Before Nineveh or Morris Township High School closed its doors in 1932, there were some great gridiron moments.
The high point of their football program came in 1925. Despite having only 28 students in the school, they fielded a team with 14 boys. Waynesburg High School and Cumberland Township had played to a 6-6 tie at College Field in what most thought to be the County Championship game. However, the Nineveh eleven traveled to Carmichaels for the final game of the season. In what the Waynesburg Democrat described as “the biggest upset in County history”, Nineveh trounced the Redbirds 42-12. The win gave them their only official County Championship.
Their 1927 team was also loaded with talent, including players such as Bird Clutter, Toe head Danley, Earl Mankey, and future Waynesburg College star Jake Porter. The big game of the season came when they hosted undefeated Jefferson for the de facto Class B County Championship. Four unusually large Jeff linemen had “taped their faces” for the game. When the tape came off during the game, they were recognized as Waynesburg College players. According to newspaper reports of the time, “the players were chased halfway back to Waynesburg” by the fans in attendance.
At the end of the regular season, Nineveh tried to schedule a game with Waynesburg to determine the combined Class A and Class B County Champion. Waynesburg had gone 4-4 against larger, non-county schools. However, an agreement could not be reached because Waynesburg insisted on a larger percentage of the gate.
The Honorable Judge Terry Grimes was kind enough to send me an article about the 1936 Richhill Township vs. Center Township football game. The game featured an interesting family dynamic. Legendary coach Asa Wiley was at the helm for the Ridgers, while his brother Bob led the Center Panthers. Yet a third younger brother, future Waynesburg College and Pittsburgh Steeler star Jack Wiley, captained the Richhill squad.
The fraternal connections were also strong on the Panthers’ offensive line. Brothers George, Halfred, and Forrest Grimes started at center and both guard positions. The game was the third meeting in the rivalry series, with each team previously winning one. Asa Wiley had been the captain of the 1932 Waynesburg College team that beat Penn State. He went on to start the wrestling program at Waynesburg High School in 1938. In his five seasons there, his teams won two WPIAL championships and finished as runner-up twice. He coached four state champions and 14 WPIAL champs. Wiley was also the head football coach for the Yellow Jackets in 1946 and went on to build an outstanding wrestling program at Slippery Rock University.
After returning from World War II, Jack Wiley played five seasons with the Steelers and became one of Art Rooney’s favorite players. He was one of the first players to have his likeness on a football card. After retiring from the NFL, he too returned to coach Waynesburg College. He compiled a 22-9-1 record from 1951-54, including an upset of Bowling Green University. Jack went on to coach the offensive line at Pitt, where he recruited Mike Ditka and Marty Schottenheimer. Waynesburg University’s football field is named in his honor.
