George Guido: Unbeaten Springdale — and its pet turtle — worth remembering

By: George Guido
Tuesday, December 24, 2019 | 6:49 PM

As time marches on, an unfortunate casualty can be reunions of great sports teams.

That was the problem several months ago when James Yanni, captain of the 10-0 Springdale football team from 1959, tried to organize a reunion marking the 60th anniversary of one of the greatest Dynamos teams.

Sadly, 24 of the 37 team members are deceased, others are flung across the nation and some are unable to travel for various reasons.

The Springdale team from that season was a victim of the old Gardner Point System. A team had to go undefeated and untied in order contend for a WPIAL football title.

Then, all of the unblemished teams engaged in a point system where the top five games were considered and those teams got extra points for games their opponents won. The top two Gardner point-getters played for the WPIAL crown.

Springdale finished the 1958 season at 4-5-1, but the entire backfield returned and, after winning four preseason scrimmages — that’s how many were played those days — optimism reigned.

Even the Tarentum Valley Daily News preview was headlined: “Veteran Talent Enough to Carry Springdale to Banner Grid Season.”

The Dynamos opened the season with a 21-0 victory over Blairsville, then a WPIAL school. Running back Ron Kubecka scored two touchdowns, and Ken “Spanky” Lloyd made a key fumble recovery.

Kubecka scored two more TDs the following week in a 28-7 win over Aspinwall.

Middle linebacker Jim “Butch” Conley’s interception against Tarentum propelled a 19-6 victory, and the Dynamos were on their way.

As the Dynamos rolled, an unlikely team mascot turned out to be a good luck charm.

A turtle the team named “Esmeralda” was found crawling across a road at the beginning of the season by student managers Walt Petroff, Frank Pizzica and Dave Girard. As the team kept winning, Esmeralda was kept under the careful watch of the managers.

A 20-6 win over Leechburg in Week 4 was the result of more big defensive plays. Conley intercepted two Blue Devils passes and Jim Mitas another.

Springdale’s undefeated season was in jeopardy the following week as the Dynamos led Plum, 25-20, with the Mustangs driving. An interception by Mitas at the Dynamos 3 late in the game preserved the untarnished record.

The Dynamos then defeated Freeport, 18-6, and eased passed Hampton, 28-0. The Gardner Point tally showed Springdale second behind five-time champion Braddock.

The Week 8 game against Ford City was a 41-0 pounding as Kubecka and Mick Liberati each scored twice and Jerry Smalara ran one in from 70 yards. Dynamos coach Jim Hazlett cleared the bench, and all but Esmeralda got playing time against the Glassers.

Next came a trip to West Deer, where the Braves had spoiled a bid for a Springdale undefeated season in 1954. History wouldn’t repeat as the Dynamos prevailed 20-14. But the bad news came out of the WPIAL office: Waynesburg surpassed Springdale in Gardner Points and would play Braddock for WPIAL honors.

Springdale took out its frustration Week 10, blasting Arnold, 50-18, with some 5,000 people cramming their way into small George Leslie Memorial Stadium.

The 10-0-0 Dynamos season wasn’t enough. Not even Esmeralda could overcome the Gardner Point System snub.

Braddock defeated Waynesburg for a sixth consecutive WPIAL title, a record that still stands.

The postseason honors rolled in for Springdale. Kubecka and Yanni were named to the first-team Valley News Dispatch all-star team. Kubecka, now deceased, led the A-K Valley with 19 touchdowns.

Ten more Dynamos were named to postseason honors from the Valley Daily News and New Kensington Daily Dispatch.

Conley went on to Michigan, where he captained the Wolverines’ 1965 Rose Bowl champion. Some, like Lloyd, served in Vietnam.

Hazlett moved on to coach at Susquehanna University in 1960.

Twelve years later, the WPIAL decided to admit all unbeaten teams to the playoffs.