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A Pitt Legend has passed!

One of the 5 greatest Panthers has passed.

Bill Fralic passed away today. 56 years, too young.
RIP. May his memory be eternal...
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My memories of him-
-spitting on an opposing olineman in hs
-standing in the tunnel demoralized after being summoned back out when psu kicked a 16-16 tie fg where pitt thoroughly dominated including at least 20 pancakes by Fralic.
RIP
 
Man - tough loss.

recruits...I think I remember reading somewhere you knew him...maybe by marriage. anyway, if true, sorry for your loss as well.
 
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My memories of him-
-spitting on an opposing olineman in hs
-standing in the tunnel demoralized after being summoned back out when psu kicked a 16-16 tie fg where pitt thoroughly dominated including at least 20 pancakes by Fralic.
RIP

my recollection is a little different but close. The PSU game I thought was 24-24 in 1983. Pitt had the game won....interception that would have sealed it sailed out of the Pitt DB's hands.

The HS incident that I knew about was against PCC. Penn Hills totally crushed PCC and at the post game handshake the PCC star linebacker said nice game to Fralic and Fralic spit on him and a brawl ensued.
 
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Yeah it was cancer. I think he was getting treatments at MD Anderson in Houston, I know the family has really kept it quiet. But you can tell with Bill missing the HOF induction and things like the ACC Champ game, he obviously was not doing well. I don't think any of us wanted to see a frail Bill Fralic anyways......
 
Yeah it was cancer. I think he was getting treatments at MD Anderson in Houston, I know the family has really kept it quiet. But you can tell with Bill missing the HOF induction and things like the ACC Champ game, he obviously was not doing well. I don't think any of us wanted to see a frail Bill Fralic anyways......
Damn. When the word immortal is mouthed, 2 guys that come to mind is Bill Fralic and mike Ditka. Unfortunately we all must go.

RIP
 
my recollection is a little different but close. The PSU game I thought was 24-24 in 1983. Pitt had the game won....interception that would have sealed it sailed out of the Pitt DB's hands.

The HS incident that I knew about was against PCC. Penn Hills totally crushed PCC and at the post game handshake the PCC star linebacker said nice game to Fralic and Fralic spit on him and a brawl ensued.
Besides being a dominant force on both sides of the ball in HS, he was the dirtiest player that I ever played against.

All game long, he kicked our OT and DT and LB a$$es, and gave them eye gouge marks to go along with a sore backside. He and our star LB were going at it all game long until it boiled over in the post game handshake. Big brawl at the 50. Final score was PH 27 CCHS 0.

He was a pretty good heavyweight wrestler in HS too. Not sure how far he advanced in WPIALs.
 
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I remember him literally picking up our 250 pound DT and throwing him to our sidelines. He looked at our head coach, who was from Penn Hills, and said, “What’s a matter ‘Erd. Aint you got nobody better than that?”
 
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R.I.P.

Now I am feeling bad about Chris Doleman. He has the same cancer that killed John McCain
 
Man that sucks. One of the all-time greats, a childhood hero of mine and by all accounts a good man. RIP
 
Besides being a dominant force on both sides of the ball in HS, he was the dirtiest player that I ever played against.

All game long, he kicked our OT and DT and LB a$$es, and gave them eye gouge marks to go along with a sore backside. He and our star LB were going at it all game long until it boiled over in the post game handshake. Big brawl at the 50. Final score was PH 27 CCHS 0.

He was a pretty good heavyweight wrestler in HS too. Not sure how far he advanced in WPIALs.

He was in Wrestlemania.
 
Man, he was the swagger that this program had back then. I remember the stands packed when Penn Hills came to play us in High School. He was a friggin linemen for pete's sake and he was a legend and drew crowds.
 
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Besides being a dominant force on both sides of the ball in HS, he was the dirtiest player that I ever played against.

All game long, he kicked our OT and DT and LB a$$es, and gave them eye gouge marks to go along with a sore backside. He and our star LB were going at it all game long until it boiled over in the post game handshake. Big brawl at the 50. Final score was PH 27 CCHS 0.

He was a pretty good heavyweight wrestler in HS too. Not sure how far he advanced in WPIALs.
It sucked, my alma mater (Highlands) had some pretty damn good teams in that era, but we were stuck in the same conference as Penn Hills, Central and Gateway.

Think about it.......you had 3 straight years a #1 draft pick came out of that 8 team, WPIAL AAA (I think it was West Penn?) Conference in Marino, Fralic and Buczkowski from Gateway. There are literally 1000's of HS football conferences.....how strong was that conference back then? Even Plum and McKeesport were good.
 
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It sucked, my alma mater (Highlands) had some pretty damn good teams in that era, but we were stuck in the same conference as Penn Hills, Central and Gateway.

Think about it.......you had 3 straight years a #1 draft pick came out of that 8 team, WPIAL AAA (I think it was West Penn?) Conference in Marino, Fralic and Buczkowski from Gateway. There are literally 1000's of HS football conferences.....how strong was that conference back then? Even Plum and McKeesport were good.
I went to Plum graduation in 84... they won the WPIAL that year... I remember earlier as a student at Plum Fralic was a legend at Penn Hills and there was buzz at Plum constantly... everyone knew of him
 
When I was a youngster growing up he was larger than life. PH football & wrestling, and then Pitt football. RIP to a legend.
 
I went to Plum graduation in 84... they won the WPIAL that year... I remember earlier as a student at Plum Fralic was a legend at Penn Hills and there was buzz at Plum constantly... everyone knew of him

Isn't amazing how we all have fallen. All of the population now has migrated up in the north suburbs and out towards the southwestern part of the county (South Fayette, West A). It is funny, when we were in school, the powers were North Hills, Penn Hills, Gateway, Kiski, Plum, McKeesport, Mt. Lebo, USC. Back then, South Fayette, Pine-Richland (was just Richland), Mars, Seneca, West A were just cow schools.
 
The recruiting coordinator and OL coach of the U back then was a guy named Art Brodsky.

This was a time when the U was starting to roll under Schnellenberger.

In 84 the canes brought in a class that would lead to 1 if not 2 national championships.

And yet Brodsky, who recruited Fralic hard, was quoted later on as saying,

"I would have traded that whole recruiting class for Fralic"

He was that great.

Sleep well Big man.
 
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