by S. L. Price
169 “We had one meeting” . . . : Browder, author interview.
170 Richard Mann felt the chill on his neck . . . : Mann, author interview.
171 “If I didn’t play the rest of the year” . . . : ibid.
171 He once took a box of M&M’s candies as payment for surgery . . . : “Dr. Michael Zernich; Aug. 5, 1931–June 1, 2011; Orthopedic Surgeon Once Basketball Star for Aliquippa, Pitt”, Butterfield, Sam, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 4, 2011, page A11.
172 “How’s it feel?” . . . : Mann, author interview.
172 Mann came back . . . : “Aliquippa Stuns Farrell, 16 to 0”, Schley, Tom, Beaver County Times, September 19, 1964, page 13.
172 The next week, Mann . . . : “Aliquippa Tops Ellwood, 13 to 7, On Touchdown in Closing Seconds”, Schley, Tom, Beaver County Times, October 3, 1964, page 11.
172 The next week against New Castle . . . : “Strong Defensive Play Keeps Quips in WPIAL Race”, Schley, Tom, Beaver County Times, October 10, 1964, page 11.
172 “Eventually, I just learned to deal with the pain” . . . : Mann, author interview.
172 On October 23 . . . : “Aliquippa Ousts Butler High, 41 to 21”, Schley, Tom, Beaver County Times, October 24, 1964, page 13.
173 Two weeks later . . . : “Tight Aliquippa Defense Stymies Sharon, 7 to 0”, Schley, Tom, Beaver County Times, September 26, 1964, page 13.
173 But on November 7 . . . : “Hopewell Upsets Aliquippa, 6 to 0”, Schley, Tom, Beaver County Times, November 9, 1964, page 17.
173 “We had nothing to lose” . . . : Medich, George, author interview, May 2, 2013.
173 “I thought we held him out of there, man” . . . : Mann, Richard, author interview.
174 “Doc” Medich . . . : Baseball Reference, “Doc Medich”, http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/medicdo01.shtml.
174 Twice went into the stands . . . : “Pittsburgh Pitcher ‘Doc’ Medich Battles to Save a Cardiac Victim’s Life”, People, vol. 5, no. 17, May 3, 1976; “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”, Wulf, Steve, Sports Illustrated, June 29, 1981.
174 Ended up going into practice . . . : Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame, “George ‘Doc’ Medich”, http://www.bcshof.org/halloffamers/medich1987.htm.
174 Eventually, an addiction to painkillers . . . : “Medich in Drug Program”, United Press International, New York Times, November 17, 1983.
174 “It was a big deal” . . . : Medich, author interview.
174 “In the annals of Beaver County football” . . . : “Hopewell’s Vikings Pull Greatest Upset”, Beaver County Times, November 9, 1964, page 1.
174 The following week the team zigged again . . . : “Quips to Play For ‘AA’ Title”, Thompson, Don, Beaver County Times, November 14, 1964, page 1.
174 Aliquippa, with a league-high 146 points . . . : “Quips Battle Wildcats Saturday”, Beaver County Times, November 17, 1964, page 15.
175 Supreme distillation . . . : “Quips Stymie Wildcats For AA Title”, Schley, Tom, Beaver County Times, November 23, 1964, page 21.
176 “Let ’em look that up in the records” . . . : “The Defense Did it For New AA Champs”, Thompson, Don, Beaver County Times, November 23, 1964, page 1.
176 “Rocking-chair coach” . . . : ibid, page 4, col. 7.
176 “To this day, it sticks up” . . . : Mann, author interview.
176 Went on to coach receivers . . . : “Coach Richard Mann Returns to Pittsburgh”, United Press International, February 14, 2013, http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2013/02/14/Coach-Richard-Mann-returns-to-Pittsburgh/42551360872528/; Mann, interview.
177 “You grow up in Aliquippa” . . . : Mann, author interview.
178 “I am forced to take this action” . . . : “Fuderich Tapped for Quip Post”, Patton, O.K., Beaver County Times, July 21, 1965, page 4, col. 3.
178 Two days later . . . : “Aschman Resignation Marks End of An Era”, Beaver County Times, July 20, 1965, page A6.
PART THREE
187 Thirteen weeks of vacation . . . : Inman, Donald R., Wollman, David H. Portraits in Steel: An Illustrated History of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation. Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1999: 172.
188 “The above-average man” . . . : “The Emptiness of Too Much Leisure”, Haveman, Ernest, Life Magazine, February 14, 1964, page 76.
188 Joe Letteri built his dream house . . . : Letteri, Joe, author interview, May 11, 2012.
189 “The house I grew up in” . . . : Medich, George, author interview, February 2, 2013.
189 “It was time” . . . : Letteri, Joe, author interview.
190 “I know these people didn’t like it” . . . : Letteri, Gilda, author interview, May 11, 2012.
190 When Joey later saw fraudulence . . . : ibid.
191 “They’re going to give the job to Pete Fuderich” . . . : Marocco, Frank, author interview, January 4, 2012.
191 When he resigned . . . : “Fuderich Tapped for Quip Post”, Patton, O.K., Beaver County Times, July 21, 1965, page 4, col. 3.
191 Fuderich was given a one-year deal . . . : ibid, page 1.
191 He went 1-8 . . . : Aliquippa Quips 1910–2010.
191 He went 2-7 . . . : ibid.
191 “It was a closed shop” . . . : Yannessa, Don, author interview, March 29, 2012.
192 “You still want to coach football?” . . . : ibid.
192 The board cycled through three more hapless coaches . . . : Aliquippa Quips 1910-2010.
192 Aliquippa’s population shrank . . . : 1970 Census of Population: Characteristics of the Population, Volume 1, Part 40, United States Bureau of the Census, 1970.
193 “It was the funniest thing” . . . : Yannessa, author interview.
194 In November of 1964, Pete was named deputy warden there . . . : “Suder Named New Deputy Warden”, Beaver County Times, November 5, 1964, pg. 4.
194 When some hotshot home for the summer would show up at the Morrell Park game . . . : Zmijanac, Mike, author interview, September 23, 2010.
194 “One of the greatest athletes I’ve ever seen” . . . : Ibid.
194 “I’d go along with that” . . . : Suder, George “Juke”, author interview, June 6, 2012.
194 “He’ll keep the name of Suder” . . . : “Aliquippa Still Cheers Suders: Pete Jr., George Hold Spotlight”, Kramer, Brute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 29, 1961, page 26.
195 “George Suder Is Star at Maryland” . . . : “George Suder Is Star at Maryland”, Beaver County Times, January 7, 1964, page 13.
195 Georgie led Maryland . . . : 2012–13 Maryland Men’s Basketball Record Book, University of Maryland, College Park, Md., 2013, pages 2, 24.
195 “Was going to start” . . . : Zmijanac, author interview.
195 “Either that” . . . : ibid.
195 Kennedy’s escalation . . . : “Papers Reveal JFK Efforts on Vietnam”, Bender, Bryan, Boston Globe, June 6, 2005.
195 By the end of 1965 . . . : “What Led the US to the Vietnam War?”, Reid, Robert H., Stars and Stripes, November 10, 2015.
196 In May 1965 . . . : “County Navy Pilot Killed”, Beaver Valley Times, May 27, 1965, page 1.
196 Fourteen Aliquippans . . . : Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, “The Wall of Faces”, http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/search/results/HOME_RECRD/ALIQUIPPA.
196 “Had it all” . . . : Smith, Eugene, author interview, November 28, 2011.
196 Drafted into the Army . . . : “Edward Surratt: A Man No One Really Knew”, Beaver County Times, February 25, 2007, page 6.
196 “You have to get out of there” . . . : Zmijanac, author interview.
197 One summer night . . . : ibid.
197 Went on to lead the league . . . : Basketball Reference, http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/ABA_1968.html.
197 “I got you a tryout with the Pi
pers” . . . : Zmijanac, author interview.
198 “It was like Gunsmoke” . . . : Smith, author interview.
198 On the first working day . . . : “‘Valley Terrace’ Office to Open”, Beaver County Times, December 30, 1967, page A1.
198 Within a month . . . : “230 Families in Terrace Affected”, Beaver County Times, February 8, 1968, page 1.
199 “We couldn’t buy a house anywhere” . . . : Steals, Melvin, author interview, February 1, 2013.
199 “At that time, if you were black” . . . : Smith, author interview.
199 As an open practice . . . : Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985: 197-218.
199 “Because now all the blacks got this money” . . . : Smith, author interview.
200 “A corrosive and inequitable learning environment” . . . : “Not at Fault, Aliquippa Teacher Says”, Beaver County Times, May 5, 1970, page A6.
200 “It was the 1960s” . . . : Steals, author interview.
201 “I wasn’t involved in anything” . . . : Suder, George “Juke”, author interview.
202 “You sat in a bar with Mike” . . . : Piroli, Gino, author interview, January 4, 2012.
203 “My fellow Americans, we live in an age of anarchy” . . . : Nixon, Richard M., “Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia”, April 30, 1970, American Presidency Project, University of California at Santa Barbara, compiled by Peters, Gerhard, Wooley, John T., http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2490.
204 Stark reversal of a pledge . . . : Nixon, Richard M., “Address to the Nation on Progress Toward Peace in Vietnam”, April 20, 1970, American Presidency Project, University of California at Santa Barbara, compiled by Peters, Gerhard, Wooley, John T., http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2476.
204 One June 1970 poll . . . : “Nixon’s Support Grows After Cambodian Move”, Lawrence, David, Spokane Daily Chronicle, June 10, 1970, page 4.
205 Some 100,000 protesters . . . : “Nixon Up Early, Sees Protesters”, United Press International, Beaver County Times, May 9, 1970, page 1.
205 “This can’t be the United States of America” . . . : Nixon: A Presidency Revealed, directed by Angio, Joe, History Channel, February 15, 2007.
205 On May 8, construction workers in New York City . . . : “War Foes Here Attacked By Construction Workers; City Hall Is Stormed”, Bigart, Homer, New York Times, May 9, 1970.
205 Just before dawn on May 9 . . . : “I Am Not A Kook: Richard Nixon’s Bizarre Visit to the Lincoln Memorial”, McNichol, Tom, The Atlantic, November 14, 2011.
205 “Look at the situation” . . . : “What the Nation Learned at Kent State in 1970”, Nolan, Martin F., Boston Globe, May 2, 2000.
206 Of the 174 Aliquippa junior and senior high school students suspended . . . : Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Investigatory Hearing Report, Aliquippa, May 24–26, 1971.
206 “I remember you getting around a group of ’em” . . . : Walker, Chuckie, author interview, October 13, 2011.
206 “We used to have meetings” . . . : Steals, author interview.
207 “Obviously the students attending this showing” . . . : “Not at Fault, Aliquippa Teacher Says”, Beaver County Times, May 5, 1970, page A6.
207 “We went to the show” . . . : Casterlow Walker, Sharon, author interview, October 13, 2011.
208 “The white parents began to take their kids out of the school” . . . : Steals, author interview.
208 “Utter chaos at the junior high” . . . : “Reel Life to Real Life”, Beaver County Times, May 2, 1970, page 3, col. 6.
208 “It happened in this hallway” . . . : Zmijanac, author interview.
208 “We got to get out of here” . . . : Peake, Fred, author interview, May 7, 2013.
209 A group of forty high school “youths” . . . : “Situation Calms, Suspect Is Held”, Beaver County Times, May 2, 1970, page 1.
209 “It started as a sit-down situation” . . . : Walker, author interview.
209 More than 270 students . . . : “Officials Hopeful of Solution”, Beaver County Times, May 7, 1970.
209 “Then it went from the lunchroom” . . . : Walker, author interview.
209 “The kids finally exploded” . . . : “Racial Tension Closes Schools”, Beaver County Times, May 6, 1970, page 4, col. 3.
210 Blacks accounted for 42 percent . . . : Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Investigatory Hearing Report, Aliquippa, May 24–26, 1971.
210 Sherriff’s deputies . . . : “School Calm Upset Again”, Beaver County Times, May 14, 1970, page 1.
210 “They tried to keep the school going” . . . : Zmijanac, author interview.
211 “It was tough” . . . : Legge, Carl, author interview, November 8, 2011.
211 “White student threw an apple” . . . : Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Investigatory Hearing Report, Aliquippa, May 24–26, 1971.
212 “He was a bigger-than-life figure” . . . : Yannessa, author interview.
212 “It was one of those days” . . . : Peake, author interview.
212 The Quips won just six games . . . : Aliquippa Quips 1910–2010.
212 Everybody beat up on Aliquippa . . . : ibid.
213 That “paper heart” . . . : Aschman, Carl Jr., author interview, February 28, 2012.
213 “He was the first one down the steps” . . . : ibid.
213 “I happened to be white” . . . : Aschman, Harald, author interview, May 8, 2013.
214 “I took off like a rabbit” . . . : Dorsett, Tony, author interview, September 24, 2010.
215 “Make sure you’re at the game” . . . : Dorsett, author interview, September 24, 2010.
215 Late in his career . . . : “Gaston Green Makes Debut as a Ram Tonight: He Will Be on Same Field as His Longtime Hero, New Bronco Tony Dorsett”, Dufresne, Chris, Los Angeles Times, August 3, 1988.
215 “He used to take their money” . . . : McBride, Sherman, author interview, November 20, 2011.
215 “Talk about speed?” . . . : Dorsett, author interview.
215 After Melvin died . . . : Dorsett, Tony, Frommer, Harvey. Running Tough: Memoirs of a Football Maverick. New York: Doubleday, 1989: 9.
216 “People always say they see visions” . . . : Dorsett, author interview.
216 Hopewell Senior High beat their counterparts . . . : Aliquippa Quips 1910–2010.
216 The boundary between Aliquippa and Hopewell . . . : “Another Kind of Golf Scramble”, Piroli, Gino, Beaver County Times, October 8, 2001, page 20.
216 “Whiteyland” . . . : Dorsett, author interview.
216 Mount Vernon had been one of the first places to feel the effect of school busing . . . : Dorsett, Frommer, 8.
217 His father worked the open hearth at J&L . . . : Millman, Chad, Coyne, Shawn. The Ones Who Hit The Hardest: The Steelers, The Cowboys, The ’70s, And The Fight For America’s Soul. New York: Gotham Books, 2010: 171. Dorsett, author interview.
217 His older brothers were part of a local gang . . . : Dorsett, author interview.
217 And when it came to playing Midget League football . . . : “You Need a T.D. in South Bend”, Underwood, John, Sports Illustrated, September 20, 1976.
217 He and his best friend, Mike Kimbrough, played instead for the Aliquippa Little Steelers . . . : Dorsett, Frommer, 8; “King of the Hill: Tony Dorsett Talks of Where He’s Been, Where He’s Going”, Churovia, Bob, Beaver County Times, September 17, 1976, page 7.
217 Even so, his mother, Myrtle . . . : Dorsett, author interview.
217 “You didn’t want to go to Aliquippa” . . . : Zmijanac, author interview.
217 “I almost attempted to do the same thing” . . . : Peake, author interview.
217 “I never would’ve let him play for Hopewe
ll” . . . : Yannessa, author interview.
218 Juke Suder was pouring drinks . . . : Suder, George “Juke”, author interview.
218 “Had invaded the area and started a fight” . . . : “Racial Unrest Turns Violent”, Evushak, Ron, Beaver County Times, May 22, 1970, page 1.
218 “How else”, he asked . . . : ibid.
218 “They were going to clean out the white people” . . . : Ditka, Charlotte, author interview, November 5, 2010.
218 “They were going to burn his bar down” . . . : Battalini, Anthony, author interview, October 12, 2011.
219 A swelling group of Linmar residents . . . : “Racial Unrest Turns Violent”, Evushak, Ron, Beaver County Times, May 22, 1970, page 4, col. 2.
219 The following day . . . : “School, NAACP Meeting on Tense Racial Issue”, Beaver County Times, May 25, 1970, page 1.
220 “The only time you were allowed up in the school” . . . : McBride, Sherman, author interview, September 25, 2010.
220 “Both white and black citizens” . . . : Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Investigatory Hearing Report and Recommendations: Aliquippa, Aliquippa, May 24-26, 1971.
220 “All these neighbors were getting real radical” . . . : Aschman, Harald, author interview.
220 Vigilante whites . . . : Battalini, author interview.
220 “Because our houses were so close together” . . . : ibid.
221 “Hand grenades and shotguns” . . . : Stokes, Larry, author interview, February 8, 2013.
221 “12-gauge shotgun” . . . : “Law Slams Lid on Tense Town”, Evushak, Ron, Beaver County Times, May 22, 1970, page 26.
221 “I was preparing myself to kill somebody” . . . : Stokes, author interview.
221 “They always wanted me hanging around the ER” . . . : Medich, George, author interview, May 2, 2013.
221 “Everybody was a nervous wreck” . . . : Betters, Mark, author interview, November 19, 2011.
222 “Pistol” . . . : Betters, C.J., “Chuck”, author interview, November 19, 2011.
222 On June 11 . . . : “Aliquippa School Bells Ignored”, Beaver County Times, June 12, 1970, page 1.
222 “The worst time” . . . : Suder, George “Juke”, author interview.
223 One Plan 7 house . . . : “Quiet Night Marred by Minor Incidents”, Beaver County Times, June 13, 1970, page 1.
