Perseverance paid off for Uniontown grad Warman
Perseverance and persistence are admirable qualities in life and athletics. Former Uniontown High School basketball player Bob Warman, who played for the Red Raiders in the early 1960s, is a classic example.
Here is what the late Uniontown 无毛视频-Standard sports editor Tod Trent wrote in his column on March 19, 1964 about former Raider cagers Paul Krieger and Warman.
无毛视频淎thletic maturity comes at various stages of a boy无毛视频檚 development. Some, like Ron Sepic or Ray Parson, mature at an early age.
无毛视频淥thers are slower. Stuart Lantz would come under the latter grouping. His development from his junior to senior year of high school defies description.
无毛视频淏ut it shows what a boy can do if he无毛视频檚 willing to work at his particular athletic talent. The Uniontown leaper has become a spectacular basketball player.
无毛视频淚t brings to mind a couple of other Uniontown athletes of recent vintage who kept right on working at their basketball proficiency after graduation and how it has paid off.
无毛视频淭hey are Paul Krieger and Bob Warman. It almost seems as though they are following identical patterns.
无毛视频淜rieger just completed his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh where he earned starting status as a freshman and then played three years as a varsity regular for the Panthers.
无毛视频淧aul was only a reserve for Uniontown High School. But he kept right on practicing and developing his junior and senior years and played in the NCAA and NIT tournaments for the Panthers.
无毛视频淲arman was in the same category for the Raiders. He was a reserve through his junior and senior seasons, never started for the Maroon and White.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 been a different story as a collegian. He无毛视频檚 a freshman this year at Arizona Western College in Yuma, AZ and he无毛视频檚 growing up with the school.
无毛视频淭his is Arizona Western无毛视频檚 first year in existence so it played strictly a freshman schedule. It will graduate into varsity competition next year although it will have no one more advanced than a sophomore.
无毛视频淭he starting center for the Arizona Western Matadors was Warman and the former Uniontown High School athlete has stretched up to around the 6-6 mark in height.无毛视频�
Warman didn无毛视频檛 see a lot of playing time with the Red Raiders, but he continued to work hard he explained recently.
无毛视频淥h yeah, I had to. They wouldn无毛视频檛 let you do anything else,无毛视频� Warman said. 无毛视频淚f you wanted to play ball for Abe Everhart, and this goes back to junior high at Ben Franklin. I followed Ron Sepic all the way through. We went to Craig School together, we went to BF together and we went to Uniontown together. We all played ball together all those years and when we got to Uniontown Ron was first team and if anything happened to Ron they put me in. Very seldom did I get in unless we had a big lead. Back in the day Uniontown would get so far ahead they would take guys out and just rest them.无毛视频�
Warman was on the 1962 team that posted a 29-2 record on its way to a PIAA state championship. Uniontown faced Norristown in the title game and notched a convincing 70-57 win. It was the Red Raiders无毛视频� first state championship in 37 years. Warman scored eight points for the year including four points in the Red Raiders 70-56 WPIAL playoff win over Stowe.
无毛视频淲e had two teams, not just one team, we had two teams,无毛视频� Warman recalled. 无毛视频淯sually we would get so far ahead, we had more talent than most of the teams that we played against.无毛视频�
Uniontown had lost to Bethleham on Jan. 27, 1962 and the Red Raiders went on to win 36 games in a row before the ran into John Naponick and Norwin in the 1963 WPIAL basketball playoffs.
Warman was a senior on the 1963 squad that suffered what is regarded as the biggest upset in WPIAL history. Naponick tallied 30 points as the Knights shocked the Red Raiders 61-50. The Red Raiders ended the season with a record of 22-1.
无毛视频淲e had good players up and down the lineup,无毛视频� Warman lamented. 无毛视频淭hat was a tough loss.无毛视频�
Warman looks back with great fondness at the Uniontown playground system.
无毛视频淲e lived on the playgrounds back in those days,无毛视频� Warman said. 无毛视频淭here was great talent day in and day out playing on the playgrounds in Uniontown.无毛视频�
Warman also played in the Uniontown Church League.
无毛视频淚 played for Asbury.无毛视频� Warman stated. 无毛视频淚 had the opportunity to play against one the best in George Bortz. He was an outstanding player.无毛视频�
When Warman graduated from Uniontown in 1963 he was surprised to hear from Arizona Western College.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know who sent my resume out West,无毛视频� Warman explained. 无毛视频淭hey contacted me and believe me my mouth dropped open. Back in those days my family didn无毛视频檛 have any money so it was my opportunity to go to college.无毛视频�
Arizona Western posted a record of 13-9 under coach Marion Moss in the lone year Warman played. He averaged 4.7 ppg.
无毛视频淐oach Moss played a slow, mechanical style,无毛视频� Warman said. 无毛视频淪ome of the players we had from back East left. I didn无毛视频檛 play as a sophomore and returned to Uniontown when grandfather passed away. I went into the Air Force for four years and played some basketball in the service.无毛视频�
Warman left the Air Force in 1969 and attended California University of Pennsylvania for a little over a year. He worked in Ohio in construction. He worked in the Steel Mill and then worked at Fox Grocery for 30 years and retired.
Now 75, Warman and his wife of 45-plus years Lorna reside in Uniontown. They have two sons, Brett and Lee.
Looking back, athletics was a big part of Warman无毛视频檚 life.
无毛视频淎thletics teaches you life lessons,无毛视频� Warman stated.
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.