Final member of 1939 undefeated Avonmore team Catania dies

By: George Guido
Sunday, December 8, 2019 | 5:37 PM

The last remaining member of Avonmore High School’s undefeated 1939 football team has died.

Charles Catania, a key linebacker who made a number of plays to keep the dream season alive, died Dec. 2 at Beacon Ridge, Indiana (Pa.), six days before his 97th birthday.

Avonmore, one of the WPIAL’s smallest schools, compiled a 9-0 record in 1939 but mysteriously was not considered for the WPIAL title game.

Representing the small town along the banks of the Kiskiminetas River, the senior class that year had 20 students.

“He talked about the team a lot,” said his daughter, Michol Catania of New Cumberland. “They didn’t have many guys, but they played both ways and had a lot of perseverance and heart.”

Avonmore was so small, the team had just 11 uniforms.

“When someone came out of the game, he had to switch jerseys with the person going in to replace him,” Catania said in a 2010 interview with the Valley News Dispatch.

Besides the lack of jerseys, laundering them was also a challenge because of old fields that lacked modern drainage. Avonmore played its home games where the youth baseball field now sits, next to the former Akers National Roll Company.

“Dad said they played in the mud during some of the games,” Michol Catania said.

“He was an inspiration to me,” said his nephew, Avonmore native Dave Abate, now of Lower Burrell. “He told us about going up against Blairsville. They had more players on the team than Avonmore had in the whole school.”

Avonmore started the season by defeating East Deer, a first-year school, 6-0. That preceded a 20-6 victory over Laura Lamar, now known as Homer Center.

The Redskins then posted three consecutive shutouts: 13-0 over Saltsburg, 6-0 over Bolivar and 7-0 over Elders Ridge.

The unblemished record was in jeopardy in Week 6 against Franklin Township, the forerunner of Franklin Regional.

Catania intercepted a pass in the final minute of the game and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 victory.

A 13-0 win over Washington Township followed in Week 7, setting the stage for the Blairsville game. Catania intercepted two passes as Avonmore prevailed 20-0.

“We heard that Blairsville’s coach was so humiliated, he rode home on the band’s bus,” Charles Catania recalled.

That set the stage for the season finale against rival Bell Township. In the days before DraftKings and FanDuel, betting on big high school games was common, and the Avonmore-Bell game was a big example.

Avonmore had a 12-0 advantage when Bell scored at the end of the game as fans came on the field. Police had to be called to clear up the chaotic scene.

Westmoreland County teams Avonmore, South Huntingdon, Youngwood and Penn Claridge were undefeated, but the WPIAL focused on Glassport and South Huntingdon and delayed the Class B title game until Dec. 2 so South Huntingdon could finish its schedule.

But when South Huntingdon lost to Centerville, 39-0, the WPIAL awarded the title to Glassport without having a playoff game.

Things were not a total loss: Someone who won big bets on the Bell game bought jackets for the entire team.

After serving in the Merchant Marines during World War II, Catania and his wife opened Chuck and Jean’s Tavern in Saltsburg.

“They were building the Conemaugh Dam at the time, and my mother would make sandwiches for the workers and have fish fries,” Michol Catania said.

Charles Catania later sold insurance for The Prudential in Lower Burrell before retiring.

Funeral arrangements were handled by the Kelly L. Corradini Funeral Home of Avonmore. Internment was Saturday at St. Matthew’s Cemetery in Saltsburg.