thing that came to my mind when I sat down to write something here.

This is my first ever blog.  By definition a blog is "a regularly updated website or web page, typically run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style."

I chose the title "Morningsider" after the Morningside neighborhood in the east end of Pittsburgh where I grew up.  I spent my first year in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, but my parents moved up river and up the hill to Morningside when I was still a baby.  I lived there for the next 24 years.  The background photo for my blog is a recent aerial shot I took with my drone (a topic for a future blog no doubt).

I have no idea where this is going but it is something I've thought about for a few years.  "Every journey begins with a single step" is an ancient Chinese proverb.  It struck me as an appropriate title for my first step into BLOGSPACE.

We'll see if anything I have to say is of interest to anyone but me.  I guess that will be my challenge.