Plevin excelled in three sports
Former Fairchance-Georges standout Tom Plevin is a throwback to a different era when athletes didn无毛视频檛 concentrate on one sport, but played several.
Plevin excelled on the gridiron, the hardwood and the baseball diamond for the Runners in the 1960无毛视频檚.
无毛视频淚 lettered three years in each sport,无毛视频� Plevin recalled. 无毛视频淎t that time we didn无毛视频檛 have freshman football eligibility, but I did play for the junior high team starting in the eighth grade.无毛视频�
Plevin was a part of some competitive Fairchance-Georges football squads that posted records of 6-3 in 1962, 4-4 in 1963 and 1-7 in 1964.
Plevin started out as an offensive lineman, but was switched to fullback his senior year. He scored two touchdowns in the Runners无毛视频� lone win in 1964, a 26-6 victory over South Union.
无毛视频淚 got clipped in that game against South Union by a childhood friend, Fred Sauers,无毛视频� Plevin stated. 无毛视频淗e was the punter for South Union, he clipped me and I didn无毛视频檛 know it at the time, I felt something snap, he took out my ACL and PCL. I played the rest of the season, I didn无毛视频檛 miss a game. Doc Umbel over on Dixon Boulevard got me ready. They taped me up and he taught the manager how to tape me. I was taped for every practice and every game. He gave me an exercise program that built up the quads and it pulled the knee joint tighter and I wore a brace.
无毛视频淚 played offensive guard and defensive end my first two years at Fairchance-Georges, I started as a defensive end as a sophomore. I was 165 pounds as a sophomore, about 180 as a junior and went to 195 as a senior. When they switched me to fullback I still played defensive end. I loved the defensive end position and I loved playing defense. I liked playing fullback and I scored three touchdowns that year. I think I would have done a lot better had I not been injured.无毛视频�
Plevin enjoyed playing for his football coach at Fairchance-Georges, Joe Barkley.
无毛视频淗e was fair and he gave a lot of guys opportunities to play,无毛视频� Plevin said. 无毛视频淗e wasn无毛视频檛 afraid to play young kids.无毛视频�
Plevin also played basketball for the Runners on teams that went 8-12 in 1962-63, 1-18 in 1963-64 and 5-16 in 1964-65. He scored 13 points in limited action in 1962-63, tallied 117 points as a junior and had 181 points during his senior season.
无毛视频淭he high school burned down my junior year when we went 1-18,无毛视频� Plevin recalled. 无毛视频淲e practiced and played our games at German Township High School. I played one year for Tamer Joseph and two years for Tom Marano.无毛视频�
Fairchance-Georges had a pretty good baseball team when Plevin was in high school. Plevin was a first baseman who also was a Fayette County American Legion All-Star.
无毛视频淭amer Joseph was an excellent coach and I don无毛视频檛 think he gets enough credit for what he did,无毛视频� Plevin opined. 无毛视频淗e was the baseball coach and unfortunately we didn无毛视频檛 play in the WPIAL, we played in what they called the Fayette County Baseball League, it was us, North Union, South Union, St. John无毛视频檚 and Frazier. We won three championships during my sophomore, junior and senior years. We had good baseball teams. We were known for our baseball.无毛视频�
When Plevin graduated from Fairchance-Georges in 1965, he wound up going to Maryland along with two other Fayette County players: Larry Vince from Brownsville and Ron Maletta from Redstone.
无毛视频淢aryland and the Air Force Academy were recruiting me,无毛视频� Plevin explained. 无毛视频淚 had a chance to go to the Air Force Academy. Ben Martin called me after I had signed with Maryland and he said he had a congressional appointment for me. I signed with Maryland because of assistant coach Hal Hunter. He was a great guy and pointed out all the advantages of going to Maryland.无毛视频�
Plevin played freshman football at Maryland in 1965.
无毛视频淲e had a very good freshman team,无毛视频� Plevin said. 无毛视频淚 think we were 4-1-1. Tom Nugent was the head coach when I was a freshman. Then Lou Saban was there my sophomore year, he was probably the best coach I ever had. He went to the Denver Broncos and Bob Ward became the coach.无毛视频�
Plevin played on Terp squads that posted records of 4-6 in 1966, 0-9 in 1967 and 2-8 in 1968.
无毛视频淚 hurt my knee against Syracuse in 1967,无毛视频� Plevin recalled. 无毛视频淚 missed the next game against North Carolina State and after surgery they taped me up and I played on goal line and some other situations the rest of the way and then came back to start as a senior. In 1967, it was a disaster and the losing continued. To suffer through 16 consecutive losses was probably the most down I无毛视频檝e ever been in sports. We lost our quarterback, Alan Pastrana, for the entire season in 1967, that turned everything upside down. We snapped the losing streak against North Carolina, beating them, 33-24.无毛视频�
Plevin, who played defensive tackle and defensive end, won the Jim Tatum Memorial Award as the Terps无毛视频� top defensive lineman in 1968.
无毛视频淚t was a great honor,无毛视频� Plevin stated. 无毛视频淭wo Fayette County guys have won that award; me and Tom Sankovich.无毛视频�
Plevin was pleased with his career at Maryland.
无毛视频淚t a great choice to go to Maryland,无毛视频� Plevin offered. 无毛视频淚 got a great education and got a business degree and really enjoyed my time there.无毛视频�
After graduating from Maryland, Plevin went into the banking business with American Securities and Trust Company. He went in to business with his wife at that time, her uncle in Florida, and was in the restaurant and bar business. He did that from 1974 to 1986. In 1986, he went to work for Waste Management in Florida and was with them for 20 years until he had a massive heart attack.
无毛视频淚 had five blocked arteries,无毛视频� Plevin said. 无毛视频淭en days of my life I don无毛视频檛 remember, they restarted me five times. I was in Clarksburg, West Virginia at the time and was lifeflighted to Ruby Memorial Hospital. I beat the odds and survived.无毛视频�
Plevin, 68, is retired and divorced, and living in Uniontown. He has two children from previous marriages and has two grandchildren.
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Monday 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.