Longtime Oliver football coach Zeglowitsch joins City League Hall of Fame

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 15, 2018 | 9:21 PM

Joe Zeglowitsch could have heard the call from the City League High School Hall of Fame sooner.

The problem was no one knew how to get in touch with the 1967 Perry graduate.

“I thought they were playing games with me,” Zelgowitsch said. “I asked them who put them up to this? They said you would have been in sooner if we had your phone number and address.”

Zeglowitsch has been helping the Shaler football program for the past two seasons as an assistant under James Ryan. It’s the continuation of a long career, dating to his days as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater in 1972.

Zeglowitsch wanted to get involved at Shaler thanks to Ryan. When Zeglowitsch was running an all-star game pitting City League players against players from the Northern Area Football Coaches Association, he had a difficult time finding volunteer coaches.

Ryan always wanted to help out. So Zeglowitsch said if Ryan ever needed help, he would do what he could. Zeglowitsch was happy to be along for the ride as the Titans finished 4-7 and made the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

“Absolutely, they are turning a corner,” Zeglowitsch said. “Jimmy is a dynamic man. He is a ball of fire. I tried to settle him down, or else he’s going to try and have surgery like me. Those kids know he’s legit. He played at Shaler and wants to get it back to like it once was.”

Rebuilding after lean years isn’t a foreign concept to Zeglowitsch.

He left his mark at the now-defunct Oliver, leading the Bears to a 97-84-5 record in 19 seasons. During his tenure, Oliver had its best season in 2006, finishing 11-3 and winning its first City League title since 1942. That Bears’ squad went on to win its first state playoff game — a one-point thriller against Hollidaysburg — before bowing out with a loss to General McLane in the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals.

How his time at Oliver started allowed him to fit in at Shaler. Numbers improved for the Titans this year but nothing compared to how Zeglowitsch’s tenure at Oliver started in 1987.

“I came over and met the principal, and he said, ‘Your team is out back,’ ” Zeglowitsch said. “I went over, and there were a bunch of kids in the stands, and I asked, ‘When are the other kids going to get here?’ They said this is all of us. They were my magnificent 13.”

Being involved with this group of Titans was a joy for Zeglowitsch.

“It was great,” he said. “It was a good fit. The kids are phenomenal. They are a howl. That’s what it is all about: for the kids. Jimmy is kind enough to let me make a suggestion here or there sometimes.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler