Nominations sought for Almanac Athlete of the Year
Brett Brumbaugh from South Fayette and Maria Lohman from Chartiers Valley were The Almanac’s male and female Athletes of the Year for 2015. Who will be this year’s top performers? Nominate an athlete today via the link: or.formstack.com/forms/athlete_of_the_year or by filling out the form found on this page.
Eleanor Bailey column sig
It is with deep regret that I report on the demise of my schefflera. The plant survived several transplantations and nearly 30 years.
Unbeknown to me, it arrived on a Friday afternoon in 1986 at The Almanac’s original offices on Washington Road, now the site of Fiori’s Pizzaria, which serves my favorite form of food. This would explain why, while covering a baseball game at Wildcat Field in Mt. Lebanon the next day, I could not comprehend the conversation among some fans in the stands. They listened as one mom complained how her son was busy buying presents for people he hardly knew than to shop for her. See, Mother’s Day happened to be that Sunday. When I arrived at work on Monday morning, I understood completely.
Basically, the plant was a thank-you for all the great (and deservedly so) coverage given to Ken Ord. The senior excelled athletically at Bethel Park High School. He and his teammate, Craig White, were standouts on the baseball team; Ord, a pitcher, and White, a shortstop. Ord also played ice hockey and White competed on the basketball team. In fact, White had three other athletic brothers and one sister, all of whom had first names that started with the letter “C”, Curt, Corey, Clarke and Carrie. Curt played second base on Bethel Park’s only PIAA baseball championship club.
Ord may have also golfed for the Hawks. This I cannot remember but the fact he is now in his seventh season as the women’s golf coach at Franklin & Marshall, likely meant he competed in the sport as a youth. Aren’t all hockey players, good golfers?
At any rate, Ord and White continued to be teammates as both matriculated to Slippery Rock University. Ord and White helped the Rock reach the national college World Series in 1989. Ord earned a B.S. in business administration, gained full membership into the PGA in 1996 and is currently the PGA Director of Golf at Overlook Golf Course. Meanwhile, Los Angeles picked White in the 23rd round of the 1989 MLB Amateur Draft. White played two seasons in the Dodgers’ minor league system.
In their youth, both would have been strong candidates for The Almanac’s Athlete of the Year, had the program existed. Surely, at the least, the pair would have been nominated. Alas, the newspaper did not initiate the endeavor until 1991.
However, the time is now for readers and coaches to begin the process to find the candidates who will comprise the Top 10 for both the female athlete of the year award as well as the male athlete of the year honor. A nomination form can be found on page (23) and as well as by following the link: https://or.formstack.com/forms/athlete_of_the_year
The deadline to nominate an athlete is March 30.
Once the nomination period closes, the athletes will be paired down to the Top 10 by a selection committee, which will also determine the 2016 male and female athletes of the year for The Almanac.
The Top 10 finalists along with MVPs from each of the scholastic sports offered by the WPIAL will be honored at The Almanac’s Premier Performers Banquet set for May 22 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bethel Park.
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