Vintage Viking: Mt. Pleasant grad Gorinski headed to WPIAL Hall of Fame
Submitted photo
Bob Gorinski (left) is shown with his late father Clarence Gorinski prior to the WPIAL baseball championship game at Forbes Field in 1970. The Vikings defeated Bethel Park in extra innings, 4-2. Gorinski had three hits, including a double, in the game.
Submitted photo
Bob Gorinski is shown in his Mount Pleasant High School uniform wearing No. 35 during his senior season of 1969.
Submitted photo
Mt. Pleasant graduate Bob Gorinski is depicted on a 1978 Topps baseball card when he played for the Minnesota Twins.
Bob Gorinski is a larger-than-life figure in the history of Mount Pleasant High School athletics.
Gorinski, who excelled in baseball and football for the Vikings in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was pleased to receive word that he will be inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as part of a 16-member class on May 27.
无毛视频淚 was very excited,无毛视频� Gorinski stated. 无毛视频淚 thought it was quite an honor. It is nice to be remembered after all these years. You know I never got inducted into any Hall of Fame. When I was young I really didn无毛视频檛 think about it, but now that I无毛视频檓 older it无毛视频檚 nice to be remembered.无毛视频�
Gorinski is part of a WPIAL Hall of Fame class that includes Highlands无毛视频� Micah Mason (basketball), Kittanning无毛视频檚 Jason Nolf (wrestling), Penn Hills无毛视频� Dion Bentley (track and field), Frazier无毛视频檚 Chad Salisbury (football/baseball/basketball), Peters Township无毛视频檚 Brian Simmons (baseball), Oakland Catholic无毛视频檚 Mallory Dietrich (swimming) and Brianne O无毛视频橰ourke (basketball), Hempfield softball coach Bob Kalp and Kiski Area wrestling coach Chuck Tursky.
The heritage selection was Connellsville无毛视频檚 Johnny Lujack, a multisport high school athlete who won the Heisman Trophy playing college football at Notre Dame in 1947.
Also picked for induction is WPIAL contributor Ruth Ann Burke, who organized the Western Pennsylvania Girls Athletic League in the 1960s, and Ron Tyburski, who officiated 14 WPIAL championship games (six basketball, five baseball, three football) and works as a game official for NCAA basketball.
The teams selected for induction were the 1989-90 Aliquippa girls basketball team that won consecutive WPIAL and state titles and the 2011 Mars girls soccer team that went 25-0-1 while winning WPIAL and PIAA gold.
Norwin graduate Sydney Willig was chosen as the Courage Award winner. Willig battled with cystic fibrosis to play high school soccer, and now at Geneva College.
Gorinski certainly has the credentials to be included with this prestigious group.
He rewrote the record books as a fullback for the Vikings. He became the first player from Mount Pleasant to earn a first team All State berth, being selected by United Press International after the 1969 season.
The Vikings, under Coach Ben Malesky, posted 5-5 records in 1967 and 1968. In Gorinski无毛视频檚 senior season the Vikings finished 6-3, their best record since 1961 when they posted a 7-3 season.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Gorinski played three varsity season of football for Mount Pleasant.
无毛视频淲hen I was a sophomore and junior I played some defensive back,无毛视频� Gorinski remembered. 无毛视频淲hen I was a senior I only played offense and was a fullback all three seasons.无毛视频�
Gorinski rushed for 3,447 yards in his high school career on 543 carries and had a phenomenal 6.1 yard rushing average. In addition he caught 29 passes for 821 yards and returned 28 kickoffs for 590 yards. That adds up to a total of 4,858 yards gained in three years.
In three seasons Gorinski scored 54 touchdowns and kicked one extra point for 325 points scored in his career. The lone extra point was a big one for the Vikings, coming in the first game of the 1969 season and being the deciding edge in a 7-6 win over Latrobe.
Gorinski was All Foothills Conference for two seasons. He was the Foothills Conference most valuable back in 1969. He earned all WPIAL and All Westmoreland County honors and was am honorable mention High School All American.
As good as Gorinski was in football, he was a towering figure on the baseball diamond. He was the regular shortstop on the Mount Pleasant baseball squad coached by his late father Clarence for three seasons. He also played for the Mount Pleasant American Legion teams coached by Mike Sibal and Harry Berger. Gorinski helped the legion team win one Westmoreland County championship and reach the regional semifinals.
Gorinski in 21 games as a senior batted .515 with eight home runs and led Mount Pleasant to the WPIAL title. The Vikings beat Bethel Park 4-2 in extra innings at Forbes Field. Gorinski went 3-for-4 in the championship game, including a scoreboard-rattling double.
无毛视频淲e could hit, we had a very good hitting team,无毛视频� Gorinski opined. 无毛视频淎t the beginning of that championship season we started out 1-3 and my dad wasn无毛视频檛 happy and neither were we. We ended up 18-3 and in the playoffs we were playing bigger schools. We played Brownsville in the first game and I ended up hitting a two-run home run and we ended up winning 2-0.
无毛视频淥ur team really started getting good the year before when we won District 31 in legion ball. It was a good experience and set the stage for our senior year. Playing at Forbes was a thrill. Since we were kids we had always dreamed of playing at Forbes Field. I had a good game in the championship game with two singles and a double. That was probably the most fun I ever had playing baseball.无毛视频�
Playing baseball for his father was a unique experience for Gorinski.
无毛视频淲hen he was head coach he was tough,无毛视频� Gorinski said. 无毛视频淗e liked to have fun, but when it came time to work he was tough.无毛视频�
After his senior season in football, Gorinski, after sifting through more than 100 college offers, decided to sign with Penn State.
无毛视频淏ack then they didn无毛视频檛 have the rule about five college visits,无毛视频� Gorinski stated. 无毛视频淚 went to probably eight or 10 schools for visits. My dad played at Penn State on the undefeated Cotton Bowl team in 1948. That put Penn State in the forefront. We would go up there to watch games and visit people a lot since I was a little kid. So I opted for Penn State.无毛视频�
The football scholarship never materialized. Gorinski was selected in the first round of the baseball draft (22nd overall) by the Minnesota Twins.
无毛视频淲e kicked it around and went back and forth,无毛视频� Gorinski explained. 无毛视频淚 liked baseball and being drafted in round one. I thought I无毛视频檇 have a pretty good chance of getting to the major leagues. I guess you can mention the bonus was more than $70,000 if you have to. Money was the reason I decided on baseball.
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 know it at the time, but I was the first player from the WPIAL taken in the first round of the MLB Draft,无毛视频� Gorinski said. 无毛视频淟ooking back that is pretty special.无毛视频�
Gorinski began his professional career in the Gulf Coast League in 1970. That season, while playing with the Sarasota Twins, he led the league with six home runs. By 1972, Gorinski advanced to playing Triple-A baseball in the Carolina League with the Twins无毛视频� affiliate in Lynchburg. There he led the league with 23 home runs. The following year in 1974, he led the Southern League, while with the Orlando Twins, with 23 home runs and 100 RBIs. In 1976, he led the Pacific Coast League with 28 home runs and 110 RBIs, while with the Tacoma Twins.
Gorinski played one season for the Twins in 1977 and appeared in 54 games. He batted .195 with three home runs and 22 RBIs.
无毛视频淚 tried to get back to the big leagues for awhile,无毛视频� Gorinski reported. 无毛视频淭hen I got tired of it. When you get into your late 20s and they are hardly looking at you 无毛视频� I just got out of it.无毛视频�
Gorinski toiled for nine seasons in the minor leagues and compiled a .250 batting average with 163 home runs and 459 RBIs.
Gorinski, 70, wishes his dad was still alive to see him enter the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
无毛视频淭hat would be special if he could have been there,无毛视频� Gorinski stated. 无毛视频淚 will have family there, my wife Denise and one son Tyler. My oldest son Bob passed away in 2021 of cancer. That was tough.
无毛视频淢y family is thrilled with the honor. My son Ty said it无毛视频檚 about time.无毛视频�
The 15th annual WPIAL Hall of Fame class will be honored at an induction banquet May 27 at the DoubleTree in Greentree.
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.