Remembering Cassy Ryan

Cassy Ryan, who guided the green and white of Mannington High, was an excellent football coach.

He was born in Mannington and, after a brief NFL career, returned to Mannington till his 1981 death in Fairmont at the age of 75. His widow, Helen, passed away in 1998.

Clarence Daniel Ryan wasn’t all that big: 5-foot-9, 160 pounds. But he managed to play nine games for Buffalo in 1929, long enough to score two touchdowns, one on a kick return. 

And that was despite not playing football at WVU because he concentrated on a lifetime career.

Harold Dean Kniceley, Class of 1960, of Centreville, Maryland, wrote:

"The county has placed a plaque to memorialize Cassy at the entrance to the Mannington Park on one of those stone pillars. It's a shame that people like him don't get any praise until they are gone. Cassy was a fine man and an outstanding example for all of the kids that went to the playground, and especially our ball team. I remember those rides in his old Ford. He packed us in like sardines.”

Frank Franze, Class of 1950, who lives in Slidell, Louisiana after being widowed twice, chimes in:

“I remember Cassy and you should, too.   I can't remember the occasion, but it was not a formal meeting.  He was talking to us. He told us about drive and his time in professional football.  He was someone who was an example to be followed.”

Cassy is buried in Mannington Memorial Park cemetery.