The 1944 Monongah High football team went  through a season that was shortened to 5 games without scoring a point.

The team was coached by George Ross. I was his manager for the 1947 and 1948 seasons. Hey, at 99 pounds, that was as close as I could get to playing football.

Coach Ross got his education from Fairmont State and the University of Mississippi.

On the 1944 team that failed to score a point were:

Chester Vozniak

Patsy Domico

Larry Orsini

Raymond Vingle

Mike Pasquale

Nick Demus

Lawrence Puccio

Roy Foster

Anthony Vingle

John Pasquale

Jim Jacobin

Frank Mascara

Eddie Lusczynski

Doak Edgell

Louis Micono

Jack Huffman

Manager Fred Fleming

Byron Birdsell

Albert Condo

Joe Salopek

Raymond Manzo

Edward Pawlawski

Frank DeMary

Louis DePond

Felix Colosino, Jr.

Jack Rankin

Donald McDaniel

Daniel Hoffman

Dominick Eates

Joe Meredith

Willard Griffen

Bob Fox

John Thorne

John Matkovich

Manager Tommy Rogers

Joe Salopek, Eddie Luczynski, Bugs Vingle, Nick Demus, Felix Colosino, Dominick Eates, Ray Vingle, John Pasquale, John Manzo, Frank Mascaro also were on the basketball team.

Frank Mascara, Daniel Hoffman and Felix Colosino were on the MHS Student Council, leaders on and off the field.

Apparently these guys were freshmen in 1944 because they were on the 1947 Monongah High football team:

John Matkovich

Chester Vozniak

Louis DePond

Bob Fox

Jimmy Jacobin

Patsy Domico was on the 1941-42 Monongah High basketball team.

How many have passed away? John Matkovich, who was in the 9^th grade that season and participated in all the practices at Traction Park but never dressed for an actual game, got me started with these 14 names.

Dominick Eates
Bob Fox
Tom Rogers
Louie DePond
Frank DeMary
Chester Vozniak
Pete Condo
Joe Salopek
Raymond Manzo
Ed Pawlawski
Frank Mascara
Ed Lusczynski
Jack Huffman
Nick Demus

John Matkovich, Class of 1948, and wife Dolores Sweede Matkovich, Class of 1953, are enjoying life in Palm Harbor, Florida – for about three decades. Palm Harbor is near St. Petersburg.

John also keeps his hand in golfing, and is pretty good at it. He used to bowl regularly, but “backed off” from that, he said.

John and Dolores are frequent attendees at the Monongah High Alumn Reunion.

In addition to the 14 that John remembers, Joe Meredith, Raymond “Pigeon” Manzo, Doak Edgell, Larry Orsini, Frank DeMary and Mike Pasquale also passed away. So that’s 20 that we know are no longer among us.

Doak passed away in 2012. Doak and wife Jean Wimer Edgell had 5 children. Doak’s brother, Okey Edgell, Class of 1944, lives in Fairmont with wife Arlene Marteney Edgell, Class of 1951.

Mike passed away in 1986 at the age of 58. He is buried in Monongah’s Mount Calvary Cemetery.

Raymond passed away in 2008. He also is buried in Mount Calvary.

Frank DeMary passed away in 2009.

Joe Meredith, Class of 1945, joined the Navy after his Monongah High graduation. 

Joe’s brother, Bill Meredith, Class of 1957, who lives in Sarasota, Florida, explained that “Joe served in Pearl Harbor till the war ended and the military was downsized quickly.” 

Another brother, Jack, Class of 1943, also joined the Navy. 

Joe attended Fairmont State, worked for 33 years with Standard Oil, becoming the 

head of fuel oil sales for the  Washington/Baltimore area.  

Joe retired to Daytona Beach Shores, Florida and Masontown, West Virginia. Joe and wife  

Jean Radabaugh, who was from Masontown, had 5 children. 

Joe passed away in 2012. Jean lives in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Joe, Jack and Bill set up the Meredith Family Scholarship, at first for Monongah High grads and then, when Monongah consolidated with North Marion, for former Monongah district  graduates of North Marion.

Larry was one of the six athletic Monongah High Orsini brothers: Tom “Bum”, Tony, Jimmy, Junior (“Cocoa”) and Bill.

Only Tony and Jimmy are not still among the living. Jimmy resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Tony, Class of 1946, lives on Swisher Hill with wife Mary Louise Baker Orsini, who began at Monongah High with the Class of 1948.

Patsy Domico, John Matkovich told me, was on furlough from the Navy.

Jim McDaniel, Class of 1960, told me:

“My brother Donald McDaniel served more than 16 years in the Army.  Was medically discharged and died in April of 1964. 

“He left a daughter behind in Germany (Barbara). I finally found her after 45 years. She is 63, married with a son and a daughter.

“She was a nurse and lives near Cologne, Germany.  I last saw her when I was stationed in Berlin in 1973.”

Roy Foster, Jr., Class of 1945, married Dolores Headley. They have a son, Jim, and 2 grandchildren. Dolores, a Farmington High grad, is deceased. Barrackville High grad Doris Yost is Roy’s special friend today. 

Roy worked at Glen L. Martin Aircraft in Baltimore, the B&O Railroad out of Fairmont and as a sales representative at Swanson Industries.

Nick Demus, Class of 1945, who operated the Demus Market in Worthington till it closed in 2012 after a 55-year run, passed away in January. Nick and wife Merelyn Sparacino Demus had 5 children.

Demus and Monongah High had a long relationship.

There was Rose Demus, Class of 1939; Joan Demus, Class of 1941;  Rose Demus Argiro, Class of 1941, who married Larry Argiro; Michael “Mickey” Demus, Class of 1948; Theresa Demus, Class of 1950; Jim Demus, Class of 1954; Ramona Rose Demus, Class of 1971, and Nick Demus III, Class of 1973.

Nick, Jim and Mickey all played football for Monongah High.

Chester Vozniak married Mildred Paknik Vozniak, Class of 1948, whose brother was Tom Paknik, Class of 1951 valedictorian and a basketball player for Monongah High.

Tom was predeceased by brother John Paknik, Class of 1946, and sister Elizabeth Paknik, Class of 1945.

Larry Puccio and Anne Chucci Puccio’s children are the late Deborah Puccio, Class of 1971; Tony Puccio, married to Sherry Bragg Puccio and living in Monongah;  Josie Puccio Dalton, Class of 1973, of Maidsville, West Virginia; and Jim Puccio and wife Brenda of Ravenswood.

Josie is the widow of Larry Dalton, Class of 1968, who passed away in 2016. Larry’s sister, Janice Marie Dalton Bayne, Class of 1965, lives in Georgia.

By 1947, the 99-pound weakling who was the team manager was me, John Olesky, Class of 1950. I stuck it out for two years, to qualify as a letterman, then watched from the stands in my senior year as the 1949 team performed.

On 1947 team with some of same players were scrawny team manager, John Olesky (sitting, far left)