Rich Miller –

A SCHOLAR, ATHLETE, and LEADER

Rich Miller CONGRESSMAN'S MEDAL OF HONOR AWARDED TO LAKE HAUTO DOCTOR.

Photoreport of the 2011 Coaldale Inductees to the Carbon County Hall of Fame

BOB SCUTTA:

Bob Scutta was the starting quarterback for the Coaldale Tigers in the 1954 and 1955 campaigns. As a junior, he wore #2. That was when Coaldale had all black uniforms with orange numbers. Bob was easily spotted on the gridiron because the #2 was absent from the front of his jersey. The uniforms were great-looking, but very old and tattered. After learning his craft as a junior, he wore #11 during his senior year. The new jersey had the number on both the front and the back.

During the first six games of the 1955 campaign, Coaldale scored a total of 150 points and the opponents had a grand total of 13 points. The Tigers only loss was to Tamaqua in a game that will be remembered because the players were knee-deep in mud. These conditions favored Tamaqua because it made it virtually impossible for Coaldale to employ its formidable passing attack. In the seventh game of the season, Bob’s high school career was ended by a broken leg in the second quarter of the Nesquehoning game. The final score of that game was a tie; each team scored 6 points. The next two games saw the Tigers lose to Mahanoy City and Minersville; in each of these games Coaldale was scoreless. The team did rally, however, and beat Lansford (13-0) in the traditional Thanksgiving Day clash. At the end of the season, Bob, in spite of playing only six full games, was awarded both United Press and Associated Press “All-State” Honorable Mention honors.

In addition to fooball, Bob was an outstanding member of the strong 1956 Tigers track team. He won medals in the pole-vault, the 440, and the mile-relay.

After high school, Bob went into the Navy and played for both the Norfolk Tars and Bainbridge Commodores service teams. Upon completing his duties in the service, he graduated from the Pennsylvania State Police Academy and served as a State Trooper for twenty-seven years. Subsequent to his retirement, he was employed by both a private detective agency where he specialized in investigating insurance fraud, and the York County Sheriff’s Department. Bob and his wife, the former Pat Aronne, have three children: Bob, Brian, and Jami. Following the example of their parents, each of the siblings has three children.

RICH MILLER

Coaldale’s Dr. Rich Miller has made valuable and lasting contributions to the Pennsylvania sports world as a 4-sport athlete and to our society as a doctor, Navy officer, and citizen.

Rich is a 1963 graduate of the former Coaldale High School, a 1964 graduate of Bullis Prep School, a 1968 graduate of Lehigh University, and a 1972 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

He was co-Captain of the 1962 undefeated (11-0) Coaldale Tigers football team, co-Captain of the 1967 Lehigh University Engineers (now Mountain Hawks) football team, and a Navy Captain in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve.

As a Tight End and Cornerback/Defensive End for four years at Coaldale High School, Rich was known for his toughness and his ability to run precise pass patterns and to catch any ball thrown close to him. In 1962, Rich led the Panther Valley and Schuylkill County areas with the most touchdown receptions and was chosen to play in the 1962 Schuylkill County Dream Game.

During his four-year football career at Lehigh University, Rich started every game. He established three Lehigh pass-catching records: 1) most passes caught in one game (13 against Rutgers University); 2) most passes caught in one year (58 in 1966); and, 3) most passes caught in a career (132 in three seasons). In 1967, he was named as a first team Split End on the All-Middle Atlantic Conference team, as a member of the prestigious NCAA All-American Academic Team, and he was selected to represent Lehigh University as the Lehigh Valley Scholar-Athlete at the 1968 National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.

Upon graduation from Lehigh in 1968, Rich received an offer to play professional football with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rich's exploits as a baseball pitcher extended over a 10-year period from the Coaldale Little League and Church League through high school and Bullis Prep School in Silver Spring, MD. Possessing a blazing fastball and a wicked curveball, he dominated batters. Records from that era show that Rich struck out, on average, two batters per inning. As a Freshman on the last Coaldale High baseball team in 1960, he was a starting pitcher.

At Coaldale High, Rich also played Basketball for four years and participated in Track and Field for three 3 seasons. His all-around athletic ability was demonstrated in the fact that he excelled in both the running and field events, having earned several points at track meets over the years in the javelin toss as well as in the half-mile and mile races.

After his own sports career ended, Rich worked as a coach in the Nesquehoning Little League, as a coach for The Panther Valley Midgets in the Tri-County Football League, and he volunteered his time and services over several years to perform as the team doctor for the Marian High School Colts football team.

FRANK DeFEBO - CLASS OF 2011, CARBON COUNTY AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME.

Frank DeFebo, son of Dominic and Regina (Riley) DeFebo, was born on July 11, 1932, in Allentown, Pa. He was raised in Coaldale where he attended St. Mary's grade school and high school, playing basketball for the Harps and football for the Panther Valley Catholic Golden Dragons. Upon graduation, he attended Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, majoring in English. After serving in the Army during the Korean Conflict, Frank accepted a teaching position in LaPlata, Maryland, where he began his coaching career.

In 1958 he married Rita Shigo and moved to Roselle, New Jersey , where he continued to teach and coach football.

In 1962 Frank returned to Pennsylvania to teach Latin and English at Tamaqua High School. In 1963 his career brought him home to Coaldale and he coached along with Geno Poli and Tom Raymer during what was to be the last year of Coaldale High School's existence.

In 1964 upon the formation of the Panther Valley Jointure, he became as assistant under Rich Davidyock. In 1966 Frank took over the reigns as head coach of the Panther Valley High School (PVHS) football program and compiled an impressive 9 - 1 record. During this season the Panthers defeated rival schools Tamaqua and Ashland but their most memorable victory came in a 40 - 13 upset over the highly touted Blue Mountain Eagles. His overall record as head coach was 19 - 9 at PVHS.

Over the next several years, Frank continued to coach football along with his long time friends Joe Pilconis, Vince Spisak, John Harkins, and Trevor Lawrence.

In addition to coaching football, he enjoyed coaching track and cross country. In 1981, he accompanied members of his famous "Masada Squad" to the PIAA State Championship in 1981.

Upon his retirement from teaching at Panther Valley, Frank kept involved with the sports he loved by volunteering for the Cardinal Brennan football program and the Marian Catholic track program.

Known as "Coach" throughout his life to his players and colleagues, he will always be remembered as a model of quiet strength to his children and grandchildren.