WPIAL, Pa. Sports Hall of Fame inductee Robert ‘Tick’ Cloherty dies at 88

By: Mark Nitowski
Saturday, July 1, 2023 | 2:36 PM

Robert “Tick” Cloherty exuded one quality more than any other, according to long-time friend Paul Palmer.

“He was a leader in whatever he did,” said Palmer, who played football with Cloherty at what was then Clarion State College. “If there was an award for being big man on campus, he would have won it every year.”

A standout lineman at Clarion from 1958-61, Cloherty went on to a decorated career as a sports official while also serving as president of the western chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for 30 years. The Jefferson Hills resident recently passed away at the age of 88 after a long battle with melanoma.

“Tick was a fighter. He loved life,” Palmer said. “He would call me up and say ‘I’m going to beat this thing.’ He was such a tough guy.”

Cloherty grew up in Swissvale and attended Central Catholic High School. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. from 1955-58.

After leaving the service, Cloherty offered to drive a friend to Clarion for his college entrance exam. By chance, the school president happened upon the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Cloherty, and convinced him to enroll in the school and play football.

Cloherty went on to become a four-time, first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference selection at offensive and defensive tackle. He was inducted into the Clarion University Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

“Tick was like the Joe Greene of Clarion,” Palmer said. “When he got there, Clarion became a very good and honored football program — and he led the way.”

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Clarion, Cloherty received a master’s degree in guidance from Duquesne University. He was a teacher and coach in the Penn Hills School District from 1962-65.

Cloherty followed up his playing days by becoming a sports official. He worked WPIAL football and basketball games for 35 and 25 years, respectively. He also officiated college football at the Division II and III levels.

John “Howdy” Mynahan credited Cloherty with recruiting him to the high school and college officiating ranks.

“When I first met him, Tick and (his wife) Jeanie were just married and living upstairs of my parents (in Regency Square),” Mynahan said. “He was officiating and encouraged me to get into officiating.”

On the gridiron, Cloherty excelled at the umpire position, according to Mynahan.

“He had a great feel for the game,” said Mynahan, who now assigns college crews after 45 years as an on-field official. “He kept things under control. He took charge of the line of scrimmage.”

Cloherty served as assigning secretary of the Eastern Association of Interscholastic Football Officials from 1992 to 2000 and commissioner of WPIAL Quad-A officials from 2000-14. He also was the scoreboard operator for Steelers and Pitt football games at Heinz Field from 2000-12.

On the professional level, Cloherty was named business manager of the Swissvale School District in 1970. He took on the same duties when the Woodland Hills School District was created in 1979, serving in that position for nearly 15 years.

“He was an excellent teacher and guidance counselor and then moved into business management. I think that showed the scope of his intelligence,” Palmer said.

Palmer and Cloherty served as officers of the western chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for many years. Cloherty was president of the local chapter from 1987 to 2016.

“It was a joy working with him,” Palmer said. “He was a great administrator and president.”

In his honor, the group was renamed the Robert “Tick” Cloherty Western Chapter in 2016. He was welcomed into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Cloherty also was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame’s East Boros Chapter (1994) and Western Chapter (1997), along with the WPIAL Sports Hall of Fame (2017).

Cloherty is survived by his wife, Mary Jean, as well as three sisters-in-law and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and nephews.

Visitation is scheduled on Saturday, from 6 to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., in Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home, 401 Curry Hollow Rd., Pleasant Hills. Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas a Becket Church of Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish, 139 Gill Hall Rd., Jefferson Hills.