George Guido: Remembering A-K Valley war hero, football legend

By: George Guido
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 | 5:30 PM

Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion on the shores of Normandy, France, that ultimately turned the tide of World War II.

A number of athletes and celebrities were among the invading Allied troops, including future baseball great Yogi Berra, actor Henry Fonda and late KDKA-TV news anchor Bill Burns.

Many from the Alle-Kiski Valley were part of the invasion, and Arnold native Al Demao was one of them.

Demao was a lineman for Arnold and starred at Duquesne when the Dukes played at the highest Division I level. He was a senior at Duquesne and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the 11th round of the NFL Draft.

But on Dec. 7, 1941, after the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Demao, like many young American men, enlisted in the Navy, even though he was a semester away from graduation.

Demao quickly rose through the ranks to lieutenant.

On D-Day, he made nine courageous landings on the beaches of Normandy, ferrying troops in a transport boat. In a 2002 interview with the Valley News Dispatch, Demao recalled on completing the seventh trip, the landing plank was stuck in the sand. He got out of the boat and dislodged the landing plank while Nazi bullets whizzed overhead.

After the war, Demao joined the Redskins for the final five games of the 1945 regular season. Washington made the playoffs but lost to the then-Cleveland Rams.

He played eight more seasons with the Redskins as a center and a linebacker. Most NFL players went both ways at the time.

The 1938 Arnold graduate made the Pro Bowl in 1950 and ’52. He founded the Redskins Alumni Association in 1957.

He was inducted into the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.

On Oct. 27, 2002, he was honored at FedEx Field as a member of the franchise’s all-time team.

Demao died of pneumonia on Feb. 1, 2008, at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md.

A side note on Demao: He was a leap year baby, born Feb. 29, 1920.

No three-sport champ

With the elimination of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the quarterfinal round of the WPIAL baseball playoffs, it means once again, no WPIAL school has ever won titles in football, basketball and baseball in the same academic year.

After defeating Rochester in the Class A football finals at Heinz Field, OLSH knocked off Serra Catholic in the basketball title game at Petersen Events Center.

The Chargers baseball team got off to a 10-1 start and was seeded fifth in the WPIAL playoffs with a 17-2 mark. But OLSH lost in walk-off fashion to eventual champion Seton La Salle.

The three schools that have come closest to the WPIAL triumvirate are Clairton in the 1988-89 school year, Shady Side Academy in 1997-98 and Serra Catholic in 2007-08.

Those three schools won football and basketball championships, only to lose in the baseball semifinals.

Yoast dies

Bill Yoast, former football coach at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., died recently.

Yoast was portrayed by actor Will Patton in the movie “Remember the Titans.”

Yoast, who was 94, coached at all-white Francis C. Hammond High School before Alexandria moved to integrate in 1971. He worked as defensive coordinator under coach Herman Boone, famously portrayed by Denzel Washington in the movie.

The relationship between Yoast and Boone was a key part of the 2000 film.

The Titans went on to win the Virginia state championship that season, finishing the year with an undefeated record.

Yoast coached football until his retirement in 1990.

Alexander City Schools confirmed his death in a news release.