George Guido: Harrison’s Tom Stabile to be inducted into National Italian-American Sports HOF

By: George Guido
Saturday, July 23, 2022 | 5:46 PM

Congratulations to retired NFL official and Harrison Township resident Tom Stabile, who will be inducted into the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame.

The banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at LaMont Restaurant on Mount Washington.

It will be the chapter’s 35th induction ceremony.

Stabile graduated from Tarentum High School in 1964 and started his officiating career while a student at Slippery Rock. He was looking for some extra money to buy clothes — and the rest is history.

His resume in stripes includes 20 seasons in the NFL, retiring in 2015 after working the Pro Bowl. Stabile worked Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 and numerous NFL playoff games and high-profile contests such as Monday Night Football.

Stabile worked an extraordinary amount of WPIAL and PIAA games in football, basketball and baseball, including championship games in all three sports,

For more than 30 years, Stabile was an educator in the Highlands School District, finishing his career as middle school principal.

Stabile was inducted into the Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the WPIAL and Slippery Rock halls of fame.

He will be inducted with Jimmy Restauri, an Altoona High School graduate who was a three-time national boxing champion at Penn State from 1977-79.

Previous inductees in the Pittsburgh Chapter include Bruno Sammartino, Dan Marino and Franco Harris.

Basil Russo, president of the Italian Sons and Daughters of America, also is scheduled to speak.

Tickets are $100 per person. For more information, log on to the organization’s website: niashf.org/Pittsburgh.

WPIAL all-stars

Mars graduate David Bednar, representing the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Mt. Lebanon graduate Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs made appearances in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium.

It marked the first time since 2001 that two players from WPIAL schools were all-star teammates. That season, Beaver Area’s John Burkett of the San Francisco Giants and “The Mayor,” Upper St. Clair’s Sean Casey of the Cincinnati Reds, were on the National League squad.

In 1965, Wampum’s Dick Allen of the Phillies was on the National League team and Central Catholic’s Sam McDowell (Indians) was part of the American League team, but Central Catholic wasn’t a WPIAL member at the time.

The only graduate of a WPIAL school to win All-Star Game MVP was Donora’s Ken Griffey Sr. in 1980.

Knoch on the road

For the first time since 1957, all Knoch football games will be on the road as Knoch Knights Stadium is undergoing renovations that will include installation of artificial turf.

The Knights, under new coach Tim Burchett, will play “home” games at Butler on Sept. 23 and Oct. 28 at Art Bernardi Stadium and its “Homecoming” game Oct. 7 at Deer Lakes’ Lancers Stadium.

Since Knoch already has a regularly-scheduled away game Sept. 30 at Deer Lakes, it will mark a strange situation in which the Knights will have out-of-town games at the same site two consecutive weeks.

In 1956 and ’57, Knoch, then known as South Butler High School, played all its games on the road because its temporary building in Winfield Township had a football field that was only 90 yards long.

Knoch had two home games in 1957 at Butler’s Pullman Park.

By 1958, Knoch started playing at its present high school venue.