Minnear

This is the sixth in a series of articles profiling the 2007 honorees of the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame. The annual banquet is April 28 at the Butler Days Inn.Winning and Ken Minnear were synonymous in football.The 1971 Moniteau graduate was part of his school's lone Clarion County League championship team, played for three consecutive state championship squads at Slippery Rock University and was a Grey Cup champion with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League.Those achievements, coupled with his basketball and track skills, landed him a spot in the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame.Minnear was a three-year letterman in football and track and a two-year letterman in basketball at Moniteau, serving as captain of all of those teams. He played quarterback for the Warriors in 1970 when they won the Clarion County League title.Minnear held the triple jump record of 42 feet, 6 inches for 15 years at Moniteau. He was a 5-foot-10 center in basketball."I wasn't real good there," he said of basketball. "I was known for my physical play more than anything."At Slippery Rock University, Minnear became an all-conference defensive end and was a teammate of longtime SRUhead coach and fellow Hall of Famer George Mihalik during state championship seasons in 1972, 1973 and 1974."I never did play on a losing football team,"Minnear said. "That involves a lot of luck and playing with a lot of talented people."Minnear was expected to be selected in the 18th round of the NFLdraft by the Baltimore Colts, but the team traded that pick and he wasn't selected.Instead, he caught on with Ottawa in the CFL, replacing a 16-year All-Pro end who was retiring."I had free agent offers from San Francisco, Washington and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL, but Ottawa seemed like my best chance to play,"Minnear said."CFLteams can only keep seven Americans on the squad. I played there for a year, we won the Grey Cup, then that guy came out of retirement and I was gone."Even after those championships, Minnear has stayed involved in athletics."I've coached baseball, girls softball, basketball, midget football, served on the school board at Moniteau for eight years,"Minnear said."All five of my kids have been standout athletes, so that's kept me involved."Minnear teamed with Larry Sankey and Gary Mershimer to restart the West Sunbury Little League, which had been dormant for nine years. He joined Mark Kosick in starting an elementary basketball program in the Moniteau district.There are about 150 players in the West Sunbury Little League today and more than 100 boys and girls are playing elementary basketball in the district."It's rewarding to get kids involved,"Minnear said. "Years ago, guys stepped up and coached us when we wanted to play. This time my kids wanted to play, so we had to get those leagues started."Two of Minnear's children — Lindsay and Jason — are on rugby teams at Penn State and Clarion University, respectively. Todd Minnear played football and ran track in high school. Matt Goettler played basketball at Moniteau and Butler County Community College.Jason Minnear played football in high school, Lindsay Minnear played softball and basketball, Emily Goettler played volleyball."All were captains of their various sports, were class officers and honor students,"Minnear said. "They're all either attending college or have graduated from college."I'm as proud of their accomplishments as I am of my own — probably more so."