A legend helped christen
Heinz Field Yannessa at root of today’s Aliquippa
Aliquippa christened its renovated stadium Friday with plenty of pomp and circumstance, celebrating the sparkling place that is the “new” Heinz Field. Former Aliquippa coach Don Yannessa was there and stood in an end zone before the game, not far from a giant “Heinz Field” sign above Aliquippa’s locker room.
The place used to be affectionately known as “The Pit.” But no matter the name these days, Aliquippa’s stadium should always be known as “The House Don Yannessa Built.”
It’s been 35 years since Yannessa coached his last game at Aliquippa. He’s now 83 years young, still lives in Center Township (Beaver County) with his wife, Elaine, and his mind is sharp as ever. Yannessa’s impact should never be forgotten because he made Aliquippa football and made “The Pit” famous in the late 1970s and ’80s.
Yannessa is the guy they used to call “Hollywood” because of his flair and flamboyance. Heck, he even had a couple of lines in the Tom Cruise movie “All The Right Moves.” Yannessa still likes to wear sunglasses, just like he used to for team pictures in the 1980s. But those sunglasses and “Hollywood” tag should never overshadow what he did as an Aliquippa coach — for the team, his players, the school and the town. Yannessa’s time at Aliquippa is a story worth telling again. Heck, did you know Aliquippa was playing Saturday afternoon home games before Yannessa took over because school administrators were worried about racial violence at Friday night games?
Yannessa’s touch helped ease racial tensions in Aliquippa in the 1970s. It was sort of like “Remember The Titans” at Aliquippa in the 1970s. And, oh, the stories Yannessa has of those days.
Carl Aschman had success as Aliquippa’s coach in the 1950s and ’60s but left after the 1964 season, and Aliquippa went 12-51 over the next seven seasons under four coaches. Yannessa took over at his alma mater in 1972.
“Nobody wanted the job,” Yannessa said. “They had racial issues. One season, all the white kids walked off the team. Another season, all the Black kids walked. I knew all the stories. I knew where all the bodies were buried. I wanted the job, but I wouldn’t be a patsy for anybody. We would do it my way to get those kids to believe what I’m saying and what I’m doing.
“When I got the job, I hooked up Black leaders and white leaders and orchestrated situations where we would get together in groups at maybe bars and restaurants and eat together. There were still problems, but it was
“Nobody wanted the job. They had racial issues. One season, all the white kids walked off the team. Another season, all the Black kids walked.”
— Don Yannessa
turning around.”
Yannessa went 2-8 in his first year (1972). He pleaded with administration that the team had to start playing Friday night football again. The administration let Yannessa play one night game in 1973, and the Quips beat a mighty Butler team 9-0. That team had legendary coach Art Bernardi. Aliquippa played Saturday afternoon games again in 1974, but it was all Friday night games starting in 1975.
Yannessa made Friday night football a happening and really made “The Pit.” He had fireworks set off after touchdowns. He had a man dressed as an Indian ride a horse to the center of the field and throw a spear into the ground. He had skydivers for some home games.
After losing in three WPIAL championship games from 1980-83, Yannessa finally won a title in 1984 and won three more in the next four years. Current Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield, who spearheadedthe renovation of Aliquippa’s stadium along with superintendent of schools Phillip Woods, was a Aliquippa quarterback for Yannessa in the mid-1980s. Yannessa gushes about Warfield and what he has done for the program, the players and the community. Warfield has been to Yannessa’s home for dinner and even brought along some of his assistant coaches.
“When I played, our facilities were top notch,” Warfield said. “He was that father figure for all of us who played for him, and a lot of us needed that. The admiration for him is second to none.”
Yannessa left Aliquippa after the 1988 season to become coach and athletic director at Baldwin. He coached Aliquippa for 17 years, Baldwin for 14 and Ambridge for
six before retiring. His alltime record of 249-137-7 is still 11th on the WPIAL all-time list for wins.
I’ve known Don Yannessa for 42 years, first meeting him at Aliquippa’s preseason camp in the middle of nowhere in Zelienople in 1982. He is one of the most colorful coaches in WPIAL history. He had a little bit of Coach Prime (Deion Sanders) in him 40 years ago. But he was a dang good coach, too.
And the head of the Quips always had some memorable quips. After he lost in a WPIAL title game for the third time in four years in 1983, he said, “We’ve got the copper trophy three times now. I think I’m going to melt them down into bullets and shoot myself.”
One year later, after Aliquippa finally had won the title, Yannessa said, “There’s going to be three of us in bed tonight. My wife, me and the trophy.”
Yannessa says he loves his life now. He still tells great stories and the great comments still flow. For example:
• About his health: “I’m pretty good. But all I do is go to doctors. I have more doctors than I used to have golf partners. But that’s OK because at my age, if you don’t have a doctor, you have an undertaker. I’d rather have a doctor.”
• On beating mighty Butler in that 1973 game: “I told our guys that if they win, I’ll give them anything — my house, my wife, whatever. After the game, we’re celebrating and one player says, ‘What do we get now, coach?’ Another player yells, ‘You might get his house or his wife, but I know you ain’t getting that Lincoln he drives.’ ”
• On his time at Baldwin: “It wasn’t like we were winning championships, but we were competitive. Being competitive at Baldwin is like winning championships at Thomas Jefferson. If Jesus came down to be coach at Baldwin and asked me advice, I’d tell him, ‘I won 80-some games at Baldwin. I don’t think anyone can do that now.Not even you.’ ”
• On his time at Aliquippa and other places: “If I would’ve been a failure at Aliquippa, I wouldn’t even live where I do now. I had to do the job. If I didn’t, then I was a phony. I enjoyed my years at Baldwin. We did what we had to do to make them better. We made Ambridge better, too. We even beat Aliquippa once. But the reality is there’s nothing like the Quips.”
And there’s no one like Donald A. Yannessa.