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Eight former Tyrone athletes and two contributors were honored at the Golden Eagle Monogram Club’s Honor Roll Recognition Dinner. In the first of two articles on the Honorees we will present George Czap, Pete Dutrow, Dave Grazier and Tom Miller.
The prestigious banquet is held every two years and honors past student/athletes who have been filtered through a nomination committee and then voted on by the body of the members of the Monogram Club.
Members of the 2003 Nomination Committee included John Scordo, chairman, George Stever, Butch Feltenberger, Harold Beringer, Terry Elder, John Roseberry, Scott Meredith, Dick Hoover, Bud Aults and Mark Mitchell.
Herb Werner served as Master of Ceremonies. The invocation was given by Rev, Norman Huff and a delicious beef stroganoff dinner was served by Tim Sickler and staff to the full house, The banquet was held in the party room at the Bullpen Restaurant.
Following the meal, Monogram Club president Doug Hoover gave the welcome and Werner introduced the presenters and honorees.
Jack Gorman presented the first award to George Czap, posthumously, to begin the inductions. Czap was a graduate of Philipsburg High School and Clarion State Teachers College, who came to Tyrone as a teacher and coach in 1953. Gorman spent two years at Clarion playing football with George and was a teacher and administrator at Tyrone for 34 years.
Mr. Gorman opened his presentation speech by informing everyone that he saw a lot of enemies in the large crowd. ”I played football at Osceola. That’s Osceola Mills, not Osceola-Philipsburg like it is now. I first met George through his brother John, who I had played against and with on the old Osceola Redskins. That was just after World War II. I knew George as a fellow student in high school, I knew him as a teammate at Clarion and then when I came to Tyrone in 1954, who was one of the first greeters-George Czap. I have been around and seen a lot of things, but there is nothing like George. If you grow up like George Czap and had the ethic that he had as far as work and sports and as far as coaching is concerned, I would send my kids out there for George to coach anytime. George Czap lettered in four sports, football, basketball, baseball and golf. Golfing was his primary thing, he was All-State runnerup in golf, his senior year in high school. He was a humble man, one you would hardly notice. George never asked more from the kids than he did and he never changed from the humble man he was all his life.”
Czap was co-captain of the undefeated Clarion team in 1952, that won the Lions Bowl in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he scored the winning touchdown in a 13-6 win.
Czap taught school and coached football and golf at Tyrone for 40 years. His favorite sport was golf, although at times, it seemed his junior high school football teams never lost a game, compiling long winning streaks under his tutelage, including one that lasted through 29 games.
George’s wife Greta Czap received the plaque for Czap.
Bob Bubb presented Pete Dutrow.
Bubb taught and coached wrestling at Tyrone for seven years and then became a legend as coach of the Clarion State College wrestling squad, who had three national champs in one year and was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1973 and 1986. Bubb has for many years conducted wrestling clinics and camps during the summer.
“I spent only seven years here,” reminded Bubb, “but my wife and I formed friendships here that have lasted a lifetime. I knew the first two Honorees, George “Scooter” Czap and Peter “Pete” Lynn Dutrow very well personally. We still keep our ears ‘glued’ to what’s happening here. You have had continued success with your teams. It’s been a really miraculous sports town.”
Pete Dutrow was a teacher, administrator, athletic director and coach for 35 years at Tyrone, after graduation from Hollidaysburg High School and Lycoming College. Dutrow was named District Six Coach of the Year, Man of the Year, and voted into the District Six Wrestling Hall of Fame. During his career, he coached two undefeated teams. In 2001, Dutrow presented Bob Bubb as a Monogram Club honoree. In 2003, Bubb turned around and presented Dutrow.
Bubb was the head coach at Tyrone when Dutrow came to Tyrone as a teacher and assistant wrestling coach. After two years, Bubb went to Clarion and Dutrow became the head coach compiling an 88-62 record in 13 years with two state champions. Dutrow has served as District Six Coaches Association president. He also was an assistant coach in cross country, junior high and varsity football. He served as assistant and tournament director many times, including District Six Tournament, District 5/6 Subregional and assistant Director of the Southwest Regional. He also worked at Bubb’s Summer Camps (Golden Eagle Wrestling School) for 23 years. Pete is past-president of the Central Pennsylvania Athletic Directors , a member of the executive committee of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors and was the Region Three Athletic Director of the Year (Districts 5, 6, 9 and 10).
It doesn’t stop there. To name just a few of the community activities Pete is involved in: Member of the Tyrone Recreational Committee, Blair County Recreational Advisory Board, Tyrone Borough Council, Tyrone Kiwanis Club president, in his working with the Tyrone Elks, their youth committee won an award for the best youth program for three years and was recognized second nationally in 1982, Tyrone YMCA Board of Directors, Tyrone Area School District Board of Directors, and charter member and president-elect of the Monogram Club, Who’s Who in American Teachers, Teacher of the Year and Citizen of the month. After reading the list, Coach Bubb said tongue-in-cheek, he would not ask what Dutrow did in his spare time.
Bubb referred to Dutrow as DSS and at the end of his presentation told the audience “‘D’ stands, in my mind for Pete, being dedicated to the task. The first ‘S’ is service to the school and community. The second ‘S’ is a servant, a servant of all the people.”
Dutrow thanked his family and the Monogram Club saying, “I was very fortunate Mom sent me the letter about the opening here. I was fortunate when I came to Tyrone to have mentors such as Bob Bubb. He told me to take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. I had a very supportive family. My success is not my success. It has always been a team effort. I have had the opportunity to work here with tremendous people. I accept this award gratefully for my family, my assistant coaches, my fellow coaches and all the tremendous athletes that I had the opportunity to work with.”
Dave Grazier was presented by Steve Magulick
Dave Grazier was an outstanding football track and wrestling letterman at Tyrone. He played college football from 1971-74, for Coach Lou Holtz at William and Mary. Grazier coached football and wrestling and taught at Jersey Shore from 1975-1984. Currently Grazier is back in Tyrone as plant manager for Kunstler.
Steve Magulick taught Physical Education at Tyrone and was the head football coach from 1966-74. He left Tyrone to become head coach at Northern Cambria. “A long time ago in 1975,” reminisced Magulick, “I thought I was leaving Tyrone and going home to Northern Cambria. Now all of a sudden, I find myself leaving Northern Cambria to come home to Tyrone. I had Dave during the ‘Year of the Eagle’ when we went 8-1-1 in football. His accomplishments include three-year letterman in football, track and wrestling. He was a first string UPI offensive tackle, First Team Centre Counties, First Team Blair County All-Stars, Honorable Mention AP All-State offensive tackle, Honorable Mention Sunkist High School All American team, Thom McCann trophy for most valuable player in Blair County, Wilson Award for the Most Valuable athlete in Tyrone. Dave received a full scholarship to William and Mary where he was a three-year letterman, received the Sculpers Award 1974, Honorable Mention All-Southern Conference Academic Team 1974, played in Star City Classic East-West All-Star Game and president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”
“It is good to see Coach Magulick again for the first time in about 30 years,” Grazier commented, “and to look around and see the memories of people who have been here, mentors. I would first like to thank the Monogram Club for presenting me with this award. It is very special. I would like to thank my Mom and Dad, two of the greatest mentors in my life. My Dad is no longer with us in body, but is here in spirit. I would like to thank the Lord Jesus, because He is my mentor above all.
“Coach Holtz once pulled me out of pracxtice with the whole team about 120 players at William and Mary there, when I was a freshman. Freshmen weren’t allowed to play at that time, but could practice with the varsity. Those who didn’t play in the game on Saturday would play a game on Monday night against the freshmen. We called it ‘the Toilet Bowl.’ Coach Holtz had me demonstrate how to properly fire off the line and hit and shed the defensive man. ‘I want him to demonstrate that.’ He looked at me and said, ‘son, you must have had good high school coaches.’ And I said, ‘I had the ‘best.’ I took Coach Magulick’s advice during my senior season at Tyrone and took physical education and health.
“These teachers were special men. Tyrone has had some of the best men as teachers and coaches. It has been great to be a part of the school and town.”
Tom Miller was presented by his daughter Barb Miller Gilliland.
Barb Miller Gillilland was a standout basketball player at Tyrone Area High School and took her skills and turned them up a notch to star at St. Francis University where she scored 1.366 points, the school’s all-time high scorer at the time. Recently she was inducted into the St. Francis Hall of Fame, along with Maurice Stokes.
Tom Miller was a starting quarterback for Tyrone from 1959-61. He became one of the few Tyrone grads to go on to play Division I college football at Colorado State and later at Southern Utah. Tom had two tours of duty as the head Tyrone football coach. The first was from 1979-86 and 1982-83. Miller loved football so much that he came back to assist several years at Philipsburg-Osceola under present Tyrone assistant Steve Guthoff and now assists Tyrone’s present coach John Franco.
“Playing football for Tyrone Area High School is the start of a remarkable career,” stated Miller Gillilland about her father. “Tyrone was 8-2 his senior year, including victories over State College, Hollidaysburg and Huntingdon. He also was the second-leading scorer in basketball in the Mountain League that year and was named on the First Team All-Mountain League. Then he was the starting quarterback at Colorado State for three years before transferring to Southern Utah where he was the starting quarterback for one more season. After college, he played semi-pro football for the Omaha Mustangs in the Kansas City system, Harrisburg Caps in the old Baltimore Colt system and the Central PA Bucks.
Playing was only the beginning. He has coached football, boys and girls basketball, baseball and track on the high school level. As a varsity football coach for 10 years at Tyrone, he took his team to district playoffs in 1985 and 1986 and was named Altoona Mirror Coach of the Year in 1986. Along with Lou Beringer, he set up the girls Summer Softball League. He supervised the T-Ball League, coached Teener Minor League baseball and coordinated elementary and junior high girls basketball in countless leagues. By his own dedication to physical fitness through weight-lifting and aerobics, he had provided an example to generations of students as a physical education teacher. Tom Miller was my first coach and he taught me most of what I know about basketball.”
“Anytime that you are honored in this way, is a special day,” said Tom Miller, the man who is known to generations of Tyrone students simple as “Coach Miller.” “I thank Barbie for driving up from Alexandria, Virginia and for the presentation. I thank my wife Sandy, for standing by my side through all the years of my coaching and playing. I thank my former football coach Ron Corrigan for giving me the confidence to play division I football. Coach Corrigan died just a few months ago. Those of us who knew Coach Corrigan knew what a fine man he was and what a professional man he was. A guy with class! During my coaching days, I felt it’s how you treat your players that count. That’s how you play the game.
I would like to thank some people who I have admired all my life and who have kind of molded my philosophies of life. Coach Ron Corrigan in football, John Wiberg in basketball and Paul Weiand, my CSU backfield coach, Bill Baker, Tyrone high school teacher and administrator. Somehow, I have always felt that I could never quite measure up to those guys. And lastly, this award is for my family, both past and present and for all the coaches, I have coached with and for my teammates.”
