Armstrong’s Olsen winner of 2nd Willie Thrower Award as top QB in Southwestern Pennsylvania

By: Michael Love
Saturday, April 9, 2022 | 12:01 AM

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Cadin Olsen stood tall, literally and figuratively, among a wide-ranging crop of talented quarterbacks in the WPIAL and City League.

The 6-foot-5 junior was a running and passing threat for Armstrong during the 2021 season, and the standout helped the River Hawks to an 8-4 overall record, a 5-2 mark in the Greater Allegheny Conference and the first WPIAL playoff victory in school history against Montour in the Class 5A first round.

His accomplishments, which included throwing for more than 2,500 yards and 28 touchdowns and running for 800-plus yards and 16 additional scores this past fall, were recognized Saturday at the Quality Inn in New Kensington as he was presented with the second Willie Thrower Award, named in honor of the New Kensington native who blazed a trail as a Black quarterback at the high school, college and professional levels from the 1940s into the 1950s.

“This is a great feeling to be recognized as a top quarterback in the WPIAL and to be able to represent my family, my teammates and my school and community,” said Olsen, who follows Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer, last year’s award recipient.

“I can’t thank everyone enough, especially the committee and others who selected me for this award.”

Thrower made a name for himself in high school at New Kensington, leading the Red Raiders to WPIAL titles in 1946 and ’47.

The member of the Westmoreland County Sports Hall of Fame, the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame and the WPIAL Hall of Fame then became the first Black quarterback in the Big Ten while at Michigan State. Thrower was a part of the Spartans’ 1952 national championship team.

He again made history with the Chicago Bears in October 1953 as the first Black quarterback to play in an NFL game. The 1953 season was Thrower’s only one in the NFL.

“Why is this award so meaningful?” New Kensington Mayor Thomas Guzzo said. “Yes, it is named after the man born with the perfect name, Willie Thrower. But it also has such historical meaning and relevance. Pioneer, barrier-breaker and trailblazer; those words undoubtedly describe New Kensington’s own Willie Thrower. But there’s one (word) that will always top the list: first.”

Olsen said he is humbled to receive an award honoring a man who kept working through all manners of adversity, including racism, and set an example for athletes and others to emulate to this day.

“It’s important to see and understand where (Thrower) came from and the impact he’s had on athletes’ lives throughout the years,” Olsen said. “He had to deal with so many things through segregation and other forms of racism. That was very unfortunate, but he persevered through everything and helped shape sports to where it is today.”

Olsen beat out four other finalists — Gateway sophomore Brad Birch, Beaver Falls junior Jaren Brickner, Mt. Lebanon senior Joey Daniels and Belle Vernon senior Devin Whitlock — as the top quarterback in Southwestern Pennsylvania for the 2021 season as voted upon by a panel of high school football coaches, sports broadcasters and sports writers.

The vote pared down the initial 30-player nomination list – 28 from the WPIAL and two from the City League – to the five finalists.

“You set the bar for your team in demonstrating good sportsmanship,” said Amy Scheuneman, executive director of the WPIAL, in addressing the finalists.

“There are far too many examples of bad sportsmanship, and we need good leaders to make sure those good examples are set and people follow you. Willie Thrower is not just recognized and remembered because he was a good football player, but he also was a good person. That is what we want to instill in our student athletes across the WPIAL. You here have the opportunity to do that in a very prominent role.”

Daniels and Whitlock were unable to attend Saturday’s banquet ceremony as they were in State College at a practice for the Big 33 Football Classic set for Memorial Day at Bishop McDevitt’s Rocco Ortenzio Stadium in Harrisburg.

But both addressed the award committee and others in attendance with prepared video messages.

February marked the 20th anniversary of Thrower’s 2002 death from a heart attack at the age of 71.

A number of Thrower’s family members, including his wife, Mary, and son, Melvin, were in attendance.

“The train is starting to roll a little faster,” Melvin Thrower said. “We’re starting to gain more momentum in the second year. A lot of people still don’t know who my father was, the impact that he made and the trailblazer that he became in the NFL. The committee again did an awesome job of putting together this day, which honors my father’s memory and legacy while also recognizing five outstanding quarterbacks.”

Former Schenley and University of Pittsburgh Darnell Dinkins, who played eight years in the NFL, including his final one with the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints in 2009, recognized, as part of words offered to the audience, the untimely death Saturday morning of Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins in a car-pedestrian accident.

A moment of silence was observed for Haskins and also his family and friends.

“My thoughts and prayers and those of my family go out to the Haskins family who lost a great player in the quarterback brotherhood,” Melvin Thrower said.

“He wasn’t only a great player but a great person who had so much of his life left to live. Opportunity was right in front of him (with the Steelers). This is such a tragic loss. We want them to know we are with them.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.