Memory Lane: Lester Cohen slated for Jewish Hall of Fame induction
Shrouded by the mists of time former Uniontown High School and University of Pittsburgh basketball standout Lester Cohen is slated to be inducted posthumously into the Jewish 无毛视频 Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania on May 5.
The Cohen family is thrilled with the honor.
无毛视频淲e were very honored that he would be considered,无毛视频� nephew Miles Cohen stated. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 about 50,000 Jewish people in Pittsburgh, 2% of the population, and for him to be in an organization and the fact that there are a lot of significant people in the Hall of Fame 无毛视频� it is a terrific honor for the family.无毛视频�
In 1925 Uniontown High School captured its first WPIAL and PIAA basketball titles. The Red Raiders were powered by one of their all-time greats, Charley Hyatt. At the University of Pittsburgh, Hyatt sparked the Panthers to two national championships in 1928 and 1930. Another and probably lesser known member of those great Uniontown and Pitt teams also hailed from Uniontown: Lester B. Cohen, a tall (6-foot-3), lanky center who was a star in his own right.
Cohen was the wing man for Hyatt, but fashioned an outstanding high school career at Uniontown. He excelled in football, basketball and track for the Red Raiders. The highlight of his high school career was the 1924-25 basketball squad, dubbed the 无毛视频淔ive Horseman.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚nitially, I believe, The Jewish 无毛视频 Hall of Fame read about Lester无毛视频檚 induction into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame,无毛视频� Miles Cohen said. 无毛视频淎lan Mallinger, secretary for The Jewish 无毛视频 Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania, called me and said, 无毛视频榃ould you like to nominate your uncle?无毛视频� And I said sure. A lot of it piggybacked on what the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame decided to do for Les.无毛视频�
Cohen was inducted into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame in 2022. He was the subject of a Memory Lane column in 2013. Following is an excerpt from that column.
In 1925 Uniontown cruised to a WPIAL title and PIAA title. The Red Raiders went into the national scholastic tournament in Chicago and defeated Greeley, Colorado in the first round, 26-11. In the quarterfinals the Red Raiders downed Lake View, Illinois, 29-11. In the semifinals against a much taller team from Wichita, Kansas the horsemen were defeated, 42-21. In 33 games played that season the horsemen were 31-2. In addition to the loss to Wichita they lost to the Pitt freshman team. Uniontown won 31 of the 33 games during a campaign that stretched over 105 days.
The Red Raiders of the 无毛视频�24-25 vintage tallied a total of 1,429 points against 615 given up for the combined opposition. Although it was an era of possession basketball Uniontown topped the 50-point figure in 13 games that season. Hyatt led the point parade with 429 points. Cohen registered 296.
Uniontown无毛视频檚 1926 team repeated as WPIAL champions, but lost in the state tournament.
The Red Raiders were coached by A.J. Everhart Sr., who passed away at the age of 54 on August 28, 1942.
At the time, Cohen had high praise for his old coach.
无毛视频淗e was always a guiding influence in the lives of all young men with whom he came in contact,无毛视频� Cohen said. 无毛视频淢en like Coach Everhart so greatly aided in the preparation of young men for this great emergency 无毛视频� the war for freedom.无毛视频�
Following graduation, Cohen played freshman ball at West Virginia University before transferring to Pitt and rejoining Hyatt.
Together they ushered in a great era of Pitt basketball. In 1928, Cohen无毛视频檚 sophomore season, the Panthers went undefeated with a record of 21-0 and were declared the consensus national champions. During the season, they outscored their opponents, 1001-672.
Led by Coach 无毛视频淒oc无毛视频� Carlson, the Panthers were a disciplined and patient, but high-scoring, squad. During the 1929 season, they played their first four games on the road in the Midwest. Their first game was against Butler, where Cohen, who was a starter at guard, scored a team-high 12 points, but the Panthers lost the game, 35-33. The Panthers lost their next two games but won 16 of their final 18 games (including the last seven of the season) to finish the year with a record of 16-5.
In 1930, Cohen was joined on the Pittsburgh varsity by his brother Milt Cohen. Led by Lester and All-America Hyatt, the Panthers won their first 12 games of the season, including contests in the west against Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Montana State. A mid-season loss to Syracuse proved to be only a speed bump, as the Panthers won 11 of their final 12 games to finish the season with a record of 23-2. For the second time in three years, they were declared national champions.
Cohen played guard, forward and center for the Panthers and was described at the time as Pitt无毛视频檚 all-time best center.
Looking back years later in an article in the Uniontown Evening-Standard, Cohen compared the present-day game with the roundball tactics of yesterday.
无毛视频淭he emphasis today is on scoring,无毛视频� Cohen stated. 无毛视频淭he kids spend many hours each day in their backyards, in the alley, on the street corner or the playground learning to shoot.
无毛视频淎lso thanks to the improvements in nutrition, medicine and physical training, the athletes of today are bigger, faster and more agile than they were in my day.无毛视频�
He also cited the abundance of good coaches and the changes in the rules of the game. Cohen pointed out that in his day the emphasis was on ball handling and defense.
无毛视频淲e had some 35-40 plays, some of which were designed strictly to please the crowd with fancy hall-handling and passing,无毛视频� Cohen said.
Basketball wasn无毛视频檛 Cohen无毛视频檚 only activity at Pitt. Cohen was on the football squad for two seasons and the track squad for two seasons.
Cohen considered going to New York and pursuing a career in the theater following his graduation from Pitt, but returned to Uniontown and became executive vice president of Cohen Furniture of Uniontown, and president of Cohen Furniture Co., Brownsville.
He remained a fixture in the Uniontown business community for many years, serving as president of the Uniontown Jewish Community Center, the Uniontown Zionist organization, Temple Israel, the Uniontown United Jewish Federation and the Unionlown B无毛视频檔ai B无毛视频檙ith Lodge. Cohen无毛视频檚 activities also included: president of Dandy Dudes 无毛视频 Club; Jaycee award; president Uniontown High School Lettermen无毛视频檚 Club and Uniontown High School Booster Club; president Uniontown Exchange Club, president Uniontown Playhouse, six times; president retail division Chamber of Commerce, and four times President Salvation Army Advisory Board. He also was known as Uniontown无毛视频檚 favorite toastmaster and did a lot of work on local radio, including some sportscasting duties.
In 1964 Cohen was named the Letterman of Distinction by the University of Pittsburgh Varsity Letterman无毛视频檚 Club. When Cohen furniture closed in 1971 he briefly lived in Pittsburgh and then moved to Florida and Birmingham, Alabama. He passed away in 1989 at the age of 82.
无毛视频淣o question Lester is very deserving of enshrinement in The Jewish 无毛视频 Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania,无毛视频� Mallinger explained. 无毛视频淗is name came to light because of his induction into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame. We have an induction committee and we try to do the research, but a lot of our senior members have stepped aside or passed away. When we see someone who is worth like Lester getting inducted into another Hall of Fame we feel slighted and we wanted to give him the honor he deserves.无毛视频�
The Jewish 无毛视频 Hall Of Fame of Western Pa. was founded in 1982 and, besides Cohen, 2024 Inductees, awardees and honorees include: Bary Dunn (basketball), Niki Willams (basketball), Ben Roth will receive the Ziggy Kahn Award, Brett Keisel will receive the Manny Gold Humanitarian Award and this year they will also honor the 1988 & 1989 JCC CYO City and State Championship Teams.
无毛视频淚t feels good to see Lester getting this recognition,无毛视频� Miles Cohen offered. 无毛视频淭here is the element of minority that eluded to back in the day when the schools had quotas, he went to West Virginia because Pitt and a lot of other universities had quotas not just Jewish people, but minorities and it opened up for him to transfer to Pitt. Especially in light of everything that is going on today the family was super proud of this honor.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.