Great New Book, about the Aliquippa HS "Quips", and Hopewell, and Central Valley which is a study of the team, the town, same Zip Code and the region.
Highly recommended.
"Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town."
Atlantic Monthly. Sept. 2016. 400p. notes. index. ISBN 9780802125644. $27; ebk. ISBN 9780802190093. SPORTS
by S.L. Price
Also,
David Shribman's review in the Friday, October 7th
WSJ "Bookshelf" (page A11).
The Real Steelers (& Pitt Panthers!)
In a former Pennsylvania steel town, a football team remains the single source of pride. It’s a microcosm for a whole region of America.
David M. Shribman
Oct. 6, 2016 7:22 p.m. ET
Early last month, after scoring 44 points in twin wins against New Castle and Beaver Falls, the unthinkable occurred at Aliquippa High School’s home field 20 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pa. The fabled Quips, as the high-school football team is called—undefeated in 62 consecutive scheduled games spanning eight seasons—fell to Beaver Area High, 28-14. It was the Quips’ first regular-season loss since Sept. 18, 2009, and in that glory-dusted period Aliquippa outscored its opponents 2,738 to 603.
LINK:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/playing-through-the-whistle-1475783032
Amazon Reviews:
In the early twentieth century, down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company built one of the largest mills in the world and a town to go with it. Aliquippa was a beacon and a melting pot, pulling in thousands of families from Europe and the Jim Crow south. The J&L mill, though dirty and dangerous, offered a chance at a better life. It produced the steel that built American cities and won World War II and even became something of a workers’ paradise. But then, in the 1980’s, the steel industry cratered. The mill closed. Crime rose and crack hit big.
But another industry grew in Aliquippa. The town didn’t just make steel; it made elite football players, from Mike Ditka to Ty Law to Darrelle Revis. Pro football was born in Western Pennsylvania, and few places churned out talent like Aliquippa. Despite its troubles—maybe even because of them—Aliquippa became legendary for producing football greatness. A masterpiece of narrative journalism, Playing Through the Whistle tells the remarkable story of Aliquippa and through it, the larger history of American industry, sports, and life. Like football, it will make you marvel, wince, cry, and cheer.
Top Customer Reviews
A in depth look a special football town
PLAYING THROUGH THE WHISTLE by SL Price is a comprehensive history of the town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania told from two perspectives: J&L Steel, a thriving company that supplied wars and created structure integrity for metal works across the US and high school football; such a small town and yet one of the most such programs in the country winning countless titles and putting many young men into college and beyond. A small town outside of Pittsburgh, Aliquippa was created to provide housing for the workers at J&L Steel and was laid out into sections, or plans as they called it, which immediately created class and ethnic divisions in the town. Price revisits those divisions throughout the book and discovers that while the schism between neighborhoods is always present, that when comes to football team, the town Aliquippa quickly and proudly unites. From World War II to today, S.L. Price layers the chronology of J&L Steel rise and eventual collapse on top of the rise of Aliquippa football program and postulates on how the two of them correlate to each other. As the book moves forward in time, several theories on why the Aliquippa high football team is so successful are looked at, including coaching, the desire to get out of Aliquippa, amongst others. At times in the book, following all of the names and their relationships to each other was challenging and some of the nuances of the steel industry was lost on me. The reliving of some of the football highlights, told from many of the men who were a part of them, were great fun to read and made me want to meet everyone from Aliquippa who once playing for their home team.
It's obvious to me that S.L. Price cares about Aliquippa and all of its residents and truly wanted to understand what make the town and their football team tick and it shows in the care with which the book is written. I enjoy reading about high school sports and I found PLAYING THROUGH THE WHISTLE to be one of the better choices. Thank you to Grove Atlantic, S.L. Price, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Interesting subject...
"Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town" by S L Price, is a long, somewhat convoluted look at the steel city of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Famed for it's production of steel products and athletes seemingly made of that steel, the city has gone from a "company town" for J & L Steel, to a small town typical today with drugs and unemployment. Mike Ditka and the other football and basketball stars who came out of Aliquippa would probably not recognise the place today. Aliquippa started out as a town where eastern European immigrants came to take the down and dirty jobs in the busy steel factories. Their children in many cases followed them into the factories, but many were able to harness their athletic talent into college scholarships, and, perhaps, further success in the pro-sports ranks. Price writes about these admirable people - white and black - but somehow his writing is confusing. He does skip from time to time, person to person, sport to sport, crime to crime and I was rarely confident about what I was reading. I think maybe the book needed editing. The idea behind the book was a solid one, I wish it had been done better. I also wish there had been pictures of the town and the people Price writes about. It would have been helpful.
Could have been a whole lot better.
When you see a book about a place you know, immediately you go to the story or stories you know. The Bessemer converters at Aliquippa were much larger than the height of two men. Nate Lippe did not give the reins to Milanovich, it was Kenny Webb. The '49ers had 4 coaches in 4 years, and were undefeated at Franklin Jr High as well. Nate Lippe was good to the students and knew how to motivate a child. His own children were very successful. His son always disputed the girlfriend story. Jimmy Frank should also be known for being the shop kid, that became an academic. At school, the blacks and other ethnic children were given a permission slip. This slip, sent home to parents who couldn't write with the directive from the teacher, "have your parents sign this!", put the kids into the shop programs. The '49 Championship was a runaway. The bench was cleaned early, but the star was Bud Shaw. Those that were there, say it was a beautiful sight, watching his rebounds. Aliquippa Schools benefitted from those '49ers. The largest group to return to Aliquippa as teachers and community leaders. Carl Aschman through Nick Odlivak, gets Bear Bryant's playbook. Aschman amends it, instead of following it. If a boy who played for Aschman was a quarterback, every child in that family to follow was a quarterback. If you hung out at the firehouse with Aschman, your kid played. The Ivy League/ Collegiate powerhouse players/team captains/ graduates should have been brought to light.Best quarterback to come out of Aliquippa, Trapper Sarris, Tom Sakal( U of Minnesota and then Vikings), preceded LeDonne. The Joe Paterno, Ditka story: Was told by Joe Paterno at a coaches smoker to be John Sakal not Ditka. George Suder, he died in his 50's, and was successful before his death. George was thought of as a perpetual teenager, but he was charming. He was the star of many Serbian Basketball Tournaments. Zmijanac did follow in his footsteps there. I'm not sure why you didn't mention his brother, who by standards of the day, did everything right. Their father's travel schedule was difficult on them. The Melvin Steals teacher influence was a '49er. But it was Dale Cable not a Black '49er as written. The Steals twins, are not one hit wonders as written. It's Serbs vs Croats, not Cros. Like Medich, many Serbs today in Aliquippa had Croatian grandmothers and vice versa. There was a shortage of women at the turn of the century. Mc Donald Heights is still there. Some of the Friedman AA's played on the Aliquippa Indians, including the Kaletz boys. Fuderich is a coach not team mate of Marocco's. It's not Mike Devonar, it's Dzvonar, later assistant to Aschman. The spelling errors and inconsistencies, make this book hard to follow. Like the state trooper that arrests Jeff Baldwin, what is the correct spelling? Aliquippa as pretty as it is ugly, and doesn't exist as it once did. Unimaginable to most, pictures would have helped explain it.
Highly recommended.
"Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town."
Atlantic Monthly. Sept. 2016. 400p. notes. index. ISBN 9780802125644. $27; ebk. ISBN 9780802190093. SPORTS
by S.L. Price
Also,
David Shribman's review in the Friday, October 7th
WSJ "Bookshelf" (page A11).
The Real Steelers (& Pitt Panthers!)
In a former Pennsylvania steel town, a football team remains the single source of pride. It’s a microcosm for a whole region of America.
David M. Shribman
Oct. 6, 2016 7:22 p.m. ET
Early last month, after scoring 44 points in twin wins against New Castle and Beaver Falls, the unthinkable occurred at Aliquippa High School’s home field 20 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pa. The fabled Quips, as the high-school football team is called—undefeated in 62 consecutive scheduled games spanning eight seasons—fell to Beaver Area High, 28-14. It was the Quips’ first regular-season loss since Sept. 18, 2009, and in that glory-dusted period Aliquippa outscored its opponents 2,738 to 603.
LINK:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/playing-through-the-whistle-1475783032
Amazon Reviews:
In the early twentieth century, down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company built one of the largest mills in the world and a town to go with it. Aliquippa was a beacon and a melting pot, pulling in thousands of families from Europe and the Jim Crow south. The J&L mill, though dirty and dangerous, offered a chance at a better life. It produced the steel that built American cities and won World War II and even became something of a workers’ paradise. But then, in the 1980’s, the steel industry cratered. The mill closed. Crime rose and crack hit big.
But another industry grew in Aliquippa. The town didn’t just make steel; it made elite football players, from Mike Ditka to Ty Law to Darrelle Revis. Pro football was born in Western Pennsylvania, and few places churned out talent like Aliquippa. Despite its troubles—maybe even because of them—Aliquippa became legendary for producing football greatness. A masterpiece of narrative journalism, Playing Through the Whistle tells the remarkable story of Aliquippa and through it, the larger history of American industry, sports, and life. Like football, it will make you marvel, wince, cry, and cheer.
Top Customer Reviews
A in depth look a special football town
PLAYING THROUGH THE WHISTLE by SL Price is a comprehensive history of the town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania told from two perspectives: J&L Steel, a thriving company that supplied wars and created structure integrity for metal works across the US and high school football; such a small town and yet one of the most such programs in the country winning countless titles and putting many young men into college and beyond. A small town outside of Pittsburgh, Aliquippa was created to provide housing for the workers at J&L Steel and was laid out into sections, or plans as they called it, which immediately created class and ethnic divisions in the town. Price revisits those divisions throughout the book and discovers that while the schism between neighborhoods is always present, that when comes to football team, the town Aliquippa quickly and proudly unites. From World War II to today, S.L. Price layers the chronology of J&L Steel rise and eventual collapse on top of the rise of Aliquippa football program and postulates on how the two of them correlate to each other. As the book moves forward in time, several theories on why the Aliquippa high football team is so successful are looked at, including coaching, the desire to get out of Aliquippa, amongst others. At times in the book, following all of the names and their relationships to each other was challenging and some of the nuances of the steel industry was lost on me. The reliving of some of the football highlights, told from many of the men who were a part of them, were great fun to read and made me want to meet everyone from Aliquippa who once playing for their home team.
It's obvious to me that S.L. Price cares about Aliquippa and all of its residents and truly wanted to understand what make the town and their football team tick and it shows in the care with which the book is written. I enjoy reading about high school sports and I found PLAYING THROUGH THE WHISTLE to be one of the better choices. Thank you to Grove Atlantic, S.L. Price, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Interesting subject...
"Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town" by S L Price, is a long, somewhat convoluted look at the steel city of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Famed for it's production of steel products and athletes seemingly made of that steel, the city has gone from a "company town" for J & L Steel, to a small town typical today with drugs and unemployment. Mike Ditka and the other football and basketball stars who came out of Aliquippa would probably not recognise the place today. Aliquippa started out as a town where eastern European immigrants came to take the down and dirty jobs in the busy steel factories. Their children in many cases followed them into the factories, but many were able to harness their athletic talent into college scholarships, and, perhaps, further success in the pro-sports ranks. Price writes about these admirable people - white and black - but somehow his writing is confusing. He does skip from time to time, person to person, sport to sport, crime to crime and I was rarely confident about what I was reading. I think maybe the book needed editing. The idea behind the book was a solid one, I wish it had been done better. I also wish there had been pictures of the town and the people Price writes about. It would have been helpful.
Could have been a whole lot better.
When you see a book about a place you know, immediately you go to the story or stories you know. The Bessemer converters at Aliquippa were much larger than the height of two men. Nate Lippe did not give the reins to Milanovich, it was Kenny Webb. The '49ers had 4 coaches in 4 years, and were undefeated at Franklin Jr High as well. Nate Lippe was good to the students and knew how to motivate a child. His own children were very successful. His son always disputed the girlfriend story. Jimmy Frank should also be known for being the shop kid, that became an academic. At school, the blacks and other ethnic children were given a permission slip. This slip, sent home to parents who couldn't write with the directive from the teacher, "have your parents sign this!", put the kids into the shop programs. The '49 Championship was a runaway. The bench was cleaned early, but the star was Bud Shaw. Those that were there, say it was a beautiful sight, watching his rebounds. Aliquippa Schools benefitted from those '49ers. The largest group to return to Aliquippa as teachers and community leaders. Carl Aschman through Nick Odlivak, gets Bear Bryant's playbook. Aschman amends it, instead of following it. If a boy who played for Aschman was a quarterback, every child in that family to follow was a quarterback. If you hung out at the firehouse with Aschman, your kid played. The Ivy League/ Collegiate powerhouse players/team captains/ graduates should have been brought to light.Best quarterback to come out of Aliquippa, Trapper Sarris, Tom Sakal( U of Minnesota and then Vikings), preceded LeDonne. The Joe Paterno, Ditka story: Was told by Joe Paterno at a coaches smoker to be John Sakal not Ditka. George Suder, he died in his 50's, and was successful before his death. George was thought of as a perpetual teenager, but he was charming. He was the star of many Serbian Basketball Tournaments. Zmijanac did follow in his footsteps there. I'm not sure why you didn't mention his brother, who by standards of the day, did everything right. Their father's travel schedule was difficult on them. The Melvin Steals teacher influence was a '49er. But it was Dale Cable not a Black '49er as written. The Steals twins, are not one hit wonders as written. It's Serbs vs Croats, not Cros. Like Medich, many Serbs today in Aliquippa had Croatian grandmothers and vice versa. There was a shortage of women at the turn of the century. Mc Donald Heights is still there. Some of the Friedman AA's played on the Aliquippa Indians, including the Kaletz boys. Fuderich is a coach not team mate of Marocco's. It's not Mike Devonar, it's Dzvonar, later assistant to Aschman. The spelling errors and inconsistencies, make this book hard to follow. Like the state trooper that arrests Jeff Baldwin, what is the correct spelling? Aliquippa as pretty as it is ugly, and doesn't exist as it once did. Unimaginable to most, pictures would have helped explain it.
Last edited:
