Joseph “Hozzle” Borovick 

Pitcairn High School:  1934 graduate

FOOTBALL:  running back, four years, Captain junior/senior years 

Sandlot Baseball:  area teams 

Michigan State Normal:  won awards three years 

Amateur Baseball:  first base, Amateur Champion Detroit Altes Lager, 1938-39 

Professional Baseball:  Rocky Mount North Carolina, an affiliate of New York Yankees, one summer 

Coaching Career:  Athletic Director and Head Coach football, basketball, baseball Elkton, MI 1941-42; Assistant football and Head baseball Turtle Creek 1947-51; football Pitcairn  Mohawks 1947-51, record 43-1-4; 1st Athletic Director Lamphere Public Schools Madison Heights, MI 1956 and football coach – played first varsity game 1957, undefeated champions in Central Suburban Conference 1960, Royal Oak Tribune Coach of the Year 1960, baseball champions 1963, baseball and football champions 1964, Joe’s teams won two football championship, two baseball championships, a basketball and golf championship 

Honor:  Lamphere High School renovated football field named Borovick Field 1971 

First Chief of Police for Patton Township, PA (Monroeville was a part) 

Robert “Sugar” Branch 

Braddock Junior High:  basketball, played three years 

Braddock Salvation Army:  two leagues 

Braddock High School:  1951-54

BASKETBALL:

Won Section VII, named MVP in WPIAL tourney 1952-53, named an Outstanding Player in the State of PA by Dell magazine 1952 

Service:  US Air Force team Leon, France 1957-60, pivot man, All France Air Force Team 1958-60, received many awards and trophies 

Assisted in creating “The Friends of Braddock” organization, which offers scholarship to Braddock youth to further their education 

Dave Brown 

Edgewood High School:  1962 graduate

BASKETBALL:  four year starter, All-State 1961 and 1962, Captain 1962 WPIAL Championship and State semi-finalist teams, 1700 point scorer

FOOTBALL:  three year starter, All-WPIAL 1981, end/punter 

Baseball:  Little Pirates 1962 

Lafayette College:  1966 graduate, basketball three year starter, All-State and All-East 1966, 100 point scorer, three school records; football, two year starter, All Conference 1965, end/punter, held five school records, Outstanding Senior Athlete 1966 

National Basketball Association:  tryout with St. Louis Hawks 

Tennis:  three time amateur champion of Cystic Fibrosis Pro-Am Tennis tournament; Platform tennis National Championship semifinalist 55 & over 

Inductions:  Lafayette College Hall of Fame 

Ken Ficery 

Wilmerding High School:  1954 graduate

FOOTBALL:  three year letter earner; WPIAL Class B co-champions 1951, All-WPIAL end 1952

BASKETBALL:  three year letter earner

BASEBALL:  three year letter earner, junior and senior years leading scorer and led team to Section Championship 

Carnegie Tech:  football freshman two-way starter of undefeated team 1954, Curbstone Coaches MVP 1956, Co-captain and pre-draft list Baltimore Colts 1957, Carnegie Tech Post World War II All Star Team; basketball beat Top 10 WVU team and PSU (scored 16 points) 

Phil Hopbell 

Turtle Creek High School:

FOOTBALL:  three years

BASKETBALL:  three years, won section championship 1956

TRACK:  one year 

Coaching Career:  St. Coleman’s 27 years, football won 150 games, six section titles, undefeated five years; basketball won 450 games, eight section titles, eight holiday tournaments, one district championship; Turtle Creek High’s WPIAL Championship teams in 1967 and 1976 had several St. Coleman’s players – 1976 team had record 30-2, seven teammates played at St. Coleman’s since 5th grade; also coached St. Bart’s, Sacred Heart, Oakland Catholic; Assistant coach Woodland Hills High School girls  basketball team, won WPIAL Championship and 2nd State Championship 1997; 41 successful seasons of coaching 

Awards:  Turtle Creek Optimist Man of the Year 

Gordon Jones 

East Allegheny High School:

FOOTBALL:  senior year caught 43 passes for 916 yards and 15 touchdowns, returned 15 punts for 247 yards, AP and UPI first team All-State, PA Big 33, High School All-American, Keystone Conference MVP, All-WPIAL, Pittsburgh Post Gazette All-Star, member Steel Valley All-Star team

BASEKETBALL:

TRACK:  senior year PA State Track Meet 2nd in long jump distance 22’ 11.5”

Earned seven letters 

University of Pittsburgh:  football, coached by Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill, Otto Stow, David Wannstedt and Jimmy Johnson, established six Pitt school records, including career passes (133), career receiving yards gained (2,230) and career touchdown passes caught (21), junior year single-season record with 793 yards and nine touchdowns, First Team All-American on Football Coaches and NEA team 1978, 3rd team All-American by AP; senior year 2nd Team All-American by AP;  junior and senior years All-East 1st team , Senior Bowl, Hula Bowl, Pitt’s all-time scorer with 138 points and 23 touchdowns 

National Football League:  Drafted Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2nd round 1979, played 1979-83; LA Rams 3rd down receiver, sustained serious foot injury, released 1984; Chicago Bears 1985, LA Raiders pre-season 1986, retired shortly thereafter 

Ron Markowski

Central Catholic High School:

FOOTBALL: sophomore starter, national Football Foundation Pittsburgh Chapter 1 Scholar-athlete for scholastic player voted outstanding in football performance,  academic achievement and school leadership All-State football selection 1964; Big 33 1964, MVP Catholic league presented by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 1964, only undefeated, untied Central Catholic team  (10-0)

BASKETBALL:  sophomore starter, Allegheny County Baseball Player of the Year, presented by Frank Gustine, Sr. 1964

BASEBALL: sophomore starter

Earned nine letters 

Major League Baseball Chicago White Sox:  signed contract in first major league baseball draft 1965, received college scholarship as part of signing bonus, played five years with White Sox minor league system. Northern Minor League All-Star selection- outfielder 1967 

Coaching Career:  varsity baseball and JV basketball Penn Hall Academy 1973-76, volunteer youth coach Little League Baseball, girls softball, boys basketball, girls basketball Plum 1966-91 

Other Sports Related:  Developed and coordinated Sports and Recreation Program for Bureau of Corrections nine correctional institutions 1976-82 

Walter Sergy 

Braddock High School: 1940 graduate

BASEBALL:

FOOTBALL: Captain 1939 

Lafayette:  football, three year starter, offense/defense, Captain senior year, cited in Sports Illustrated magazine and Street & Smith yearbook, senior year East-West Shrine Classic 1944, only six players have represented Lafayette at this game, concluded Walt’s career, despite pursuit by professional teams, including Jack Sutherland’s Pittsburgh Steelers, cite “100 year of football at Lafayette College” 

Service: completed 1946 

Inductions:  Lafayette Hall of Fame 

Ed Silverio

St. Coleman’s Turtle Creek:  

FOOTBALL:  scored over 65 touchdowns and MVP in two years,

 Turtle Creek High School:

FOOTBALL: three years

TRACK:  three years, 9.7 100 yard dash

Sportsman Award, Mon Valley All Star Team 

West Virginia University:  football scholarship, junior year leading rusher and scored team high seven touchdowns, senior year played Peach Bowl, Ed selected hardest worker on the team 

Drew Thomas 

Born and raised in North Braddock

Wilkinsburg High School:  1961 graduate 

Slippery Rock State College:  1965 graduate, soccer and swimming 

Coaching Career:  27 year swim coach; national, state, WPIAL, and section champions; many swimmers received college scholarships, swam Olympic try-outs; eight times teams in top 20 national team ranking in National Inter-scholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA), inaugural coach Penn Hills Dolphins AAU Swim Team; coached West Squad for Keystone State Games swimming, twice selected by peers to coach US Swimming All Star Team; soccer Penn Hill’s first girls team 

Honors:  member Penn Hills Sports Hall of Fame Committee and Master of Ceremonies, Red Cross Here Award for 30 years service.

Inductions:  Penn Hills Sports Hall of Fame for swimming 

Robert Thomas 

Grew up in North Braddock 

Wilkinsburg High School:

WRESTLING

BASEBALL 

Clarion University:  1967 graduate 

Coaching Career:  swimming and diving Penn Hills High School 24 years, tutored many great champion swimmers and divers, coached divers at Keystone State Games, coached and co-managed, with brother Drew, Highland Aqua Swim Club Penn Hills 10 years; baseball John Linton Intermediate School Penn Hills; Coach of the Year Kiwanis Club of Penn Hills, 1st WPIAL diving coach to qualify four divers at WPIAL finals and for PIAA meet at Penn State 

Other Sports Related:  Meet Director area zone 4E Special Olympics ten years; leadership roles Murrysville Soccer Association, including President, and Western Pennsylvania Lacrosse Association 

Honors:  Lincoln Filena Fellow Harvard Graduate School of Education, member East Boros’ Hall of Fame Board