Sports History
For All Seasons
By Anne Madarasz

Chevy Troutman's recent tryout with the Washington Redskins brings to mind those athletes able to compete successfully across seasons and sports. In this age of increasing specialization, it is rather rare to find multi-sport athletes in college, especially in Division 1-A where training is a focused, year-around endeavor. It is rarer still in the big leagues. Certain names leap immediately to mind - Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, even Babe Didrikson. But are there athletes with a connection to this region that have earned the moniker, "men for all seasons?"

In the late 19th century, athletes known best for their achievements on the baseball diamond also played football in the off-season. Christy Mathewson, the great baseball pitcher, appears in team photos for the Latrobe Athletic Association, an early football team that actively recruited and paid college stars. Likewise, Ed Abbaticchio, recognized as the first Italian-American to play professional baseball (for the Pittsburgh Pirates) was also playing "professional" football in the 1890s.

A few decades later, Cal Hubbard arrived on the local scene playing football at Geneva College in 1926. As a rookie defensive end, he helped the New York Giants to a league championship, then moved onto Green Bay where he won three NFL titles under the legendary Curly Lambeau. Hubbard finished his career in Pittsburgh and was named to the first class of Hall of Fame inductees in 1963. When his football career was behind him, he began to work as an umpire in the major leagues, quickly rising to the top ranks and working his first World Series in 1938. Hubbard devised the modern positioning strategy for umpires, still in use today. This work led to his induction into Cooperstown in 1976, making him the first man named to three national sports halls of fame (he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962).

In 1950, a triple threat back from Ohio State named Vic Janowicz won the Heisman Trophy. After a stint in the service, Janowicz played baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates for two years as a catcher in 1953 and 1954. He returned to football in '54, playing defensive back for the Washington Redskins. He led the NFL in scoring in 1955 until the final day of the season. An automobile accident ended his playing career in 1956.

A contemporary of Janowicz, Wilkinsburg's Dick Groat, built a reputation as a two-sport star in the 1950s. Groat attended Duke University where he put together stellar numbers on the basketball court and the baseball diamond. Twice named an All-American in baseball, Groat set an all-time NCAA basketball record for points in a season his junior year with 831 and was named the 1951 College Player of the Year. A two time All- American, Groat became the first Duke player to have his number (10) retired.

After college, Groat played in 1952 both for the Pittsburgh Pirates and for the Fort Wayne Pistons of the NBL. He spent two years in the army, then concentrated on baseball, playing for the Pirates through 1962. Groat was the starting shortstop on the Pirates' 1960 World Series championship team and collected the National League MVP that same year. Traded in 1962, Groat led the league in doubles, hitting .319 for St. Louis in 1963. He retired from baseball after the 1967 season and currently does the color for Pitt basketball broadcasts.

Anne Madarasz is the Director of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the History Center. See Dick Groat's 1960 Pirates' jersey on display at the Museum, located on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh's historic Strip District.