Donora lost one of its sports legends recently with the passing of Tom Ballaban.
Ballaban, 87, died Dec. 25 in Florida.
A 1945 graduate of Donora High, Ballaban starred on Donora's unbeaten 1944 WPIAL Class AA championship team. That team included “Deacon” Dan Towler, Arnold Galiffa, Lou “Bimbo” Cecconi and Roscoe Ross.
“He and his brother Pete were just outstanding individuals,” said Cecconi. “I guess it was a family trait. I was a junior on that team. Tom was more than just a good football player. He was a leader in the school system.
“Tom was very outgoing and a forceful speaker. When he talked, we all listened. He was an icon to us in those days at Donora.”
“The Ballaban family was very personable,” said former Ringgold Superintendent Dr. Charles Stacey, whose father was vice president of the Donora Boosters Club when Ballaban played. “He was a very good football player.”
After graduating from Donora, Ballaban went to Xavier University where he was an outstanding offensive lineman and played on the team's 1950 Salad Bowl winning team, which defeated Arizona State, 33-21, in Tempe, Ariz.
He was a three-year starter for Xavier, starting 41 games, and was inducted into the university's Hall of Fame in 1982.
Xavier's football field, Ballaban Field, is named in his honor.
“It should tell you a lot about him to know that they named the field after him,” Cecconi said.
Ballaban then enjoyed a lengthy career teaching and coaching football at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.
Ballaban coached at St. Xavier from 1953 to 1978, building a 142-87-8 record. His teams won three Greater Catholic League championships and shared five others.
He was named High School Coach of the Year in the Cincinnati area in 1957, 1968 and 1970.
His 1968 team finished with a 9-0-1 record.
He also coached basketball at the school from 1951-54, compiling a 59-25 record with one district championship and one runner-up finish.
He was inducted into St. Xavier's Hall of Fame and coached three times in Ohio's East-West All-State Game.
Current St. Xavier football coach Steve Specht called the passing of Ballaban “painful” and referred to him as “a legend.”
Ballaban first made his name on the gridiron for the Dragons, who won the 1944 WPIAL title with a 13-0 shutout of Ellwood City. Donora went 9-0 that season and the team is considered among the best in WPIAL history.
Only Brownsville (13) and Monessen (12) managed to score more than seven points against coach James K. Russell's team.
As a guard, Ballaban was named All-Valley, All-WPIAL and All-State his senior year.
Ballaban was inducted into the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, along with Joe Sarra, George Zuraw, Gene Belczyk, Dale Hamer, Henry Adams, Bill Robinson and Jack Scarvel.
Other accolades Ballaban earned over the years included Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame and Southwestern Football Coaches' Association Doc Collins Award (1987-88).
Funeral services will be held Tuesday at Bellarmine Chapel on the Xavier University campus in Cincinnati.
Jeff Oliver is a sports editor for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-684-2666 or joliver@tribweb.com.
