Zell is a throwback to a different era
At 97 years old, Jim Zell is a true marvel and a throwback to a different era of sports.
无毛视频淚 have Macular degeneration,无毛视频� Zell said. 无毛视频淏ut, I can do everything but read and drive. I无毛视频檓 a veteran from World War II, so the VA gave me a big machine, a viewing machine so I can do all the reading that I want to do, but I do everything else. I still play golf.无毛视频�
Originally form Monongahela, and a 1935 graduate of Monongahela High School, Zell didn无毛视频檛 play football in high school because the coaches thought he was too small.
无毛视频淲e were in Section 5 of the WPIAL back then,无毛视频� Zell recalled. 无毛视频淲e were with Brownsville, California, Donora, Monessen and Charleroi. I played basketball, the coach wouldn无毛视频檛 let me play football. I was too small at 5-foot-9 and 140 pounds. We were pretty competitive in basketball.无毛视频�
Zell said basketball has changed dramatically from his playing days.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a little different,无毛视频� Zell offered. 无毛视频淭hey grow them tall. When we played, if you were 6-foot tall you were automatically the center.无毛视频�
When Zell graduated from Monongahela he was searching for a school to play football and basketball and continue his education.
无毛视频淢y older brother Olin and I went over Saint Vincent College and tried out for the football team,无毛视频� Zell recalled. 无毛视频淭hey wanted us to turn Catholic, but my grandfather was a Baptist preacher, so that wasn无毛视频檛 going to work.无毛视频�
Another big change from Zell无毛视频檚 era to the way things are today, it无毛视频檚 against NCAA rules to workout a player at a tryout.
无毛视频淣o, you can无毛视频檛 do that,无毛视频� Zell stated. 无毛视频淲e worked out at Saint Vincent. No pads or anything like that, but we worked out. I played a lot of sandlot ball and I was going to be a running back at my size.无毛视频�
Zell turned his attention to California University of Pennsylvania.
无毛视频淢y dad was a railroad man,无毛视频� Zell said. 无毛视频淚 got on the train two weeks after school had started and I went up and walked into the coaches office and told him that I wanted to play football and basketball. He said let无毛视频檚 try you out and he gave me a uniform, and I started going to school at Cal.无毛视频�
Zell has found memories of the Cal head football and basketball coach 无毛视频淲ild Bill无毛视频� Steers.
无毛视频淗e was quite a guy,无毛视频� Zell said. 无毛视频淎 side note for him, he played in the 1920 Rose Bowl for the Oregon Ducks. He kicked a 25-yard drop kick field goal in a 7-6 loss to Harvard.无毛视频�
From 1935 through 1939, Zell was a four-year letterman in both football and basketball and a two-year letterman in tennis for Cal.
A halfback who was also a deft passer, Zell led the football team in scoring in 1937 and 1938. He scored the only touchdown in Cal无毛视频檚 6-0 win over Slippery Rock in 1937, which was the Vulcan无毛视频檚 first triumph over their nearby rivals since 1922.
无毛视频淲e ran the single wing,无毛视频� Zell remembers. 无毛视频淚f you were in the backfield you had to be able to punt, pass, run and block in our offense. I caught a fourth down 9-yard touchdown pass from Cliff Naylor in that win over Slippery Rock. That was the first game played at the new Monessen High School Stadium. We played that game in near ankle-deep mud.无毛视频�
Zell helped the Cal basketball team produce three straight winning seasons from 1935 through 1937 with records of 7-5, 10-4 and 11-5 and was the tri-state district无毛视频檚 17th-leading scorer in 1938. The Cal-Monoca labeled Zell, 无毛视频淭he best all-round player on the flying circus cagers.无毛视频�
He was the tennis team无毛视频檚 second-seeded singles player during his senior year.
无毛视频淏asketball was my sport,无毛视频� Zell stated. 无毛视频淚 continued to play basketball for 23 years, overseas I played for the American All-Stars in Paris against the French All-Stars. I also played on the European Theater championship team in 1944-45 while the war was going on.无毛视频�
Zell also played tennis and he picked that up in his hometown.
无毛视频淲e had a court in the park in Monongahela,无毛视频� Zell reported. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know my favorite sport was always in season. I enjoyed tennis and I played that until I was an old man in my 80s.无毛视频�
Independent Basketball was a big part of Zell无毛视频檚 resume.
无毛视频淧laying independent basketball for the Pizzica Garagemen was a big thrill,无毛视频� Zell said. 无毛视频淭hat team was considered one of the best independent teams in the Tri-State area. We had some great players on that team, great athletes from the past like Rab Currie, Monessen无毛视频檚 best, Jim Conte, Monongahela无毛视频檚 best, and Stan Musial, Donora无毛视频檚 best.无毛视频�
Zell earned his B.S. in education from Cal U in 1939. Zell无毛视频檚 first job after his impressive collegiate days was as an English and social studies teacher in South Hill, Va., where he also coached football, basketball and baseball. Zell later worked for the Ford Motor Company and toured the country giving speeches. Always active with athletics, Zell was a two-year all-star in a professional league in Richmond, Virginia.
无毛视频淚 played for the Richmond Bams a semi-pro basketball team,无毛视频� Zell explained. 无毛视频淚 made almost as much playing basketball on Sundays as I did teaching. Bams Jewelry store was the sponsor.无毛视频�
Living in Florida for many years, he retired as a manufacturer representative, who also owned his own engine parts warehouse business.
无毛视频淚 moved to Orlando in 1946,无毛视频� Zell said. 无毛视频淚 also was in real estate for four or five years. I officially retired in 1992.
Zell and his wife Imogene resided in West Palm Beach, Florida. They were married 53 years before she passed away in 2001. She had a son and he had a step-son. Zell has three grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Zell continues to comeback regularly to Cal U basketball alumni events. He was inducted into the California University of Pennsylvania Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.
无毛视频淚 tell them I无毛视频檓 coming back every year as long as I can move,无毛视频� Zell stated. 无毛视频淚 love Cal U and always will.无毛视频�