Western Conference showcased region's talents
Mention the term Western Conference, and the first thoughts likely are of the Pacific Ocean slamming into a rocky coastline or the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.
But in WPIAL football from 1956-81, the Western Conference represented a superb brand of football.
The Western Conference basically consisted of schools from the South Hills of Pittsburgh in the WPIAL's largest enrollment classification, but it stretched to Uniontown and Washington.
Mt. Lebanon was the conference's most successful program, earning 15 outright and shared titles in the 26 years of Western play.
Charter members were Baldwin, Mt. Lebanon, Uniontown and Washington. Trinity and Munhall came on board two years later, and Canon-McMillian signed on in '59. As the post-World War II boom suburbs continued to grow, more schools reached their peak enrollment, such as Upper St. Clair, Chartiers Valley and Montour.
"One of the things I remember most is the camaraderie of the coaches, assistants and the athletics directors who all knew each other well," said Art Walker Sr., coach of some of the great Mt. Lebanon teams. "We would have a picnic with food and beverages at Chartiers Valley Park. It was like a social event."
Prior to 1973, schools had to arrange their own schedules, and being a conference member made finding opponents much easier.
Mt. Lebanon produced four WPIAL titles during the Western Conference's reign and Upper St. Clair played in back-to-back tie games for WPIAL honors in 1974-75. Uniontown won WPIAL championships in 1962 and 1965, with the '65 team recording the highest power rating ever - 571 - under the formula used by PIAA historian Roger B. Saylor.
The Red Raiders defeated Butler, 14-7, for the '65 WPIAL title.
After 1981, the WPIAL split Class AAAA into two divisions, thus breaking up the conference.
Five best teams
• 1963 Washington, 9-0-0. Little Prexies rolled through the conference and regular season but didn't have enough Gardner Points to qualify for WPIAL title game.
• 1965 Uniontown, 10-0-0. Eight of the 10 wins were against teams with over .500 records. Some call it the best team in WPIAL history.
• 1970 Mt. Lebanon, 10-0-0. Third WPIAL title contestant in five seasons defeated Kiski Area, 35-12, at Three Rivers Stadium.
• 1975 Upper St. Clair, 9-0-1. Legendary coach Joe Moore's second straight undefeated regular season ended with second straight tie in WPIAL title game against New Castle.
• 1981 Mt. Lebanon, 13-0-0. Blue Devils finish string of 27 winning seasons in 28 years by hammering North Hills, 34-6, before a packed house at Pittsburgh's South Stadium.
Five best players
• Sandy Stephens, Uniontown: Went to Minnesota and became first black consensus All-American QB; led Golden Gophers to 1960 national title and Rose Bowl victory; later starred in CFL; died in 2000.
• Ted Vactor, Washington: Played at Nebraska under Bob Devaney and seven years in NFL with Redskins and Bears.
• Doug Kotar, Canon-McMillian: RB led Big Macs to first conference title in school history in '69; later played for Kentucky and New York Giants.
• Jeff Delaney, Upper St. Clair: Led Panthers to undefeated regular season and WPIAL co-title in '74; played DB for Pitt and LA Rams.
• Richard and Cesar Aldisert, Mt. Lebanon: Titanic twins made 1980 first team AP & UPI all-state teams; Richard as an end, Cesar as linebacker as Lebo won first Class AAAA title in history. Richard died of heart ailment within a year.
Five best games
• Oct. 25, 1956, Mt. Lebanon 28, Uniontown 13: Lebos win first of 15 conference titles.
• Oct. 19, 1962, Uniontown 14, Mt. Lebanon 7: Red Raiders clinch conference crown and will become WPIAL title winners by acclamation as the only undefeated and untied Class AA team.
• Oct. 24, 1969, Canon-McMillan 20, Baldwin 16: Big Macs interrupt Mt. Lebo reign of seven conference titles in eight seasons with hard-fought victory against Highlanders team that included all-state first team tackle Dave Wannstedt.
• Nov. 2, 1973, Upper St. Clair 28, Baldwin 8: Panthers win first conference title in school history and first on three straight Western crowns.
• Oct. 16, 1981, Mt. Lebanon 41, Canon-McMillan 13: Lebos clinch 15th title in final year of conference's existence.
