Butler County sports figures in 1968
Terry Hanratty was named one of the top stories of 1968 in Butler Eagle's year in review. He was in his third year as the starting quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1968, teaming with receiver Jim Seymour as part of a great passing duo.
The former Butler High School standout finished third that year in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, college football's most prestigious individual award.
Although most of Hanratty's passing records at Notre Dame have been broken, several still stand 50 years later, including his 63 passing attempts against Purdue in 1967 and completions per game (16.6 in 1968).
Hanratty was a second-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1969 NFL draft. He played with Pittsburgh from 1969-75 (winning two Super Bowls) and Tampa Bay in 1976.
OF NOTE: Hanratty was featured on the covers of both Sports Illustrated and Time magazines in 1966, the year his Fighting Irish won the national title.
In 1968, Ron Kline (1932—2002), who pitched parts of 17 seasons (1952, 1955—1970) with nine Major League teams, was in his second stint with the Pirates.
Kline, known as the Callery Pa. Hummer, played his first six seasons with the hometown Bucs. Then, at age 36, he returned to post a 12-5 record in 1968 — the best winning percentage of his career, in addition to an earned run average of 1.68 and seven saves — on a team led by Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski.
For his career, he compiled a 114—144 record in 736 appearances, mostly as a relief pitcher, with a 3.75 earned run average, 989 strikeouts and 108 saves. He missed the 1953—1954 baseball seasons due to military service.
OF NOTE: After leaving baseball, Kline returned to his native Callery to serve as the borough's mayor.Ed Vargo (1928-2008) was a Major League Baseball umpire in 1968. He worked in the National League from 1960 to 1983, officiating in the World Series, National League Championship Series and All-Star Game four times each, and he also worked a number of other historic games.Vargo officiated in eight no-hitters, calling three of them from behind the plate, and is the only umpire to call no-hitters in three consecutive seasons.OF NOTE: Vargo was behind the plate on April 4, 1974, when Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's record of 714 career home runs.Butler High and Penn State graduate Bill Saul (1940-2006) was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1964 to 1968, but was on the injured reserve list his final year. The team finished with a league-worst 2-11-1 record.He played a total of nine seasons in the NFL, retiring in 1970.OF NOTE: According to Wikipedia, Bill Saul was the first player to be outfitted with a wireless microphone worn during an NFL game by NFL Films, the league's in-house filmmaking division.Identical twins Rich and Ron Saul of Butler, younger brothers of Bill Saul, were in the middle of their college careers at Michigan State in 1968. The Spartans finished 5-5 that year, but handed Terry Hanratty's Notre Dame team a 21-17 setback.Rich Saul (1948-2012) went on to play in the NFL from 1970 through 1981 as an offensive lineman with the Los Angeles Rams. He was selected to six Pro Bowls during his career.Ron Saul, 70, played 13 seasons in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the Houston Oilers and Washington Redskins and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1979.OF NOTE: Rich Saul started at center for the Rams against the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV, won by the Steelers, 31-19, on Jan. 20, 1980. Ron Saul was one of the original “Hogs,” the celebrated offensive linemen (along with running back John Riggins) of the Redskins that also included Pitt's Russ Grimm and Mark May.Professional golfer Jim Simons (1950-2005) graduated from Knoch High School in 1968 and headed to Wake Forest University, where he was a two-time All-American and, as a junior, nearly won the 1971 U.S. Open.The 21-year-old Simons shot a third-round 65 to take a two-shot lead after 54 holes in the Open at the Merion Golf Club near Philadelphia. That set up the possibility that he would become the first amateur since John Goodman in 1933 to win the event. But he double-bogeyed the final hole and shot 76 to finish tied for fifth, three shots behind winner Lee Trevino.As a teenager Simons won the West Penn Junior Championship in 1966, the West Penn Amateur in 1969, and the Pennsylvania Amateur in 1969 and 1970. He did win three times on the PGA Tour.
OF NOTE: Many consider Simons to be the second-best amateur golfer to emerge from Western Pennsylvania, behind only Arnold Palmer.Karns City High graduate Mike McNallen of Chicora was quarterback for the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968 and went on to serve at the academy and in the Navy, including in Vietnam, until 1977.A three-year starter (1968-70) at quarterback for Navy, McNallen also lettered in lacrosse. The 1968 team finished 2-9, but defeated Pitt, 17-16. It lost to Terry Hanratty's Notre Dame squad, 45-14.McNallen remains in the top 10 in several passing categories for the Midshipmen and is often ranked as the fifth-best QB in Navy history, behind No. 1 Roger Staubach.OF NOTE: McNallen played in three of the storied Army-Navy games, winning once, in 1970.In 1968, Mike Surkalo (1920-2010) was in his 22nd year of a 39-year run as sports editor of the Butler Eagle, retiring in 1985.OF NOTE: According to an account in the newspaper when Surkalo passed away at the age of 90: “For many years, Mike wrote a daily column in the Eagle called Sports Spotlight. He usually wrote a baseball column around each opening week, where he predicted the pennant winners. In 1960, he said he would walk to Pittsburgh if the Pirates were to win the pennant. The Pirates won, and he walked from Butler to Forbes Field for the World Series, which brought national attention.This article was contributed by Steve Sybert, a former Butler Eagle sports writer who is a journalist in Pittsburgh.
