Mark Farabee

This is the fifth in a series of 10 articles profiling the 2017 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.BUTLER TWP — Mark Farabee knows something about offensive lines.A longtime health and physical education teacher at Butler High, Farabee was a starting guard on the Slippery Rock State College teams that won state championships in 1973 and 1974. He served as an assistant coach — primarily working with linemen — for the Golden Tornado football team for more than 25 years and eventually became head coach.All of that, coupled with success as a track and field coach, has earned Farabee induction into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.He will be inducted at the organization’s 52nd annual banquet April 29 at the Butler Days Inn.“I feel very humbled,” Farabee said. “I was nominated by Jeff McAnallen, one of my former players, and that’s very special to me.”McAnallen is one of 10 offensive linemen coached by Farabee who went on to play Division I college football.“We were fortunate back then that a lot of guys 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, who were quick and mobile were sought by major colleges,” Farabee said. “You have to be at least 6-5, 300 pounds now to get looked at.“I don’t know if we have many guys like that walking the halls of Butler High School right now.”Farabee played for Hall of Fame coach Bob DiSpirito at Slippery Rock “and I learned a lot about success there.”He also coached under Art Bernardi and Tim Nunes at Butler before having a six-year run as head coach himself.“We made the playoffs just one time during that stretch, but we had so many near-misses,” Farabee said. “If they took four teams from each section then like they do now, we’d have been there a few more times.“We used to play a brutal non-section schedule, teams like Woodland Hills and McKeesport, each year as well.”Farabee began coaching track at Butler Junior High as a means to supplement his income as a young teacher.“I just volunteered,” he said. “I was a new teacher, not making a whole lot of money, and everybody who could coach coached something for that little bit extra.“There was an opening with junior high track and that’s where it started for me.”Farabee served as head boys track coach at Butler for more than 10 years and coached that team to a pair of WPIAL championships.He also worked as the Tornado’s throwing coach in track, which attracted a number of his offensive linemen from football.“There was a familiarity there,” Farabee said. “It was a natural transition for a lot of those guys. We lifted weights in the off-season and coming out for track in the spring was another way for those athletes to compete.”It was a female athlete — Allison Sams — who Farabee coached to a PIAA championship in the shot put. He went on to serve on the WPIAL track committee for more than 20 years and still runs track meets today.“I’m a firm believer in getting kids experience performing under the gun,” Farabee said. “The more a kid learns how to deal with pressure situations, the better athlete he becomes.“That’s always been my philosophy.”Tickets for the April 29 HOF banquet are $35 in advance, $40 at the door. Ticket outlets include Parkers Appliance in Chicora, Bill’s Beer Barn, Moses Jewelers and Snack-N-Pack in Butler, Saxonburg Drug and Maddalon Jewelers in Zelienople.