Laurel Highlands High School’s Rodney Gallagher is one of the most heavily-recruited WPIAL athletes in both football and basketball in the past couple decades. But Western Pennsylvania high school sports has had a great history of supreme football/basketball athletes.
Ever since the WPIAL started more than 100 years ago, football players crossed over to the hardwood in the winter. But some of those football/basketball athletes were special and went on to great things. A few were even drafted in two different pro sports.
Here are some of Western Pennsylvania’s most memorable football/basketball athletes from more than 75 years who were big-time recruits, sometimes in both sports:
Terrelle Pryor, Jeannette class of 2008 — A legendary WPIAL athlete who, as a sophomore at Jeannette, committed to play basketball at Pitt. He was a 6-foot-6 supreme athlete who even did well in track one year. But Pryor eventually decided football was best for him and played at Ohio State. He is the only athlete in Pennsylvania history to run for 4,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards in football, and score 2,000 points in basketball. He won WPIAL and PIAA titles in both sports as a senior. He was a quarterback at Ohio State and played QB and eventually receiver in the NFL.
Darrelle Revis, Aliquippa class of 2004 — As a senior at Aliquippa, Revis had one of the greatest performances in state championship football history when he scored five touchdowns three different ways. Two days later, he scored 35 points against rival Beaver Falls in a basketball game. Although he wasn’t heavily recruited for basketball, many feel he could’ve definitely been a Division I player had he just played on the hardwood. A 6-1 guard, he led the WPIAL in scoring as a junior at 26.2 ppg and scored 1,722 career points. But Revis was recruited more in football, signed with Pitt and became an all-time great as a defensive back in the NFL.
Sam Clancy, Fifth Avenue class of 1977 — One of the legendary figures in City League sports history. Clancy was like a man playing amongst boys in high school. He played both football and basketball at Fifth Avenue, which closed in 1976 and Clancy attended Brashear in 1976-77. Fifth Avenue had a memorable undefeated state championship team in 1976 and Clancy was the heart of the squad. He took his basketball talents to Pitt, had a marvelous career there, but never made the NBA. Although he never played college football at Pitt, he turned to the NFL and played 10 years as a defensive lineman with the Colts, Browns and Seahawks.
Joe Montana, Ringgold class of 1973 — Montana’s basketball talents may have become a little exaggerated over time. After all, he might not have been the best player on Ringgold’s great 1973 WPIAL championship team. But Montana was still plenty good at basketball, enough to be recruited by some major colleges. But he wanted to play football, signed with Notre Dame to play quarterback and the rest is history — as in Pro Football Hall of Fame history.
Tom Clements, Canevin class of 1971 — You could call Clements the greatest football/basketball athlete in Western Pa. history and it wouldn’t be an overstatement. This tells you all you need to know about his talents: While at Canevin in the old Pittsburgh Catholic League, Clements’ college choices came down to being a point guard at the University of North Carolina or a quarterback at Notre Dame. “I was actually leaning toward North Carolina because I had played basketball since fifth grade,” Clements said in a 2017 interview with Post-Gazette. “Football, I had played only in high school and a year of midgets.” Clements eventually chose Notre Dame for football. He won a national championship as the Fighting Irish quarterback, played one year in the NFL and had a successful career in the Canadian Football League.
John Naponick, Norwin class of 1963 — Big John was like a folk hero at Norwin. He was 6-9, 285 pounds and led Norwin to a WPIAL basketball title in 1963. Old newspaper stories have Naponick being recruited by 100 colleges – for basketball and football. He decided on the University of Virginia where he played both football and basketball. He was one of the largest offensive linemen in college football, but also averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds for the Virginia basketball team in the 1965-66 season.
Ron Sepic, Uniontown class of 1963 — Sepic didn’t play college football, but he was such a good athlete that he was selected in both the NBA and NFL drafts in 1967. The Cincinnati Royals picked him in the ninth round of the NBA draft and the Washington Redskins in the 12th round of the NFL draft. At Uniontown High School, Sepic helped the Raiders win WPIAL and PIAA titles in basketball as a junior and a WPIAL football championship as a senior. He was first-team all-state in both sports and was recruited heavily for both sports. Duke, West Virginia and Ohio State were his finalists. Legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes wanted the 6-5 Sepic for football, but Sepic chose Ohio State — only for basketball. He averaged 15 points a game in his career as a Buckeye. Sepic didn’t play professionally after college, and attended dental school instead.
In 1963, Sepic and the other four members of the Parade All-American team appeared live on national television on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” One of the other four was Lew Alcindor, who became Kareen Abdul-Jabbar.
Brian Generalovich, Farrell class of 1960 — Generalovich was drafted by three pro sports teams — the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and the old AFL’s Boston Patriots. But he went to dental school instead. Generalovich did great things at both Farrell High and Pitt. In basketball, he helped Farrell win back-to-back state titles and was first-team all-state. He also played on the lines for Farrell’s football teams. Basketball was his top sport, though, and he played at Pitt, where he scored more than 1,000 career points. But he also played a season at defensive end for the Panthers.
Arnold Galiffa, Donora class of 1945 — In terms of versatility, Galiffa is one of the most accomplished athletes ever to come from the WPIAL. After graduating from Donora (now part of the Ringgold School District), Galiffa went on to become an All-American quarterback at West Point and won 11 varsity letters as an athlete at Army — four in basketball, four in baseball and three in football. Football was his best sport, but he also starred in numerous sports in high school and was all-state in football and basketball. In 1944-45, he helped Donora become the first WPIAL school to win football and basketball championships in the same school year.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: August 23, 2021, 6:26 p.m.
