Dale Mahan

This is the last in a series of six articles profiling the 2017 Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame inductees.JEFFERSON TWP — Whether he was teaching them, coaching them — or a little of both — Dale Mahan was all about kids.“He was always involved with sports and he loved kids,” Jim Mahan, one of his sons, said. “He was a great dad and a great coach, always supportive.”And he won. Often.Mahan was 81-57 as Knoch's boys basketball coach from 1960-66. He guided the Knights to a pair of district championships.He was 179-40 in 25 years as Knoch's head track and field coach. Mahan never had a losing season in either sport.A teacher at Knoch High School for 37 years, Mahan will be inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony Friday, prior to the Knights' home football game with West Mifflin.Mahan died in 2009.“He was a very humble guy,” Jim Mahan said. “If he was here today, he'd be giving the credit to all of the kids and the assistant coaches.”Dale Mahan coached both of his sons, Jim and Bill, in track at Knoch. Daughters Lisa (volleyball) and Susan (cheerleading) were involved in sports as well.“Sports were always a big part of our lives and Dad was involved in a lot of those activities,” Jim Mahan said. “We were involved in summer swim teams with everything else we did.“Our family is very grateful the Hall of Fame is honoring and recognizing him this way.”Current Knoch track coach Wess Brahler presents an annual track and field award in Dale Mahan's name. It goes to the outstanding male athlete on the team.The award states that Mahan “cared like a mother, was tough like a father and he understood the hurts like a doctor. He had a way of bringing the best out of a person with his winning style.”Mahan's track coaching resume' includes seven undefeated seasons, four section championships and four individual WPIAL champions: Greg McGee (1983), Jim Geist (1985) and Warren Phillips (1993) in the javelin, Bill Schaefer (1989) in the 1,600 meters.He had 16 athletes qualify for the PIAA meet and seven state medalists: Stan Crouch (1978) and Lance Cotton (1984) in the discus, Schaefer (1989) in the 1,600, Russ Kroneberg (1982), Geist (1985), Phillips 1992-93) in the javelin.Crouch is also being inducted into the Knoch High School Sports Hall of Fame Friday.Dale Mahan was an outstanding athlete in his own right before becoming a teacher and coach.“He played baseball and soccer at Slippery Rock State College from 1951-54,” Jim Mahan said. “Soccer wasn't a particularly well known sport back then, but people went to games to watch him play because he was so fast and dynamic.“He played in adult baseball leagues and played winter softball in Florida into his 60's.”Mahan was inducted into the Butler Area (now Butler County) Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.