For the third time in four years, a former WPIAL football standout has been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the player category.
Jimbo Covert, a 1978 graduate of Freedom High School in Beaver County, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer. Only three years ago, former Woodland Hills player Jason Taylor was inducted and Aliquippa’s Ty Law was inducted last year.
Covert is the 12th former WPIAL player to be selected as a player. Former Steelers coach BIll Cowher also was selected to the Hall of Fame this year. Although Cowher played at Carlynton in the WPIAL, he was selected as a coach.
In addition, one former Pittsburgh City League player (Allderdice’s Curtis Martin) and one former player from the old Pittsburgh Catholic League (Johnny Unitas of St. Justin’s) also are members of the Hall of Fame.
Besides Covert and Taylor, the other 10 former WPIAL players who are in the Hall of Fame are:
• George Blanda, Youngwood High School (now part of the Hempfield School District).
• Mike Ditka, Aliquippa
• Ty Law, Aliquippa
• Tony Dorsett, Hopewell
• Bill George, Waynesburg
• Russ Grimm, Southmoreland
• Dan Marino, Central Catholic
• Joe Montana, Ringgold
• Joe Namath, Beaver Falls
• Joe Schmidt, Brentwood
Although Covert was known for his football playing ability, he also was an outstanding wrestler at Freedom before he went on to great things at Pitt and in the NFL. Covert was a WPIAL Class 2A wrestling champion and finished third in the state in the heavyweight class as a senior.
Covert was an outstanding lineman on Freedom’s 1977 team that finished undefeated, beat Carlynton in the first round of the playoffs and lost in the semifinals to Laurel. The 1977 team is one of only two in Freedom history that finished the regular season with a perfect record.
Covert made the 27-player Post-Gazette All-Area team in 1977 (there was no Fabulous 22). He was one of two offensive tackles on the All-Area team; the other was Gateway’s Joe Mikol.
Covert was a first-team UPI all-state selection, but only made AP honorable mention in ’77. Back then, all-state teams weren’t picked by classifications; only one all-state team was picked.
Let’s go down memory lane for a minute. One of the top WPIAL players who was first-team AP all-state that year was Fox Chapel defensive end Leo Wisniewski, who would go on to play at Penn State and then had a nice career in the NFL. Among other WPIAL-City League players who were first-team AP all-state in 1977 were quarterbacks Frank Rocco of Fox Chapel and Jim McCallister of Penn Hills, center Mark Battaglia of Upper St. Clair, running back Joel Coles of Penn Hills, running back Craig Walls of Peabody and defensive back Stu McMunn of New Castle.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
Correction: Twelve former WPIAL players have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the player category. Some earlier stories omitted Ty Law from the list.
First Published: January 15, 2020, 4:24 p.m.