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From the Delaware County Daily Times -Tuesday, June 7, 1966
MEDIA HIGH MUSTANGS HEAD FOR LAST ROUNDUP
By RICH WESTCOTT Daily Times Sports Writer
MEDIA-Media High School's first class graduated in 1897. Its last will graduate this month. It will be a sad graduation because the exit of the 1966 class marks the end of a long and glorious era. --One filled with rich memories and hallowed traditions. As part of the state's school reorganization act, the school will merge with Penncrest and the present Media High School will become strictly a junior high. The end of Media High, of course, also means the end of a memorable athletic history. And as one of the oldest schools in Delaware County, there bave been many glorious moments in Mustang sports.
At one time, Media High --which was built on the site of the old Shortledge Academy --drew its students from not only Media, but ftom the entire central part of the county. Over the years, Media had many brilliant individuals and many fine teams. Just as significantly, many family names have been prominent in Media High sports. The Malseeds, the Moats, Kaufmans, Goldsteins, Hibberds, Fishers, Wades, Mooneys, Randolphs, Sheltons, Burrows and Woods, were families each producing at least several fine athletes. The same was true of the Baldwins, Draymans, Pedens, Sneers, Baughns and Gills.
Naturally, at a small school such as Media countless athletes excelled in more than one sport. The greatest all-around athlete was probably Johnny Highfield, who starred in football, basketball, baseball and track in the late 1920s. Another great multi-sport star was Francis Van Zant, a football, basketball and baseball ace in the early 1920s.. Still another during that period was Joe Tuckerman, another brillant three-sport man.
One of the earliest known Media greats was Sid Agnew, a football and baseball standout around 1915. Later, Penn Fury, Pat Ahern, Warren Humes, Bill Lukens, Roger Malseed, Paige Moat, Joe Kellerman. Ray Worrall and finally Larry Larson were outstanding athletes in several sports, including in each case, football.
Although in recent years, it has slipped somewhat as an athletic power, Media was a strong Section One entry for many years.
Football was a particular strongpoint. Perhaps one of the finest gridiron teams was the 1940 squad which won the county championship under coach Gus Anderson, winning all but one game. Center Jack Messick, later a Little AIl-American at Delaware University, was an all-county selection from that team.
Media's first good football team was the undefeated 1915 squad, which defeated Chester, 19-6, for the Mustangs' first Thanksgiving Day victory over the Clippers. The team was captained by Bob Jones, and among the stars were Sid Agnew and Milt Westcott.
The school also had excellent teams in the 1926-28 era when Highfield and Johnny Valenti were the big names. Valenti, a giant 270-pound tackle and occasionally a fullback, later playing for Pitt in the Rose Bowl and then the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL.
Still later under coach George Hansell, Media had another memorable period, never losing to Chester between 1941-45. Greats of that era included backs Hank Smedley, Lew Gerlach and Elwood Pettijohn, tackle Art Levin and center Bill Hassler, a two-time all-Delco selection who went on to further stardom at the University of Pennsylvania.
There were many other gridiron standouts over the years, not the least of which were tiny quarterback Izzy Kaufman; Jack Sugarman; Buddy Behrends, Milford Baker and Ron Council.
Some of the earliest greats were Ernest and Stanley Hibberd, Ernie Carter, I. I. Parsons, Tubby and Charles Shelton, Tom Malin and Stan and Jim Sill. They were followed by Earl Skinner, Ollie Baker, Brook Williamson, Deke Allen, Milt Dotts, Jim and Joe Woods, John and Dan Burrows and Paige, Cliff and Harvey Moat.
In basketball., Media had several successful teams; most notably the 1931 club which won the Chester Kiwanis Tournament for coach Roy Hoffman. Art English, one of the school's finest cagers, Harrison Schaffner, Junie McLaughlin. Izzy Kaufman and Bill Lukens were members of that team.
Earlier, the 1924 team had won the Section One championship, while later, the 1961 club reached prominence by winnmg the Class B Kiwanis title and advancing to the finals of the District One playoffs under Coach Eddie Derrick.
Walt Bosler in the early 1900s was a top basketball player of his day. Later standouts included Jack Kelly, Bill Davis, Greg Lanery; Malin, Gerald Mathews, Ollie Baker, Derrick and Spud and Donkey Murray.
Modern Mustang cage standouts ranged from Dave Schroeder and Henry (Slick) Lee, one-two in the 1958 Section Two scoring race, to Mike West, Wayne Peden, Tom Short, Jim Malseed, and Doug Randolph.
Media had many brilliant baseball teams, beginning with the undefeated team of 1916 on which Agnew was a pitcher. Ahern was a top pitcher on another good team in 1918.
The Mustangs grabbed the Section One crown in 1929 and 1930, and then between 1936-38 captured three straight titles behind the Berry brother's battery only to have each crown removed because of various rule infractions.
Three of Media's foremost baseball players were Lew Krausse Sr., later a piteher with the Philadelphia Athletics; Buddy Behrends, who had a brief test with the Phillies as an outfielder; and Spud Murray, currently the New York Yankees' batting practice hurler.
Rube Hall was simultaneously a standout outfielder and coach in the early 1910s. After him came such greats as Bucky Green, Bill Moody, Walt Parmer, Cliff and Carl Mooney. George Wilson, Fats, Pete and Frank Baldwin, Roger, Ivin, Clint and Fran Malseed. Matt Fisher and Carl Iacovella.
Perhaps the Mustangs' most celebrated track man was Ted Meredith who later starred at Penn. Snatched from Media by Mercersburg Academy, he became in 1912 the first schoolboy ever picked for a U.S. olympic team, and set world 440 and 880 records which stood for many years. His 1912 880 time of 1 :25.2 was an incredible feat.
There were many other track greats at Media, including those who either held state records or won state championships such as Bob Burnett in the high jump, Highfield in the 100, Frank Maule in the mile, Gene Talley in the broad jump, Larson in the 100 and 220, and Valenti, who set a state mark in the shot put in 1929 with an amazing 51-11 toss.
Evans Mickle was one of the Mustangs finest runners, performIng the 440 and 880 in the1920s. He also switched to Mercersburg where he was a member of a world record relay team. About that time, Howard Spahr was a great all around track man. Howard Leiper was a track great in 1906. In later years, top Mustang thinclads included John Anderson, Joe Skelly, Layton Jester, Lester Beatty, JimWoodland, Jim Elliott, Russ Binder, Art and Randy Mathews, Jack Sugarman, Bill Truax, Cliff Moat and present standout John Baker .
Naturally, there have been many, many others prominent in Media High sports over the years. The above names constitute only a part of a memorable era. Unfortunately, that era is about to end.
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