The History of PAHS Baseball
Early Teams | The 1940's | The 1950's | The 1960's | The 1970's | The 1980's | The 1990's | Team Records
Baseball has been a part of Pen Argyl High School's athletic program since practically the district's establishment. The earliest PAHS yearbooks we have are adorned with pictures and statistics from baseball teams; therefore, the inaugural year for the first, original PAHS baseball team is in question.
For many seasons, information was limited. Especially during the earlier years, only team records and a team picture were available, and occasionally, outstanding batting averages were mentioned. Also, many yearbooks contained only pictures and no statistics or records
due to the deadlines for the publishing of the yearbooks; therefore we have no information from these seasons. If you, or anyone you know, has any information about the early Pen Argyl baseball teams, some of the recent teams for which we have no information, or any additional information about the teams mentioned, please e-mail us at webroom@penargylsd.org
The Early Teams
The earliest statistics available show a Pen Argyl baseball team in 1936. According to Pen Argyl's 1936 yearbook, this team went an even four wins and four losses. Pictured below is this early team.
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Under Coaches Smith and Horn, the 1937 baseball team won eight games and lost only to Nazareth, by one run early in the season, and again later in the year by a margin of two. Senior members of this team included Andrew Chychota, Edward Jones, Lloyd Parsons, Daniel Phillips, and Robert Werner.
Due to lack of funds, there was no baseball team in 1938. However, intramural softball was played between the classes at Pen Argyl. Grades 7-12 participated in games at Weona Park and Albion Commons Field. The juniors went an undefeated 5-0.
David Lessig batted .500 in 1939 as the boys put together a 5-1 season, including an astounding 13-0 shutout against Bangor. They were Lehigh-Northampton Scholastic League Champions that year, according to this article posted on June 3, 1939 in the Bethlehem Globe-Times.
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Pen Argyl also won five games in 1940 to place second in the league.
The 1940's
After the 1940 season, Pen Argyl did not field a baseball team until '48. The boys' competitiveness was in question since they hadn't had any interscholastic competition in seven years, but many of the boys had past experience on local American Legion teams, so they still managed to have a decent season. The 1949 season is in question, because there was no yearbook available for this year.
The 1950's
1950 was a magical year for Pen Argyl baseball. Defeating every team they played during the regular season earned them the Lehigh-Northampton League Championship. This qualified them for a spot in the District XI playoffs.
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Pen Argyl then joined the company of Bethlehem, the East-Penn League champions, and Emmaus, the Lehigh Valley League champions in a playoff for the southern half of District XI. Pen Argyl received a bye in the first round, and played Emmaus after the Hornets defeated Bethlehem. Pen Argyl had no problems dealing with Emmaus and defeated them by a score of 7-3. Pen Argyl's next obstacle was a game with Hegins Township, the northern half champs. Hegins Township, three-time District XI champions, kept it close. However, 3,000 spectators witnessed Pen Argyl score the winning run with one out in the bottom of the 9th to claim their first District XI title. |
The 1950 District Champions
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Captain Francis Sisolak led Pen Argyl to a 7-4 record in 1951. Cesare batted .300 and J. Miller hit three home runs that season. Smith led the pitching with 58 strikeouts and a record of 4-1.
Pen Argyl took the Lehigh-Northampton title again in '52, going 10-1 in the regular season. In the first round of the District XI playoffs, Pen Argyl tied Allentown, which led to a second game with them at Bangor. Pen Argyl kept it close but wasn't able to overcome the opponents and lost by a score of 4-7.
New coaches, John Laky and Thomas Lee helped the team to win three games in 1954. Senior, Randall Lawler led the team in batting with .392 and in fielding with a percentage of .946. The team went 3-8 the following season. Many sophomores and freshmen gained valuable experience that year.
Pen Argyl tied for 3rd place in the Lehigh-Northampton League with a record of 4-4 in 1956. The boys got their first shot at playing under lights at Bangor's field during this season. They won that game by a score of 4-1. The team had another respectable season in '57, finishing 5-6.
Pen Argyl was caught in another three-way tie in 1958, but this time for the league championships, with Parkland, and Bangor, who eliminated them in a playoff for the championship.
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The Pen Argyl boys' baseball team finally won the league title in 1959 after many close calls in previous seasons. The boys went on to defeat the Konkrete Kids of Northampton in the first round of district playoffs, but lost to Easton in the semi's. The '59 Green Knights outscored their opponents by an amazing margin of 81-35.
The 1960's
The Green Knights had a close call with the Lehigh-Northampton League championship again during the 1960 season. Finishing the regular season at 8-4, they were tied with Hellertown for first place in the league. In a playoff for the title, the Green Knights fell to the enthusiastic Hellertown team and finished at a final record of 8-5.
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Going 8-3-1 in the regular season was enough to put the Green Knights above all their league-mates to take the league crown once again in 1961. One of the highlights of the '61 season was a 18-1 victory over East Stroudsburg. The boys unfortunately lost their first round district playoff game to Bethlehem 13-5. Pen Argyl came close to the championship again the following season, but were defeated 7-6 in a playoff for the title at Wilson. The '63 team went 5-5-1.
Coach Joseph Yanuzzi took over in 1964. Although finishing with a record of only 4 wins and 10 losses, the Green Knights pulled an upset over Nazareth, and beat East Stroudsburg 8-1. This was their first year playing in the new stadium. We have no record of the 1965 and '66 seasons.
Scott Clewell's (P, OF) hustle and leadership carried the 1967 team to four wins. Mel Morris batted a .323 under coaches William Ruggiero and Joseph Yanuzzi. In 1968, eight upperclassmen were dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons, leaving the varsity in need of some help. In turn, Pen Argyl's first JV team lost many of their players in order for them to come up to the varsity level. Despite the inexperience, the team won two games and gained valuable experience for the seasons to come. Also in '68, Pen Argyl played it's first double-header in school history against Delaware Valley Regional High School.
The '69 Green Knight baseball team, led by sophomore, Bill Toth (.414) and Mel Fritz (.327), won the magic number of games for the Knights in the 60's - four. At that point in time, the Knights hadn't won more than four games in their season since 1963.
The 1970's
Finally in 1970, the streak was broken - Pen Argyl's baseball team's win column outweighed the loss column. For the first time since 1962, Pen Argyl finished with a winning season (9-7.) They also broke a seven-year losing streak to rival, Bangor, who they would tie for second place in the league that season. Matt Beal (.354), Bill Toth (.333) and Jerry Gergar (.315) led the team in batting.
 
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The next season wasn't be as successful for the Green Knights, winning only five out of their fifteen games. Pitcher, Barry Miller finished with a record of 3-3 and an earned run average of 1.67. The team batting average totaled a mere .201.
The Knights played well in the following seasons, but not enough to put them over the .500 mark. In both the '72 and '73 seasons, Pen Argyl went 7-8. Top pitchers in '72 were freshmen Ted Long and Bob Weber. Ed Folk took over as head coach in '73.
Going into their final game in the '74 season, the Knights were an even 7-7. Determined to finish over .500, the Knights pulled an upset over the league champion Blue Eagles of Nazareth to put them at a final record of 8-7.
After winning eleven games and losing four in 1975, Pen Argyl's baseball team went into a playoff game with Southern Lehigh. After losing to the Spartans twice during the regular season, Pen Argyl was out for revenge in the playoff game. Unfortunately, after putting up a tough fight, Pen Argyl came up one run short and fell to Southern Lehigh for the third and final time that season. Ted Long (1B), and Jim Trach (3B) were named to the Colonial League All-Star Team.
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Pitcher, Joe Palmisano led the Knights to an 11-7 season in 1976. He was the team's leading pitcher with a record of 5-1 and an amazing ERA of .083. He also led the team in runs with seven, and RBI's with 22. Palmisano was among the four players to bat over .300 for the season. |
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Also batting over .300 for the '76 season were Tim Humphreys, Dan Derr, and Jim Trach, who batted .429. Kevin Harding also pitched for four of the Knights' victories.
Pen Argyl finished another .500 season in '77. George Doney was the only player to bat over .300, and as a pitcher, maintained an ERA of 1.93. Greg Berger's 1.56 ERA was the best on the team. Mike Sutter hit two grand slams in 1978 as the Knights won seven games and lost eleven. Among the team's top hitters were Don King and Brad Strauss. The following season, the Knights fell one game short of a .500 record (9-10).
The 1980's
The Knights got off on the right track in 1980. Their first half record totaled six wins and two losses, and even after losing six straight in the second half, the Pen Argyl boys earned a spot in the playoff for the league crown. After beating Nazareth, they went on to play Salisbury. However, their loss to the Falcons would end their quest for another league title.
Chuck Repsher and Kevin Lysek batted over the .400 mark in 1981 to lead the team to an 8-10 record. Highlighting the season was an 8-4 victory over rivals and eventual league champs, Bangor. Repsher and Lysek led in batting the following season as well at the team compiled an 8-12 record despite many rain delays. Although the team defeated Nazareth twice and accomplished an 11-0 win over Pius X, the '83 Green Knights won only five games.
The '84 season was one of misfortune and bad luck. Between the numerous rain delays and a controversy over a Salisbury game, the Green Knight baseball team encountered enough troubles to last them for years to come. Outstanding individual efforts were posted by Rick Folk, who batted .369, and senior, Dan Valletta, who hit 2 home runs.
A new coach brought a new attitude to the Pen Argyl baseball program in 1985. Joe Caramanica coached the team to their first winning season in five years and helped them to qualify for the District XI playoffs. Rick Folk, a Green Knight pitcher with a record of 8-4 and an ERA of 1.43, batted an awesome .570 and was selected to the First-Team All-Colonial League. Bob Vargo, (3B) batted .388 and was also selected to the league first team. Matt Smull was given honorable mention.
Seniors Mike Kaiser, Tim Tocket, Frank Ceraul, and Andy Albanese led the '86 Knights to a record of 10-9. Various underclassmen also contributed to the successful season as well. Sophomore, Joe Kopko batted .355 with 17 RBI's, and junior, Bob Vargo batted .345. Vargo hit three singles during the season and drove in ten runs.
A 13-2 victory over Catty ended the '87 regular season at 13-9. This win sent the Knights into the District XI playoffs. In a see-saw match against Mahonoy Area in the first round, Steve Guerro made the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh to put the Knights over the top by the score of 9-8. After defeating Salisbury twice in the regular season, Pen Argyl lost to them in the district playoffs in the second round by a heart-breaking score of 7-0. Though the season ended tough, the journey to the playoffs was full of exciting one-run victories and great pitching by Bob Vargo, including a no-hitter against Palisades.
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Neil Pagotto pitched a perfect game to highlight the 1988 season. Pen Argyl went 11-9 with a spot in the district playoffs. After defeating Northwestern and Marian, Pen Argyl lost to Salisbury again to end their season.
Due to the lack of experience, the '89 Knights went 6-14. However, even with no returning starters, and only three seniors, the team went 5-5 in the second half to complete a respectable season.
The 1990's
Although Coach Joe Caramanica left Pen Argyl in mid-season for a job at another school, the boys kept it together and finished the 1990 season at 8-12 with new coach, Bill Ruggiero. Steve Homoki and Tom Knorr were chosen to represent Pen Argyl in the 5th Annual Interscholastic High School All-Star Baseball Tournament.
The 1991 season was one of ups and downs. After going 3-9 in their first twelve games, the Green Knights made a complete turnaround by winning six of their last seven games and taking second place in the league in the second half. By finishing the season with an overall record of 9-10 (8-8 in the league), Pen Argyl qualified for the District XI playoffs. They lost in the first round to the eventual district champions of Pine Grove, by a score of 7-1.
Pen Argyl once again qualified for districts in '93 thanks to solid hitting and outstanding pitching, despite the bad weather and the new pitching rule (pitchers were now allowed to pitch only fifteen innings a week). Even though the team had to overcome many obstacles, (practicing in the gym due to the weather and playing up to four games a week because of rescheduled games), Brian Aman managed to throw two no-hitters that season, and Matt Corona was recognized by the Express Times for his outstanding efforts and for his league-leading number of RBI's.
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The 1995 baseball team was very strong in the beginning with 3 quick wins for the Knights. The Knights team beat Nazareth, Northern Lehigh, Notre Dame, Southern Lehigh, Palmerton and Saucon Valley twice. Beating these big schools gave more points for district seedings. Shawn Maloney and Jason Weaver had big homeruns during the season.Weaver also went an amazing 5-5 at bat which helped the Knight greatly. The team traveled toLimeport to go up against the Spartans. Drew Dotta and Kyle Cramer went the distance for Pen Argyl that night. At the Northern Lehigh game Eric Mladosich led the knights in the seventh inning with the tied and hit a solo homerun. Roy Kocher had a bating average of .476 and 19 RBI's he lead the knights.
The 1996 baseball season was very ruff. There was a lot of talent out on the field dispite the record. The most important factor on the field was homeruns hit by Roy Kocher and Shawn Maloney (two each ). Greg Cosgrove, Matt Curcio and Eric Lloyd each hit one a piece. Although the Knights's season didn't go well they did beat Colonial League Champs Salisbury and with losses to Palisades and Wilson by one.
In 1997 the baseball team won four games in the early season before halfway point. After a mid season slump the boys beat Northern Lehigh and ended the season with a win against Wilson. The team also won against Saucon Valley, Notre Dame of East Strousburg, and Nothern Lehigh.
In 2002 the baseball team made districts for theThird year. Jay Myer and Jake DeBoer had the best batting average Jay with .472 and Jake close behind with .471. Joe Ronca has had a big part in ths season With strong pitcher Jason Rompola and Mike Buhanan. Jason was winning pitcher piching record of 6-1 Mike Buchan also had a good season record 2-1.
In 2005 the baseball team won 2 games out of 18.
In 2006 the baseball team won 3 games out of 20.
In 2007 the baseball team won 6 ganes out of 20.
Please E-mail us if you played during these seasons or know any of the records or outstanding individual performances. Also we are looking for a team pictures Specifically 2002 team. If anyone has pictures that we could scan and place on the web page please send an E-mail. Thank you!!
Orginal Article by Sarah Mushock
Updated December 2006 By: Megan Brobst
Early Teams | The 1940's | The 1950's | The 1960's | The 1970's | The 1980's | The 1990's | Team Records