Stepping into Historic Rochester

Stepping into Historic Rochester. Outstanding Athletes. , Sports have always played an important role in the lives of Rochester residents whether they have been participants or spectators. Rochester High School has maintained a well-rounded athletic program with athletes continually striving to improve their skills and uphold the spirit of sportsmanship and excellence. Beginning with the oldest Rochester sports - track in 1906, football in 1908, basketball in 1917 and baseball in 1919 to some of the newer sports of today like bocce and bowling, many athletes at RHS developed the skills that enabled them to compete in the college, international or professional ranks. Some have gone on to very distinguished careers. (The very first class of athletes inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 contained three Rochester inductees). The entire community is extremely proud of the athletes that have put their hometown of Rochester on the global sports map., Herb Carper - Track , Graduating from Rochester High School in 1954, Herb had scored 100 points in each of his three years of track competition. He won the WPIAL 100-yard dash title and placed third in the state. At the University of Pittsburgh Herb was the IC4A 100-yard dash champion with a time of 9.4 seconds. On February 28, 1959, while serving in the Army, he broke the world indoor record twice in the preliminaries and the final heat of the 60 yard dash with a time of six-seconds flat. A blood clot behind a pulled muscle prevented him from qualifying for the 1956 Olympics., Walter Gordon - Cross Country/Track , Walter Gordon, Rochester High School Class of 1908, was a pioneer in track and field in the early 1900s. When runners wore tennis shoes and tracks were primitive, Walter, as an eighth grader, ran a 4:32 mile to beat the top miler from the University of Pittsburgh. By 1909 Walter set a world record in the five-mile run of 26 minutes flat at Columbia Park, Pittsburgh. He won the 1909 Pittsburgh Marathon at West View Park, finishing in a time of 3 hours and 32 minutes, defeating over 100 runners., Richard "Skip" Doyle - Football , In his senior year, this 1948 Rochester star halfback scored 98 points to lead Beaver County and was named All-State. "Skip" was named to the All-Big Ten Team while playing for Ohio State in 1952. After military service from 1953-1955, he was a starting defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two seasons before retiring. He came out of retirement in 1960 to play for the AFL Boston Patriots and was traded to the Denver Broncos in 1961 but again retired., Jim Ivicek - Gymnastics , Jim, Rochester High School Class of 1970, was a gymnastics standout on a team that won the WPIAL championship each of his three years of competition. In 1970 he won the WPIAL All-Around and high bar titles and the state championship on the rings. Upon graduation, Jim entered the University of New Mexico and led the Lobos to three straight Western Athletic Conference titles. In 1972 he was picked as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team but did not get a chance to compete. During his collegiate career he competed in Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Russia and against the Red Chinese team at Madison Square Garden., Alex Pearson - Baseball , Alex was primarily a pitcher but also played the infield and outfield. He played part of the 1902 season with the St. Louis Cardinals and part of the 1903 season with the Cleveland Indians. He also was with the Baltimore Orioles in 1908 and 1909. Alex compiled a .300 batting average in a semi-pro and professional career spanning nearly forty-two years from 1894-1936. Alex became a Rochester businessman and later served as mayor of Rochester for three terms., Vito "Babe" Parilli - Football , A 1949 Rochester High School graduate, "Babe" became the first University of Kentucky player to earn All-American honors during the 1950-51 season under coach Bear Bryant. He led Kentucky teams to victories in the Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl and was the College All Star Game MVP in 1952. "Babe" was the first draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1952 and played for the Cleveland Browns and Boston Patriots where he was AFL Player of the Year in 1964, before concluding his career in 1969 as the back-up quarterback to Joe Namath for the Super Bowl champion New York Jets. The next year "Babe" served as a quarterback coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers until 1973 where he helped to develop Terry Bradshaw, Terry Hanratty and Joe Gilliam. He ranks as one of the top all-time passing quarterbacks in pro football with 1,552 completions in 3,330 attempts for 22,681 yards and 178 touchdowns., Forrest "Jap" Douds - Football , Forrest was one of Rochester High School's all-time star linemen and linebackers, playing on two championship teams. His 1920 team won both the Beaver County title and the Pennsylvania state title after crushing Monessen 33-0. Following high school, he starred at Washington and Jefferson College, winning All-American honors three times. In 1933 when Art Rooney was granted an NFL franchise for Pittsburgh, Forrest was hired as the first player-coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 1933-34 seasons. In 1939 the Pirates became the Pittsburgh Steelers., Barney Cable - Basketball , While playing basketball at Rochester High School, Barney scored 58 points in a game against Mars High School to set a Beaver County single game scoring record. He graduated in 1954 and entered Bradley University where he tied for team scoring honors as a sophomore. In 1957 Barney helped Bradley win the National Invitation Tournament title. Between 1965 and 1968, he played professionally with the Detroit Pistons, Syracuse Nets, Chicago Packers and the NBA Baltimore Bullets., Lauryn Williams - Track/Bobsled , Lauryn was the first American woman to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games. Lauryn won the 100 and 200-meter dash at the PIAA state track championships as a Rochester High School sophomore and junior. As a senior in 2001, she set a record of 11.78 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.85 seconds in the 200 meters in addition to winning a gold medal by running a leg on Rochester's winning 400-meter relay team. Competing collegiately for the University of Miami, Florida, Lauryn took first places in the World Junior 100-meter Championship in 2002, the Pan American Games in 2003 and the NCAA Championships in 2004. She was a silver medalist in the 100-meter dash in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, won a gold medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England as part of the American 400-meter relay team and a silver medal as part of the USA's two-woman bobsled team in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.