Chuck Klausing remembered as more than just a coach

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 16, 2018 | 1:42 PM

It's one thing to recognize the on-field accomplishments of coach Chuck Klausing's football teams, especially those from Braddock High School.

But his greatest legacy might be how highly he was regarded by his players long after their careers ended.

When the WPIAL rolled out its 2008 Hall of Fame induction class at the Heinz History Center, Klausing's 1959 Braddock team was included. After the ceremony, Tigers players formed an arc with their chairs and listened attentively to their coach, just like they had done in the locker room some 50 years earlier.

Klausing, who guided Braddock to six consecutive WPIAL titles and also experienced considerable success at the collegiate level with IUP and Carnegie Mellon, died Thursday at an Indiana hospice center.

He was 92.

Klausing came to Braddock in 1954 at age 28, following a successful stint at Pitcairn High School. The Tigers had compiled a 4-3-1 record in 1953 that ended a streak of eight losing seasons.

But once Klausing arrived, there was no more losing. Braddock would go on to win six straight WPIAL titles, compiling a mark of 54 games without a loss. The only blemish was a 7-7 tie with Midland in the 1954 WPIAL title game.

“He was a person who motivated people,” said Cliff Thompson, a 1955-57 Braddock team member. “He was like a father figure; he kept in touch with you over the years.”

“He brought me up to the varsity late in 1953,” Larry Reaves said. “I was the starting left tackle for three seasons at 168 pounds. It wasn't easy, it was a lot of repetitions in practice. There was one way to do things, and it was his way.”

Klausing left Braddock in 1960 to become the freshman coach at Rutgers, followed by three seasons at West Point as an Army assistant coach.

Klausing then went to Indiana where he accumulated a 123-26-2 record, including an appearance in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Bowl in 1968.

After five seasons as an assistant to Bobby Bowden at West Virginia, Klausing led Carnegie Mellon from 1976-85.

In 1986, he was a Pitt assistant to Mike Gottfried before finishing his coaching career at The Kiski School, near Saltsburg, from 1987-93.

The last game he coached in 1993 resulted in a 33-6 win over Shady Side Academy that earned the Cougars an Interstate Prep Conference title. His grandson, Jeff Simmons, quarterbacked The Kiski School that day.

Klausing's all-time record as a head coach is a sparkling 237-69-9.

“He was born to coach,” said his son, Thomas Klausing. “He had a great career in high school and college coaching. Discipline from being in the Marine corps and the way he approached games was a strength.”

Team bonding also was an ingredient to Klausing's success.

“He was way ahead of his time,” Thompson said. “On the team bus, he wouldn't let two white players sit together. It was black and white players in the same seat. On game days, we would eat at the Elks Club then go see a movie before the game.”

Now, teams going to movies is practiced at many places, including the NFL with the Steelers.

Braddock parents were on Klausing's side.

“The night before a game, we had a curfew,” said Reaves, who in 1969 became the first black head coach in WPIAL history at Braddock. “He would ride his car around the streets of Braddock or call the house to see if you were home. My mother recalls people would follow the band up the hill to Scott Stadium.”

Klausing had influence in Braddock beyond the football field.

Braddock merchants credited Klausing's teams with bringing in business when the Tigers played at home, and as many as 10,000 people would be attending the games at nearby Scott Field, according to Thompson.

When star running back John Gay's home on Cherry Way was slated to be razed by the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority, Braddock's fans appealed to Authority Director Sterling Anderson that the Gays would be relocated elsewhere in the Braddock School District so John could continue playing for the Tigers and keep the winning streak alive.

Anderson assured everyone the Gay family would stay put until a new place to live in town was found.

“My father was a 155-pound starting center for Penn State as a freshman and sophomore,” Thomas Klausing said. “He then went to the Marines for officer training school and ended up a Second Lieutenant. His going up against much larger boys set the stage for his military and coaching career. He was proud of all his teams.”

Friends will be received from 2-8 p.m. Sunday at the Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, 500 Ben Franklin Road South, Indiana.

The Funeral Mass is set for at 10 a.m. Monday at the St. Thomas More Chapel, 1200 Oakland Ave., Indiana.

George Guido is a freelance writer.