Mid-State coaching Icon dies at age "72" ...
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THE CHOPS
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Mid-State coaching Icon dies at age "72" ...
Midstate coaching icon Craig dies at 72
Teams in 2 sports had nearly 800 wins at Cedar Cliff, Newport
Bob Craig was a giant.
Not physically, of course. The man who came within a whisker of becoming an Olympic wrestler was certainly impressive with his massive chest, his Popeyelike forearms and his sturdy bearing, all in a tight package that scraped 6 feet in height, if that.
But his accomplishments as a high school football and wrestling coach? Those truly were gigantic.
Craig, whose teams won nearly 800 athletic contests in a 40-year span at Newport and Cedar Cliff high schools, died yesterday at Holy Spirit Hospital in East Pennsboro Twp. after an extended illness. He was 72.
Between those sports, Craig coached thousands of young men, and did so successfully. His midstate-record 282 football victories and his 513 wrestling triumphs -- at one point a state record -- attest to that.
But the fiery Craig was more than just a colorful and prosperous high school coach.
"Bob was also a champion for the downtrodden person," said Len McLaughlin, Cedar Cliff's line coach for much of Craig's football tenure. "He had a sensitive spot in his heart for the person who had fallen on hard times."
"Do you know that Bob used to read to little kids at the library at elementary school?" said John Kambic, Cedar Cliff's former track and field and cross-country coach, and a long-time colleague. "He absolutely loved kids."
The image of a soft, sensitive Craig is at odds with his public persona. Although he didn't curse, Craig would react viscerally to what he perceived as unfavorable calls by officials.
"I felt both of those emotions [anger and compassion] while playing for him in high school," said Tom Kirchhoff, a 1989 Cedar Cliff graduate and Wormleysburg resident who played quarterback for the Colts' PIAA Class AAAA runner-up team in 1988.
"My junior year, I was always at the receiving end of his loudest criticisms," Kirchhoff said. "By my senior year, it was as if I had proven myself. I didn't hear from him quite the same way. Believe me, I have nothing but positive things to say about that man."
Craig rose from humble and tragic beginnings in his native Schuylkill County to become "an icon in high school sports in Pennsylvania," according to PIAA Executive Director Brad Cashman, who said he received immeasurable help from Craig on the eventual growth of the state wrestling championships.
Craig's parents were killed in an auto accident when he was young, and he grew to adulthood in a Pottsville orphanage. There, he was not permitted to play "dangerous" sports, although he was permitted to participate in gymnastics.
He became a state champion in the sport, joined the Marines after graduating from Pottsville High School, and entered Lock Haven State Teachers' College on a gymnastics scholarship through Penn State University.
At Lock Haven, he eagerly took up football and wrestling, the latter at the suggestion of a new friend, a state champion from Pittsburgh named Gus DeAugustino.
Craig eventually was so proficient at the sport that he qualified for the 1956 U.S. Olympic trials. Virtually penniless at the time, he made it to Los Angeles for the trials after former Patriot-News sportswriter Ronnie Christ, who was then working at the Pottsville Republican, spearheaded a fund-raising drive on Craig's behalf.
He lost by a point in a grueling 15-minute match to Dan Hodge, who went on to win the silver medal at the Olympics.
Craig then eschewed a 1957 tryout with the National Football League's Cleveland Browns to accept a teaching and coaching position at Newport. He moved to Cedar Cliff in 1960 and stayed until his retirement from coaching in 2000.
"THE CHOPS".
Teams in 2 sports had nearly 800 wins at Cedar Cliff, Newport
Bob Craig was a giant.
Not physically, of course. The man who came within a whisker of becoming an Olympic wrestler was certainly impressive with his massive chest, his Popeyelike forearms and his sturdy bearing, all in a tight package that scraped 6 feet in height, if that.
But his accomplishments as a high school football and wrestling coach? Those truly were gigantic.
Craig, whose teams won nearly 800 athletic contests in a 40-year span at Newport and Cedar Cliff high schools, died yesterday at Holy Spirit Hospital in East Pennsboro Twp. after an extended illness. He was 72.
Between those sports, Craig coached thousands of young men, and did so successfully. His midstate-record 282 football victories and his 513 wrestling triumphs -- at one point a state record -- attest to that.
But the fiery Craig was more than just a colorful and prosperous high school coach.
"Bob was also a champion for the downtrodden person," said Len McLaughlin, Cedar Cliff's line coach for much of Craig's football tenure. "He had a sensitive spot in his heart for the person who had fallen on hard times."
"Do you know that Bob used to read to little kids at the library at elementary school?" said John Kambic, Cedar Cliff's former track and field and cross-country coach, and a long-time colleague. "He absolutely loved kids."
The image of a soft, sensitive Craig is at odds with his public persona. Although he didn't curse, Craig would react viscerally to what he perceived as unfavorable calls by officials.
"I felt both of those emotions [anger and compassion] while playing for him in high school," said Tom Kirchhoff, a 1989 Cedar Cliff graduate and Wormleysburg resident who played quarterback for the Colts' PIAA Class AAAA runner-up team in 1988.
"My junior year, I was always at the receiving end of his loudest criticisms," Kirchhoff said. "By my senior year, it was as if I had proven myself. I didn't hear from him quite the same way. Believe me, I have nothing but positive things to say about that man."
Craig rose from humble and tragic beginnings in his native Schuylkill County to become "an icon in high school sports in Pennsylvania," according to PIAA Executive Director Brad Cashman, who said he received immeasurable help from Craig on the eventual growth of the state wrestling championships.
Craig's parents were killed in an auto accident when he was young, and he grew to adulthood in a Pottsville orphanage. There, he was not permitted to play "dangerous" sports, although he was permitted to participate in gymnastics.
He became a state champion in the sport, joined the Marines after graduating from Pottsville High School, and entered Lock Haven State Teachers' College on a gymnastics scholarship through Penn State University.
At Lock Haven, he eagerly took up football and wrestling, the latter at the suggestion of a new friend, a state champion from Pittsburgh named Gus DeAugustino.
Craig eventually was so proficient at the sport that he qualified for the 1956 U.S. Olympic trials. Virtually penniless at the time, he made it to Los Angeles for the trials after former Patriot-News sportswriter Ronnie Christ, who was then working at the Pottsville Republican, spearheaded a fund-raising drive on Craig's behalf.
He lost by a point in a grueling 15-minute match to Dan Hodge, who went on to win the silver medal at the Olympics.
Craig then eschewed a 1957 tryout with the National Football League's Cleveland Browns to accept a teaching and coaching position at Newport. He moved to Cedar Cliff in 1960 and stayed until his retirement from coaching in 2000.
"THE CHOPS".
