Willie Thrower camp continues to grow, honor legacy of barrier-breaking Valley QB

By: Michael Love
Saturday, May 11, 2024 | 5:57 PM

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Willie Thrower would have stood on the Valley High Memorial Field turf and marveled at the talented quarterbacks and other position players at the third annual quarterback camp named in his memory.

That was the assessment of Melvin Thrower, the son of the late New Kensington and Michigan State graduate who, in 1953 with the Chicago Bears, made history by becoming the first Black quarterback to play in the modern NFL.

“I am sure he would be saying, ‘Wow’ and grinning from ear to ear,” Melvin said Saturday morning while he watched many of the camp attendees throw crisp passes to wide receivers and running backs in the cool weekend air tinged with a light rain that became steadier as the camp activities progressed.

“I know it is something he would be so proud of, not only for him, but for what this camp does for not only the local community but for the young men who are working hard and hoping to be better football players. I know he would be grateful, too, for all the (high school) coaches who gave up their time to come out on a Saturday and want to instruct these players. It also gives these kids the exposure in front of college scouts and coaches.”

Thrower, who led New Ken High to WPIAL championships in 1946 and 1947 before breaking down color barriers at the collegiate and professional levels, died in 2002.

But through the camp and through the annual Willie Thrower Award presented each April to the top quarterback in the WPIAL from the previous fall season, the legacy of Thrower’s talent and his impact locally and throughout the region lives on.

“If he were here, you wouldn’t hear him, I wouldn’t hear him, but you would probably see him walk up to each one of the kids and have something to say about what he noticed them doing in a drill or from a pass they threw,” said Melvin Smith, the president of the Willie Thrower Memorial Award Foundation, which, along with the Black Coaches Association, helped get the camp off the ground in 2022.

“He wouldn’t yell or call a big group together. He would just talk to the player one on one. He cared so much and would want to help any way he could. He would be so unassuming that many of them might not know who he was. He was that way.”

More than 70 quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers who will be freshmen through seniors in the fall showed their stuff Saturday. That number doubled the attendance from last year.

Of that total, nearly two-thirds were quarterbacks, some established starters with their school such as Serra’s Quadir Stribling and Bishop Canevin’s Kole Omecinski, and others hoping to make that jump into more prominent roles this fall.

Valley rising senior Mason Simmons, the Vikings starter for the first three-plus games of 2023, said that for him, the camp meant another step in the redemption from a thumb injury that cost him more than half of his junior season.

It also reminded him of the valuable responsibility he has to be the Valley quarterback and uphold the legacy and tradition of Thrower some eight decades ago.

“I was excited to get out here with all of these great quarterbacks, and I was shocked, honestly, in a good way to see so many more than last year,” Simmons said. “It means a lot to represent Valley. I want to come down to the field and work as much as I can. It is my last year, and I have big hopes and goals for myself and for the team.”

In addition to Simmons and five of his Valley teammates, players from Kiski Area, Plum, Knoch, Highlands and Burrell in the Alle-Kiski Valley; Monessen, Yough, Southmoreland and Hempfield in Westmoreland County; and other WPIAL schools such as Clairton, Baldwin, Imani, Woodland Hills, Northgate and Armstrong were represented.

Southmoreland’s Anthony Smith, a rising freshman quarterback at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds and with a cannon for an arm, said he was eager for the opportunity to be on the field with a chance to impress.

“I am just grateful for every experience as I continue to grow and, hopefully, get better,” Smith said after unleashing a football that traveled nearly 60 yards from near midfield to the hands of a receiver in the end zone.

Greg McGhee, a Perry Traditional Academy and Howard graduate who serves as the quarterbacks coach with the Howard football program, served as the camp’s lead instructor.

He said it was an honor to come back to the area and work the camp, which featured a variety of quarterback talent and styles.

“It’s great to see these young guys out here working,” McGhee said. “I know a couple of them already through the quarterback networking circuit here in Pittsburgh. The development of these kids and the pride they have in themselves is what I love to see.”

Dan Rooney, director of business development and strategy for the Pittsburgh Steelers, spoke to the throng of campers and recalled playing on Valley’s field in 2007 as a junior quarterback at Shady Side Academy before continuing on at Dartmouth and coming back home to work with the Steelers.

“It is great to see the ambition of a young athlete, a young quarterback, taking time on their Saturday morning to hone the skill of the position,” Rooney said.

“It’s a daily effort at the QB spot, and they’re smart to hit all the camps they can and just keep working at it. That is exactly what my mindset was as a high schooler. Football was one of the main focuses outside of the classroom.”

A mission of the Steelers organization is to be more connected to the communities in the region. Rooney said it is a connection that strengthens more every day.

Many involved with the Willie Thrower Memorial Award Foundation are excited for a continued and increased working relationship with the Steelers and also the continued growth of the camp.

“This is the vision that the Willie Thrower Foundation and the Black Coaches Association was looking for when they started this,” Valley football coach Mark Adams said. “To see this out here today, these young men taking part in this, it is fantastic.

“We only hope it is going to get bigger and better. I commend the many dedicated people who had a hand in making this camp a reality again.”

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.