Lash’s legacy: Nesser to receive WPIAL Heritage Award
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James 无毛视频淟ash无毛视频� Nesser holds a basketball commemorating St. John无毛视频檚 PCIAA state championship in 1965. Nesser, who died in 1988, will be inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as the Heritage Award winner on June 2.
James 无毛视频淟ash无毛视频� Nesser
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On June 16 Vince Nesser will join his father James 无毛视频淟ash无毛视频� Nesser when he is enshrined into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame.
The month of June is shaping up as a banner month for the family of the late Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame basketball coach James 无毛视频淟ash无毛视频� Nesser.
On June 2 Lash Nesser will be inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as the Heritage Award winner. Then on June 16 Vince Nesser will join his father when he is enshrined in the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know if you can even rate it on a scale how excited everybody is,无毛视频� Vince Nesser explained.
The WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2023 will include Ray Brinzer (North Allegheny), Emily Carter (Bethel Park), Laura Grimm (Serra Catholic), Jonathan Hayes (South Fayette), Greg Meisner (Valley), Tom Pipkins (Valley), Sarah Riske McGlamery (Peters Township), Bill Cleary (Serra Catholic), Bill Palermo (Sto-Rox), Don Rebel, Virginia Fronk (Seneca Valley), James 无毛视频淟ash无毛视频� Nesser (St. John无毛视频檚 and Uniontown), Bob Osleger (Ringgold), the 1981-82 Monaca boys basketball team and the 2000-01 Oakland Catholic girls basketball team.
Laurel Highlands Athletic Director Mark John, who is the nephew of Lash Nesser, was instrumental in Nesser being selected for the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
无毛视频淚 not only nominated Lash I nominated Horse Taylor and Rick Hauger,无毛视频� John revealed. 无毛视频淚 nominated all those guys. The honor for Lash is well deserved.无毛视频�
Nesser passed away on Dec. 2, 1988, at the age of 67. He was profiled in a Memory Lane column in 2011. Here are some excerpts from that column:
Call him what you will, there has never been a more charismatic character prowling the sidelines in Fayette County sports than the late James 无毛视频淟ash无毛视频� Nesser.
At tiny Uniontown St. John and later at Uniontown High School, Nesser consistently turned out winning basketball squads and had a profound effect on both students and adults.
Nesser was born in Uniontown on Aug. 5, 1921 and attended Uniontown High School. The legend of Lash Nesser started at Saint Vincent College, where he was a three-sport star who earned his nickname as a baseball player (a catcher, Nesser was said to have a whiplash-like throwing arm). Nesser graduated from Saint Vincent in 1946, after completing three years of military service. He was a salesman for the American Tobacco Co. for a year before returning to Saint Vincent in 1947. He was approached by Fr. Edmund, a priest at Saint Vincent, who told him of a coaching vacancy at a little Catholic high school in Uniontown.
无毛视频淚 really wanted to coach football, after playing three sports at Saint Vincent,无毛视频� Nesser recalled in a 1981 interview. 无毛视频淚 told this to Fr. Edmund. But he said this friend of his needed a basketball coach, and would I help him out. Well, I was short on cash but long on charity and dedication, so I gave up a selling job that paid me as much a week as I would make in a month of coaching, and that无毛视频檚 how I ended up at St. John无毛视频檚. I think it was the idea of a challenge more than anything that got me into the coaching job. You get it into your head to see if you can coach, and I accepted the challenge, becoming a full time teacher (seven subjects) and coach. I thought I would give it a try for one year and see what came of it, but it turned out I had a lot of fun and I无毛视频檝e been at it ever since.无毛视频�
Through some painstaking research I无毛视频檝e been able to come up with a pretty accurate coaching mark for Nesser at St. John无毛视频檚 give or take a couple of games. He compiled a 434-233 mark with the Eagles from 1948-49 until the school closed after the 1975-76 campaign.
His early career at St. John无毛视频檚 was a source of great pride and great memories for Nesser.
无毛视频淭hose were great years in county basketball,无毛视频� he remembered. 无毛视频淓verybody was building a program, and we played anywhere and everywhere. We played upstairs in one building at Perryopolis, on a dirt floor in Masontown, Immaculate Conception played in the basement of a church with pillars that we had to weave around, and Dunbar Township had a court with a low ceiling at Leisenring where you couldn无毛视频檛 shoot an arching set shot, but had to fire the ball on a straight line because you would hit the ceiling. At Redstone, we played in the old 无毛视频楪lory Barn无毛视频� with a stove on the floor that acted as a post man for both teams, and we always packed plenty of Unguentine. One year we played in the Pittsburgh Catholic League and we played over a meat market. At Point Marion we played in a skating rink and Uniontown played at Lafayette Junior High until 1954. Honestly those were great days in county basketball.无毛视频�
Nesser was known for his sideline antics and was one of the more animated scholastic coaches in America. He went after players and officials with a big booming voice. During a game he would gnaw on his knuckles.
无毛视频淲ith my big burly voice, a lot of people get the wrong impression,无毛视频� Nesser said in a 1983 Pittsburgh Press profile. 无毛视频淓ven when I talk in a normal voice people say, 无毛视频楲ook at him hollering at those kids.'无毛视频�
Nesser captured the PCIAA state Catholic Association Championship in 1965 when St. John无毛视频檚 downed Williamsport St. Joseph 64-62 and he guided the Eagles to a state semifinal spot in 1962 and the final in 1976.
When St. John无毛视频檚 closed its doors in 1976 Nesser took over the coaching reins at Uniontown High School, where he compiled an 11-year record of 246-64 with a WPIAL championship and a state title in 1981. He is one of the few coaches with a Catholic Championship and a PIAA Championship on his resume. His combined career won-loss total at St. John无毛视频檚 and Uniontown is 680-297.
Nesser and the Red Raiders defeated Springfield Delco 73-61 to capture the PIAA title in 1981 and they did it without a player taller than 6-foot-2.
Nesser was inducted into the Pennsylvania 无毛视频 Hall of Fame in 2020 and was inducted into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame in 2011. He was enshrined in the Saint Vincent Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Uniontown Area High School Academics, Arts and Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. The WPIAL Hall of Fame just adds to his legend.
无毛视频淭he way the PCIAA operated back then all the catholic schools were in,无毛视频� Vince Nesser stated. 无毛视频淗e went up against schools that recruited. Lash never really recruited and he got lucky with Larry Fisher and won a state championship and he really did well at St. John无毛视频檚. Then it was Uniontown 2.0 when he coached the Red Raiders. They got a proven winner to replace a proven winner. A legend to replace a legend. It was almost unheard of for that to fall into place.无毛视频�
Vince Nesser reflected on what it was like to play for his dad.
无毛视频淚n my years my dad had a totally different approach to motivate me,无毛视频� Vince offered. 无毛视频淲e played in all those playoff games two years in a row. He tried to make me get to a different gear because he didn无毛视频檛 want to lose. The goal was always to win the game. It was intense. It was a different feeling, you want to do it for your dad. You want your dad to be a winner.无毛视频�
无毛视频淟ash was a student of the game,无毛视频� John said. 无毛视频淗e knew it inside out and he was a great motivator and that was one of his greatest assets.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭he environment that my dad created at St. John无毛视频檚 was incredible,无毛视频� Nesser said. 无毛视频淚t was exciting.无毛视频�
The WPIAL is hosting its Hall of Fame induction banquet on Friday, June 2 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Greentree. Vince Nesser is going into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame on June 16 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville.
Vince Nesser and his father Lash will be the second father-son duo inducted into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame joining Gene and Doc Franks. There is a father-daughter duo with George and Shelley Bortz.
无毛视频淚t almost unimaginable,无毛视频� Nesser said. 无毛视频淭he reason is the greatness of my dad and what he accomplished in 30 years and then basically what I did in three years of high school and four years of college ball and that无毛视频檚 what makes it so overwhelming for a son.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.