Playing Through the Whistle

by S. L. Price

  378 “If we had to run five more meters” . . . : “Souped-Up Quips Win AA Title; Pitt-Bound Campbell Becomes Aliquippa’s First Individual Winner in PIAA Running Event”, White, Mike, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 29, 2005, page D-4.

  378 “Byron’s really why we won gold” . . . : Washington, author interview.

  378 “It just showed us” . . . : Campbell, author interview.

  378 “He couldn’t believe it” . . . : Davis, author interview.

  378 Now he’d just finished his freshman year at Pitt . . . : “Darrelle Revis”, Pitt Football, http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/revis_darrelle00.html.

  379 “He never got in trouble in high school” . . . : Revis, author interview.

  381 Had been publicly honored . . . : “Area Women Make the Grade from Welfare to Job Market”, Ross, Virginia, Beaver County Times, June 5, 2002.

  381 “Forty inmates to one guard in the pod” . . . : Gilbert, Diana, author interview, June 20, 2014.

  381 In 2005, Gilbert resigned . . . : “Jail Report Revealed”, Prose, J.D., Beaver County Times, February 28, 2007.

  381 “Expressed concern that the matter was not pursued criminally” . . . : Gentile, Louis, Gentile-Meinert and Associates, Monaca, Pa., “Report of Investigation, Beaver County Jail, Conducted 2006”, Beaver County Commissioners, 2007, page 75.

  381 “She was a good guard though” . . . : David, author interview.

  381 “What Georgie David put out” . . . : Gilbert, Diana, author interview.

  381 The 141–page report . . . : “Jail Report Revealed”, Prose, J.D., Beaver County Times, February 28, 2007.

  382 In 2007, he ran for sheriff . . . : “Camp Holds Thin Lead for 3rd Seat”, Silver, Jonathan D., Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 7, 2007, page A-12.

  382 “Me and her got along very well” . . . : David, author interview.

  382 Years later . . . : “Beaver County Sheriff George David Indicted on 11 Charges”, Doerschner, Kristin, Beaver County Times, March 25, 2013.

  382 “Karma is a mother” . . . : Gilbert, Diana, author interview.

  384 “When we first moved up here” . . . : Baldwin, Tezmalita, author interview.

  384 “Someone drove past me and just started shooting recklessly” . . . : Johnson, Kevin, author interview, November 9, 2010.

  385 On May 22 of that year . . . : “Car Jumps Curb Killing 1; School Athlete Surrenders”, Smydo, Joe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 24, 2009.

  385 “The car hit him straight-on” . . . : Campbell, Della Rae, author interview.

  385 Immensely popular in Plan 12 . . . : “Car Jumps Curb Killing 1; School Athlete Surrenders”, Smydo, Joe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 24, 2009.

  386 “That one-block section by the high school where Plan 12 Market is?” . . . : Walker, Donald, author interview.

  386 “Go ahead”, she said . . . : Walker, Dwan, author interview, October 1, 2011.

  387 Wide receiver Deon Johnson . . . : “Driver Named in Aliquippa Shooting Now Faces Homicide Charge”, Vidonic, Bill, Beaver County Times, June 11, 2005.

  387 Defensive end Jordan “Ricky” Cain . . . : “3 Inmates Charged in Aliquippa Slaying: Victim Shot Multiple Times in ’06 Attack”, Ove, Torsten, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 2, 2011.

  387 Backup running back Darius Odom . . . : “Aliquippa Man Convicted of Fatally Shooting Cousin”, Associated Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 1, 2010.

  387 Quarterback Stephen Hardy . . . : “Murder Suspect Caught”, O’Shea, Patrick, Ellwood City Ledger, September 1, 2010.

  388 Marquay Riggins . . . : “Man, 18, Wanted in Aliquippa Killing”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 31, 2012.

  388 Eddie Carter . . . : “Eddie B. Carter III (Weedy)”, Beaver County Times, September 14, 2012.

  388 “Seven of my high school teammates have died” . . . : Revis, author interview, June 19, 2013.

  388 “He was sincerely apologetic” . . . : Zmijanac, author interview.

  388 “What stopped me playing” . . . : Gaskins, Tony, author interview, November 21, 2011.

  389 Gaskins, then eighteen . . . : “Aliquippa Shootings: No One’s Talking”, Fontaine, Tom, Beaver County Times, November 21, 2009.

  389 “If I would’ve killed him” . . . : Gaskins, author interview.

  389 Four years later . . . : “Murder-Suicide Reported in Aliquippa”, Bauder, Bob, Beaver Valley Times, September 5, 2009.

  390 “That’s when the world opened up to me” . . . : Walker, Dwan, author interview.

  391 And the other was a 6-foot-5 receiver . . . : “Jon (yes, Jon) Baldwin Will Have Pitt Fans Dreaming and NFL Scouts Drooling This Fall”, Fittipaldo, Ray, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 15, 2010.

  391 “Every day we’d basically see each other” . . . : Brown, author interview.

  391 “He started taking things more seriously” . . . : Baldwin, Tezmalita, author interview.

  391 When, in May 2002, a jury convicted his half-brother . . . : “Cop Killer to Prison: Judge Vows That He’ll Serve the Maximum”, Bauder, Bob, Beaver County Times, May 30, 2002, page A1.

  392 Seven months earlier . . . : “Man Going to Prison for Attempted Robbery”, Vidonic, Bill, Beaver County Times, October 24, 2002.

  392 “Mistaken identity” . . . : Baldwin, Jeff, author interview.

  392 “First-degree miscalculation” . . . : “A First-Degree Miscalculation”, Roddy, Dennis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 11, 2002.

  392 “Innocent: a hundred percent” . . . : Brown, author interview.

  393. Monica Horton faxed in a recantation . . . In 2005, Rayetta Lee . . . : Horton, Monica L., letter to the attention of O’Neill, Trooper Donald, April 20, 2001. Notarized statement by Lee Green, Rayetta to Beaver County attorney Jeffrey Small, December 23, 2005.

  393 A staff psychologist at Aliquippa Middle School placed his reading . . . : Pennsylvania State Police Homicide Investigation Action Report, interview of Walkney, Sarah Beth, by Lewis, Robert I., Tpr. on January 10, 2002.

  393 Heard and saw nothing that night . . . : Pennsylvania State Police Homicide Investigation Action Report, interview of Hines, Darnell by Patterson, Tpr. Scott A., Melder, Raymond, Cpl. on March 16, 2001, pages 29–30.

  393 Just heard the gunshots . . . : Pennsylvania State Police Homicide Investigation Action Report, interview of Hines, Darnell by Lewis, Robert I., Tpr. on March 16, 2001, page 31; “Witness: Suspect Pulled Trigger; Informant Testifies About Police Slaying”, Simonich, Milan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 3, 2002.

  393 Complained that he was being pressured . . . : Beaver County Department of Corrections Statement of Facts, April 6, 2001.

  393 He then passed a polygraph examination . . . : Pennsylvania State Police Homicide Investigation Action Report, polygraph examination of Hines, Darnell by Sherwin, Thomas H., Tpr. on April 11, 2001, page 339.

  393 “I don’t care what anybody says” . . . : Hines, Darnell, author interview, March 29, 2012.

  394 “And it’s going to be a wound” . . . : Patrick, author interview.

  394 “Whether we got the right guy?” . . . : Davis, author interview.

  394 “No”, said Quips offensive coordinator Sherman McBride . . . : McBride, author interview.

  394 “I just know the wrong guy’s in jail” . . . : Walker, Dwan, author interview.

  394 “Jamie Brown was involved with some real heavy hitters” . . . : Short, author interview.

  394 Acey Taylor . . . : “Cop Killer to Prison: Judge Vows That He’ll Serve the Maximum”, Bauder, Bob, Beaver County Times, May 30, 2002, page A1.

  395 “Can I rationally explain” . . . : ibid, A6.

  395 “Great for me” . . . : Baldwin, Jeff, author interview.

  395 Jonathan never played a proper game in pads . . . : Baldwin, Jonathan, author interview, October 18, 2
011.

  396 “The way I was raised” . . . : Baldwin, Tezmalita, author interview.

  396 Jonathan became an All-State basketball star . . . : “Chiefs Select WR Jonathan Baldwin with 1st Round Pick”, Chiefs.com, http://www.chiefs.com/news/article-2/Chiefs-Select-WR-Jonathan-Baldwin-with-1st-Round-Pick/c94f740f-e362-4fa7-a08a-74425e4a051a.

  396 In any other game . . . : “Jeannette Beats Quips, 70-48”, White, Mike, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 17, 2007.

  397 Followed his dad’s trail . . . : “Jonathan Baldwin”, Pitt Football, http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/baldwin_jon00.html.

  397 Groping a girl’s buttocks on a bus . . . : “Pitt’s Baldwin Cleared of Charges”, Kerlik, Bobby, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 12, 2010.

  397 “Purposely trying to disrupt my draft stock” . . . : “Baldwin Works on ‘Attitude’”, Gorman, Kevin, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 18, 2011.

  397 “That’s why, when I’m in Aliquippa” . . . : Baldwin, Jonathan, author interview.

  398 In 1980 . . . : “Myths of Post-Industrial America”, Samuelson, Robert J., Washington Post, April 7, 2013.

  399 Manufacturing’s . . . : “A Revolution in the Making”, Koten, John, Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2013, page R1.

  399 “Those types of jobs” . . . : Briem, author interview.

  399 “I always think about: if the mill was still going” . . . : Letteri, Gilda, author interview, May 11, 2012.

  400 “You came to the country with a brown bag with your clothes in it” . . . : Betters, C.J. “Chuck”, author interview, November 19, 2011.

  400 Long before his own grown sons, Mike and Mark began piling up drunk-driving arrests in Illinois . . . : “Prosecutors: Ditka’s Son Tests Positive for Opiates”, Fuller, Ruth, Chicago Tribune, November 16, 2012; “Another of Mike Ditka’s Sons Charged with DUI”, Chicago Tribune, September 30, 2011; “Prosecutors Drop Felony DUI Case Against Son of Former Bears Coach Mike Ditka”, Chicago Tribune, February 24, 2012; “Mike Ditka’s Son Claims His Name Spurred DUI Charge”, Ter Maat, Sue, Chiacgo Tribune, April 27, 2011.

  400 “I’ve had a big house and a lot of cars” . . . : Ditka, Mike, author interview.

  402 “Aliquippa’s in a weird place” . . . : Briem, author interview.

  402 Gilbert started . . . : “Amen! Sean Gilbert”, ESPN: The Magazine, July 10, 2012.

  402 Law funded a Head Start program in Plan 12 . . . : “Sports Stars Come Out to Support Head Start”, Beaver County Times, May 29, 1998.

  402 And ran a charity golf tournament and basketball game . . . : “Ty Law”, Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame, http://www.bcshof.org/halloffamers/law2011.htm.

  402 Revis holds an occasional football camp . . . : “Relaxed Revis Camps in Aliquippa on Way to Tampa”, Chiapazzi, Andrew, Beaver County Times, June 20, 2013.

  402 “What are you going to do for us here in Aliquippa, Mr. Law?” . . . : Law, author interview.

  403 “I love it to the utmost” . . . : Revis, author interview.

  403 “Sit quiet, son” . . . : Walker, Chuckie, author interview.

  404 “And I said ‘I don’t want you to give me anything’” . . . : Walker, Dwan, author interview.

  405 “The selfish person’s out there supporting himself” . . . : Smith, Eugene “Salt”, author interview, November 28, 2011.

  405 “Okay, Mr. Smith” . . . : Walker, Dwan, author interview.

  405 “They’re so fucking green” . . . : Betters, author interview.

  406 “Like a lost little boy” . . . : Campbell, Tommie, author interview.

  406 “Some of our guys have been struggling” . . . : Wytiaz, author interview.

  407 Was arrested after being stopped near Sixth Avenue . . . : “Former Aliquippa Football Star Facing Drug Charges”, Utterback, Bill, Ellwood City Ledger, April 8, 2011.

  407 “He’s as good or better than Revis” . . . : Evasovich, author interview.

  407 Jonathan Baldwin became a first-round draft pick . . . : “Pitt Standout WR Baldwin Signs with Chiefs”, Associated Press, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 30, 2011.

  407 “He was over some girl’s house and they stuck a gun to his head” . . . : Campbell, Della Rae, author interview.

  408 “It was a real scary moment, man” . . . : Campbell, Tommie, author interview.

  408 By 2010, he had been kicked off the team . . . : “Pitt Dismisses Fields from Team”, Bennett, Brian, ESPN.com, February 19, 2010, http://espn.go.com/college-football/news/story?id=4921565.

  409 “There’s a lot of time to think while you’re mopping that floor” . . . : Campbell, Tommie, author interview.

  409 Pulling up next to his Linmar enemies . . . : “Two Charged in Aliquippa Shooting”, Pound, Michael, Beaver County Times, September 4, 2007; Davis, Andre, author interview.

  409 In August 2009 . . . : “Ambridge Man Wanted in Aliquippa Bar Shooting”, Vidonic, Bill, Beaver County Times, August 22, 2009.

  409 “He helped me in every aspect possible” . . . : Campbell, Tommie, author interview.

  410 Finished with 29 tackles . . . : “Tommie Campbell”, Tennessee ­Titans, http://www.titansonline.com/team/roster/tommie-campbell/c9212fbc-6fba-4fdd-8015-064cb1c71b28/.

  410 “I quit putting blame on everything around me” . . . : Campbell, Tommie, author interview.

  410 Lit up NFL scouts’ eyes and stopwatches . . . : “Campbell Isn’t Going to Waste NFL Chance”, Associated Press, Paris Post-Intelligencer, Paris, Tenn., August 30, 2011.

  410 He signed a four-year, $2.09 million contract . . . : Spotrac, http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/jacksonville-jaguars/tommie-campbell/.

  411 On June 6, 2010 . . . : “Saving Steel: Salvagers Scoop Up What’s Left to Tell Industry’s Story”, Nelson Jones, Diana, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 6, 2010, page A-1.

  411 What remains on the seven-and-a-half-mile stretch . . . : “USG Aliquippa Gives Tribute to Mill That Once Stood in Its Place”, Cubbal, Kayleen, Beaver County Times, May 24, 2015.

  411 200 million tons of slag . . . : Betters, author interview.

  412 “We bring ’em, we break ’em” . . . : Betters, author interview.

  413 When, in 2008, bankruptcy claimed Aliquippa Community Hospital . . . : “For Aliquippa Community Hospital, a ‘Green’ Demolition”, Twedt, Steve, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 15, 2011.

  413 “There’s something relative to my legacy” . . . : Betters, author interview.

  414 The six-hundred-acre site . . . : “DEP Begins 90-Day Review of Remediation of Old J&L Tin Mill Site”, Stonesifer, Jared, Beaver County Times, January 20, 2015; Betters, author interview.

  415 “I’ve thought about it, don’t get me wrong” . . . : Gaskins, author interview.

  415 “It took a year to beat that jive-ass shit out of him” . . . : Betters, author interview.

  415 “I stay there because I got things now in life that I thought I would never have” . . . : Gaskins, author interview.

  416 The stadium in Hopewell that was renamed, in 2001, in his honor . . . : “Hopewell Renaming Stadium for Dorsett”, White, Mike, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 6, 2001, page F-2.

  416 “The thing I’m disappointed in?” . . . : Dorsett, Tony, author interview, September 24, 2010.

  417 The death at sixty-one . . . : ibid.

  417 “Okay”, Tony said . . . : ibid.

  418 9,438 people still living there . . . : “QuickFacts: Aliquippa City, Pennsylvania”, United States Census Bureau, Washington, D.C., http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/4200820.

  418 “To the workers of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation” . . . : “Memories of Steel”, Theodore, Larissa, Beaver County Times, June 23, 2010.

  418 “Every time I come back” . . . : Dorsett, author interview.

  419 “I did not contribute
one cent to that campaign” . . . : Betters, author interview.

  419 On May 17, 2011 . . . : “One Aliquippa Slate Surprises Incumbents”, Prose, J.D., Beaver County Times, May 18, 2011.

  419 “This kid: I give him credit” . . . : Battalini, author interview.

  419 It wasn’t until election night . . . : Walker, Dwan, author interview, November 8, 2011.

  420 “Twenty-five years?” . . . : Battalini, author interview.

  420 Rejected by Royal Dutch Shell . . . : “Aliquippa’s First Black Mayor Walker Fights City’s Stigma”, Vidonic, Bill, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 2, 2012.

  421 “I still think we’re going to get some bounce-back” . . . : Walker, Dwan, author interview, March 27, 2012.

  421 Meanwhile came this cosmic slap . . . : “Instant Tickets Also Winning in the Region”, O’Shea, Patrick, Ellwood City Ledger, December 26, 2012.

  422 “I was winning and he was getting mad” . . . : Henry, Dravon, author interview, November 6, 2011.

  422 Aliquippa High would go on to win its fourteenth WPIAL football championship later that month . . . : “Aliquippa Adds Another AA Crown to Collection”, Schofield, Paul, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 27, 2011.

  422 As Dravon racked up 5,454 career yards rushing . . . : “Aliquippa’s Henry Picks West Virginia over Pitt”, DiPaola, Jerry, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 9, 2013.

  422 Dravon’s dad . . . : Henry, Roland, author interview, November 6, 2011.

  423 “I didn’t know what else to do” . . . : Askew, Shanell, author interview, November 6, 2011.

  423 “I just stood there” . . . : Henry, Dravon, author interview.

  423 Their grandfather, Ossie Foster . . . : “Quips Could Be Too Hot for Seneca to Handle”, Hecht, Steve, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 4, 1979, page 12; “Mt. Lebo Rides KO to Title, Playoffs”, Cuddy, Jim, Jr., Pittsburgh Press, November 2, 1979, page A-7.

  423 “No no”, he laughed . . . : Askew, David, author interview, November 6, 2011.

  424 In December 2002 . . . : “Two Confess to ’99 Killings”, Vidonic, Bill, Beaver County Times, December 19, 2002.

  424 “George . . . David” . . . : David, author interview.