Carroll Twp. woman recalls rocky opening at Donora stadium

The introduction of a new athletic facility is always a time for celebration and a display of school and community pride.

That certainly was the case 84 years ago as Donora looked forward with understandable excitement to the opening of its new football stadium, Legion Field, on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1930.

Marie Scrip remembers those festivities – and an accident that put a damper on them – as though they were yesterday.

“My youth was spent at the Legion Field every day engaging in all sorts of games and sports,” said Mrs. Scrip, the former Marie Bill, a longtime resident of Donora who now lives in Carroll Township. “Clarence Kefel was the overseer of all activities at the athletic field. At 5:30 each afternoon a mushball game would be played at Legion Field by Donora teams. Some of the teams I recall were Grants, Mighty Monarchs, Jednota, St. Michael's and Sokols.”

Mushball, played with a ball larger than a softball, was a major sport in the area during those years.

One of the top teams was another from Donora, the Lees, who boasted some of the best players in the region and who traveled near and far for exhibition games.

Anticipation for the official debut Legion Field in 1930 grew as opening day neared.

Sportswriter James H. (Jimmy) Storey of The Monessen Daily Independent emphasized that positive mood in a pre-season story about the Donora High School team on Sept. 24.

Storey, whose Here ‘N' There/A Bit of Sports Hash column was a popular feature in the newspaper, said one of the highlights of his interview with Donora coach John Anderson was seeing “the splendid new field ... far superior to the always unsatisfactory gridiron at Palmer Park.”

“Cavorting on that new field were some 40 hard, tough boys whom Coach Andy hopes to mold into a formidable eleven to represent Donora this year and uphold the splendid record of successes scored by past Donora teams,” Storey wrote.

He said the new Legion Field “is laid out on an almost natural gridiron immediately in the rear of the newly-constructed high school.”

“It is far superior to old Palmer Park field which Donora used for many years and is undoubtedly the best football field in the Valley,” he said.

Storey's story continued: “Grass was planted earlier in the year but the recent drought played havoc with the tender shoots and only a sparse growth now covers the playing surface.

“Permanent bleachers seating some 2,000 people have been erected on the north side of the field, while there is still room for bleachers on the opposite side and plenty of standing room. One novel feature which Donora officials have promised to erect as a part of the stadium is a press box seating five scribes, which will be located on the hill overlooking the field and against which the permanent bleachers are now located.”

Anderson was in his seventh year as head coach at Donora and again was being assisted by Harold R. Hamilton.

In sharp contrast to the advance coverage of the 1 p.m. season opener against Trinity was this post-game headline on Page One of The Charleroi Mail on Monday, September 29: Inquiry Begins in Collapse of Donora Stadium Grandstand.

The Mail, The Daily Independent and other area newspapers reported that an investigation “into the collapse of a bleacher stand at the dedication of the new American Legion Field at the Donora High School on Saturday during a game which hurtled 630 students to the ground was under way today.”

Mrs. Scrip, the daughter of the late Michael and Anastasia Stanchak Bill, lived at 644 Third St., “very close to Legion Field,” at the time of the incident. She was at a neighbor's (the Kolodychak family) home when it happened and ran to the field when she heard about it..

“Temporary bleachers were set up at the field,” Mrs. Scrip, a 1940 graduate of Donora High School, recalled. “At a certain point before the game, the bleachers collapsed and many of the students sitting on the lower rows suffered injuries and were carried out. I watched all this excitement and was overwhelmed.”

Four students who were seriously hurt were recovering at their homes on Monday, the newspapers said. They were identified as: ■ Esther Eisenberg, 10, who sustained a broken right ankle;■Steve Stanko, 14, who suffered a crushed toe; and Florence Jones, 14, and Emily Chilcote, 13, both with ankle fractures.

Miss Eisenberg was a classmate of Mrs. Scrip's brother.

“I vividly remember seeing Esther being carried out of the stadium like a child,” Mrs. Scrip said. “She was on a bottom bleacher at the time of the collapse.”

A member of Mrs. Scrip's family went to the scene shortly after the incident and took pictures of the aftermath.

Mrs. Scrip's daughter, Mrs. Eileen Chiprich of Carroll Township, recently contributed two of those classic photos to the Donora Historical Society.

“We found them while looking through some of my mother's albums and scrapbooks,” Mrs. Chiprich said. “Mom had been a member of the Donora Historical Society for a number of years and we thought they would like to have the photos.”

Indeed.

“As historians, we pray for people like Mrs. Chiprich and Mrs. Scrip,” said Brian Charlton, curator for the Donora Historical Society, which is based at the Smog Museum at Sixth Street and McKean Avenue. “They help make history come alive.”

Charlton said the Society sees history “thrown away” nearly every day when people pass away, move or downsize and their treasures are “relegated to the dumpster.”

“We admire and appreciate the effort it takes to find a home for artifacts and relics that tell the story of Donora,” Charlton said. “Over the ears the archives of the Donora Historical Society have been built through the conscientious diligence of people like Mrs. Chiprich and Mrs. Scrip. What these women have done is not just leave us information but also a gift to help future generations make their own history come alive someday.

“All those old photos, diaries, records, artifacts and relics in Grandma's and Grandpa's attic, closet or basement are resources that any historical society would dearly love to preserve and interpret.”

Mrs. Chiprich's sister, Patty Scrip Brletich of Carroll Township, also proved helpful with family archives photos of their mother, which accompany this story.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 27, 1930, bleacher collapse at Legion Field, area newspapers reported that Donora Superintendent of Schools Rex W. Dimmick ordered schools throughout the steel town to check on “today's (September 29) attendance with a view to determining injuries to others.”

“Members of the school board and Mr. Dimmick were to make an exhaustive study of the wrecked stands today, while two representatives of the Circle A Products Company of New Castle, Indiana, builders of the stands, were in Donora to assist in the investigation,” the newspapers said.

The section of bleachers that collapsed was designed for use both at the outdoor playing field and in the gymnasium of the new high school. The seats “are built up in 20 tiers, the topmost about 16 feet from the ground,” The Charleroi Mail reported. “Capacity of the section which gave way is 1,000. It was about two-thirds filled when the crash occurred.”

Diminick, according to newspaper accounts, reported that about 30 students had been “more or less severely bruised and bumped in the mishap.”

The Donora and Trinity football teams were warming up on the field prior to the inaugural game when the accident occurred.

“Good order was maintained, and after the human tangle had been straightened out and it was learned that there had been no serious injuries, the game was started some 30 minutes late,” The Charleroi Mail said.

The Monessen Daily Independent's account of the accident said the collapse of the bleachers “somewhat marred” the opening of the new field. The portable bleachers at the north side of the field “gave way, hurtling some 600 grade and junior high school students into a squirming mass of humanity in what first appeared to have been a serious tragedy,” the Page One story said.

“Fortunately there were no fatalities as a result of the bleacher crash, and of the 50 odd children reported injured, only four were understood to have suffered hurts of a serious nature,” it stated.

The Independent did report, however, that the opening contest was “further marred by the serious injury of Donald Lincoln, 18, center of the Donora team, who is in the West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh today as a result of an injury received during the closing minutes of play.”

“The youthful athlete, although seriously injured, continued to play but collapsed in the dressing room and was rushed to the hospital, where it was found he had suffered a punctured kidney,” the newspaper said. “He underwent an operation and his condition is somewhat improved.”

The game with Trinity, played before a crowd of 3,000 fans, ended in a scoreless tie.

Donora's first victory on its new field would not come until a week later – on Saturday, October 4 – when the Dragons shut out California, 12-0. Joe Jozefczyk scored the first touchdown ever at Legion Field on a short plunge, and George Yonek returned an intercepted pass for the other six points.

Legion Field evolved as part of construction of the new high school on Waddell Avenue near Fourth Street.

The new school also opened in the fall of 1930 but was not formally dedicated until later that year.

(If you have memories to share or story ideas, contact Ron Paglia at ronpaglia@verizon.net or c/o The Valley Independent, Eastgate 19, Monessen, PA 15062.)

Ron Paglia is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.