2023 Mill Rats Walk of Fame
George Azar
George Azar kicked the winning field goal in undefeated Greater Johnstown High School’s 1958 WPIAL championship game against Clairton at Pitt Stadium. A three-year starter at guard / linebacker at Michigan State University, Azar also was a catcher on the Spartans baseball team. The Johnstown Junior League MVP had a single-season 19 homers, a record which stood for 30 years. He was an administrator with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL for 10 years. Azar won the 1958 Point Stadium Award.
Maurice Berry
A AAABA Hall of Famers who pitched on the Pepsi-Cola and Knickerbocker franchises that dominated the local Johnstown Junior League in the early 1990s, Berry appeared in four AAABA Tournaments from 1990 to 1993, and was only the second Johnstown franchise player to accomplish the feat. The first to do so was Pete Vuckovich, a future Cy Young Award winning pitcher.
Robert “Willis” DeBouse
A long-time baseball and softball umpire, and PIAA football and basketball official, Willis DeBouse worked numerous games at Point Stadium. For 39 years, DeBouse contributed as a PIAA official, among his highlights are umpiring the World Friendship Games at The Point in 1983 and working many AAABA Tournaments.
Pete Duranko
An All-American on a Notre Dame University national championship team and standout defensive lineman on the Denver Broncos in the National Football League, Pete Duranko earned nationwide respect as a spokesman to raise awareness of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The graduate of Johnstown Catholic High School played in the “Game of the Century” for Notre Dame against Michigan State in 1996.
Jack Ham
A Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in Canton, Ohio, Jack Ham was one of the best outside linebackers in the NFL. He was part of four Super Bowl championships with the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the 1970s. Ham earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1975. He stood out at Bishop McCort Catholic High School and was an All-American linebacker at Penn State University before the Steelers drafted him in the second round in 1971. Ham has spent more than 20 years on the Penn State football radio broadcast team.
Frank Kush
A left guard and tackle on the Windber Area High School football team, Frank Kush was part of the memorable performances at Point Stadium when the Ramblers played rival Greater Johnstown. An All-American guard at Michigan State University, Kush played on Spartans team that lost only one game. Kush coaches the Arizona State University football team to a 176-54-1 record and 19 winning seasons from 1958 to 1979.
Dee Dee Osborne
A former Greater Johnstown High School baseball coach and AAABA Hall of Fame manager / GM, Osborne won 239 games in 25 seasons at Greater Johnstown, including a District 6 Class 3A championship in 1998. He was part of 541 regular season wins as either a manger or GM in the local AAABA League and led nine teams into the AAABA Tournament, including four times as a manager.
Gene Pentz
A Greater Johnstown High School standout in baseball and football, Eugene “Gene” Pentz earned the 1970 Point Stadium Award. The right-hander pitched for Johnstown Monte Carlo in the AAABA Tournament, earning MVP in 1970. Draft by the Detroit Tigers, Pentz spent four seasons in the Major League Baseball with the Tigers and Houston Astros. The Trojans linebacker accepted a full scholarship to play football at Wake Forest University before signing his professional baseball contract.
Pete Vuckovich
The 1982 American League Cy Young Award winner, Pete Vuckovich led the Milwaukee Brewers to the World Series and pitched in Game 7, leaving the mound with the lead. He won 93 games in 11 Major League seasons. A three-sport standout at Conemaugh Valley High School, he pitched at Clarion University. Vuckovich appeared in four AAABA Tournaments with Johnstown Monte Carlo and won the Point Stadium Award in 1971 and 1972. Vuckovich spent three decades as a pitching coach, assistant GM and scout in the majors and had a role as Clu Haywood in the movie ‘Major League.’
