3 Jeannette legends to be inducted into National High School Football Hall of Fame

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 10, 2024 | 6:07 PM

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With 10 WPIAL championships and two PIAA titles, Jeannette is renowned as one of the top football programs in Pennsylvania.

But the Jayhawks’ reputation has made its way to the game’s promised land — Canton, Ohio.

Three Jeannette legends who made their mark in the program and beyond will be enshrined in the National High School Football Hall of Fame, now in its second year.

Coach Joe Mucci and former star quarterbacks Dick Hoak and Terrelle Pryor were among 30 men selected for the 2024 Hall of Fame class.

The men will be enshrined June 8 at Umstattd Hall at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton.

Congratulations to Jeannette’s
Dick Hoak, Joe Mucci, and Terrelle Pryor on being named to the National High School Football Hall of Fame ! pic.twitter.com/pzigO0nf5G

— JeannetteEducationalFoundation (@JNTEDFOUNDATION) January 10, 2024

pic.twitter.com/zu20OwyBEm

— Bill Beckner (@BillBeckner) January 10, 2024

Mucci, who died in 2020 at age 86 after contracting covid, coached Jeannette from 1968-1985 and posted a record of 150-33-3 with 11 conference titles and three WPIAL championships (1971, ‘81 and ‘83).

The Jayhawks had three undefeated seasons on his watch.

Mucci is a member of the Jeannette Athletic Hall of Fame, the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, PA Scholastic Football Coaches Hall of Fame and WPIAL Hall of Fame.

Hoak, 85, led Jeannette to a WPIAL 3A title in 1956 as a quarterback and defensive back. He went on to play quarterback and running back at Penn State and was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1961.

He rushed for 3,965 yards and 33 touchdowns across nine seasons before becoming a coach.

Hoak won five Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach with the Steelers. He was hired by Chuck Noll in 1972 and was the only coach retained by Bill Cowher in 1992.

Pryor, considered one of the all-time greats to play in the WPIAL, was the top prep recruit in the nation in 2008.

He led the Jayhawks to WPIAL titles in 2006 and ‘07 and to a PIAA championships in ‘07 when the team finished 16-0.

He ran and passed for more than 4,000 yards in his highlight-filled career. Pryor went on to play at Ohio State and guided the Buckeyes to a Rose Bowl win in 2010 with an MVP performance.

He played for several teams in the NFL, including the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins, when he switched positions to wide receiver.

The national hall of fame was founded by Lamont “Showboat” Robinson, a Jeannette alum who is known for his exploits in comedy basketball as a former player with the Harlem Globetrotters, Harlem Road Kings and Harlem Clowns.

Robinson also founded the National Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.

The Jeannette trio were the only high school hall of fame selections with ties to WPIAL programs.

Here are all 30 selections:

Players

Harvey Armstrong, Kashmere (Houston)

Nate Burleson, O’Dea High School (Seattle)

Dick Butkus, Vocational H.S. (Chicago)

Josh Cribbs, Dunbar (Washington, D.C.)

Erine Davis RB, Elmira Free Academy (Elmira, N.Y.)

Eric Dickerson, Sealy (Sealy, Texas)

Chuck Ealey, Notre Dame (Portsmouth, Ohio)

Ted Ginn, Jr., Glenville (Cleveland)

Bob Golic, St. Joseph (Cleveland)

Dick Hoak, Jeannette

Calvin “Jack” Jones, Steubenville (Steubenville, Ohio)

Kurt Kampe, Cooley (Detroit)

Dexter Manley, Yates (Houston)

Geoff Mitchell, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School (London, Ontario, Canada)

Stump Mitchell, Camden County (Camden County, Ga.)

Orlando Pace, Sandusky (Sandusky, Ohio)

Terrelle Pryor, Jeannette

Billy Sims, Hooks (Hooks, Texas)

Robert Smith, Euclid (Euclid, Ohio)

Jack Trice, East Tech (Cleveland)

Paul Warfield, Warren Harding (Warren, Ohio)

Doug Williams, Chaneyville (Zachary, La.)

Charles Woodson, Ross (Fremont, Ohio)

Coaches

Gerry Faust (Cincinnati)

Chuck Kyle (St. Ignatius, Ohio)

Joe Mucci (Jeannette)

Reno Saccocia (Steubenville, Ohio)

Mike Young (Wheeling, W. Va.)

Contributor

Bobby DiGeronimo (Independence, Ohio)

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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