It’s a sad day for anyone who has followed Philadelphia area high school sports over the years. The local HS sports scene lost a true legend and a gentleman. Rest easy, Ted.
RIP Ted Silary
- Thread starter scs13
- Start date
The best … one of a kind … rest easy and so grateful he archived the vast majority of it on line … never be done the same
Well put Roxy. Talked to him once on phone back when he was processing old programs. The ones that were artists conceptions of players carrying the ball, throwing scenes on covers. Very artistic. Got some old Steelton Highspire and Central Dauphin programs. Had a good chat and one heck of a nice guy. Quite a legacy.
Damn, never met Ted, but I knew he was a Philly legend. His web site was a great source of info for D12 sports. RIP Mr. Silary
I got to speak to him on a few occasions. He was a very nice guy. And if you wanted to know anything about Philly HS sports, he was the man!! RIP!
In the early 2000s when high school football websites were starting to get some traction and take off -- with a few of us talking about doing something for the 'Skins -- we started looking for sources to fill in the details on the team (ha - we didn't even know the first year they fielded a club when we started).
Anyway, the pickings were slim at first and it wasn't clear what we would ever be able to put together (it was frustrating). Then at a point in the process someone sent us a paper copy of Ted's compilation of Philly schoolboy sports data and information. Although he didn't cover the "Burbs" in what we received looking at what he had assembled kept us forging ahead as it made the "impossible" seem very doable (digging in and finding "stuff").
I never spoke with him but in conversations with people who had (or who knew him) all I ever heard was that he was a great guy - a real Philly old-school dude who loved scholastic sports in the City of Brotherly Love.
Anyway, the pickings were slim at first and it wasn't clear what we would ever be able to put together (it was frustrating). Then at a point in the process someone sent us a paper copy of Ted's compilation of Philly schoolboy sports data and information. Although he didn't cover the "Burbs" in what we received looking at what he had assembled kept us forging ahead as it made the "impossible" seem very doable (digging in and finding "stuff").
I never spoke with him but in conversations with people who had (or who knew him) all I ever heard was that he was a great guy - a real Philly old-school dude who loved scholastic sports in the City of Brotherly Love.
I used to go to his web site daily to read his daily updates. I truly miss his insight . His web site still has the most comprehensive Philly high school sports data available. I still go there when Im searching for information from the past.He was the best !!
A void that can never be filled. Ted was THE go-to for info on the Philly teams. His archive was an invaluable source for our state championship project and anything else pertaining to Philadelphia HS sports.
Im looking for a sourse for High school football coverage for District 1 and 12. Our major newspapers are a joke when it comes to our HS athletes. I would appreciate any help with this .
Lil........Check out Huck's Page below. He's a good guy who does a lot of hard work.
Thanks Stalk, I already read Hucks updates and they are helpful for sure. i guess im looking for a more frequent reporting . Their are some really good newspapers within Pa. as you know. I was wandering if theri was something I missed here locally.Lil........Check out Huck's Page below. He's a good guy who does a lot of hard work.
The Philadelphia Inquirer's entire sports section is a joke. They rarely cove anything High School!!
Once Rick O'Brien left, it was curtains for the Inquirer. I always felt he was under appreciated, traveled all over SE PA covering games. I had a chance to hang out with Rick a few times, good dude! Hope he's doing well.
I never met Ted, but we were in occasional email contact. He was always sensible and good-humored. I can't recall him ever writing anything nasty about anyone and he seemed to be always trying to give the players a bit of a boost.
I agree about The Inquirer. For comparison, take a look at the Washington Post. It's a much more serious paper than the Inquirer and obviously focuses a lot more on international and national stories, but it still pays a fair bit of attention to local high school sports. I no longer live in the Philly area but used to get--and pay for--the online version of the Inquirer. But I canceled and told them it was partly because they completely stopped covering high school sports.
I agree about The Inquirer. For comparison, take a look at the Washington Post. It's a much more serious paper than the Inquirer and obviously focuses a lot more on international and national stories, but it still pays a fair bit of attention to local high school sports. I no longer live in the Philly area but used to get--and pay for--the online version of the Inquirer. But I canceled and told them it was partly because they completely stopped covering high school sports.
Recent 1951 Mythical State Championship Post featuring a Ted Silary Tribute:
Now let's move on to '51.....
1951 PA Scholastic Football State Champs (Mythical)
1951 might best be described as "The Year of the West" -- not "West" as in Western PA, but rather "West" as in "West"inghouse, "West" Catholic and "West" Scranton!!! All 3 of those then-large schools made what was perhaps their greatest-ever impact on the statewide football stage during the fabulous '51 campaign.
Pittsburgh's Westinghouse gets our lead AA position for PIAA schools, but not far behind was a West Scranton team that purportedly "won" a pre-season scrimmage against ultra-loaded Class A claimant Swoyersville.
And if there was a post-season poll that included non-PIAA teams, Philly's West Catholic High would've certainly challenged for the top -- the Burrs set a then-record for points and victory margin in Philadelphia City title contests.....blitzing Bok Vo-Tech 42-0! [See TED SILARY TRIBUTE below]
Also stellar in 1951 AA was a barely-challenged Erie Cathedral Prep juggernaut that defeated powers from 4 states.....including the legendary "barnstorming" Mooseheart program from Illinois, 37-13! A 1951 West Catholic vs Cathedral Prep Diocesan State Championship would've been an evenly-matched all-time classic! Rounding out our very crowded AA field are 2 WPIAL schools, undefeated Uniontown and once-beaten District and Saylor Ratings champ Farrell.
Previously-mentioned Swoyersville (B playing up to A) was legendary in 1951, but not legendary enough to get the lead slot over Ridley Twp! (LOL) The Green Raiders dominated a strong schedule, with only perennial AA toughie Lower Merion staying reasonably close (28-14) in their game for suburban (Philly) bragging rights. Western Conference champion Conemaugh Twp joins them in a stacked Class A group, along with fellow unbeatens Lewistown and non-PIAA Johnstown Catholic from the District 5/6 Region. WPIAL back-to-back champ New Brighton and the "Zinc Lads" from Palmerton in the Lehigh Valley round out the group.
Class B is once again headed up by Kulpmont, but the Wildcats have plenty of company at the top. Boiling Springs' best-ever team and WPIAL co-champions Wilmerding and Jefferson Twp are right there as well. Conshohocken ("Conshy") and Jessup were also deemed worthy after navigating difficult schedules.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Class C grouping.....and they were exceptionally-strong this time around. For example, lead entry Beaverdale dominated strong B program Adams Twp (8-2) by a 20-0 count, while Class A top claimant (and .500+ Saylor) Conemaugh Twp had a much-rougher time with them (a 34-32 nailbiter). Beaverdale would go on to end powerful Bellwood-Antis' 20+ game win streak in what was probably the most-hyped Inter-County Conference Championship game of all-time.....B-A was defeated 14-7 @hollidaysburg in a fiercely-contested classic!
Scotland School was also top rung, losing only a 14-13 heartbreaker to Class B top claimant Boiling Springs on the Bubblers' home field. Included among the C Class Cadets' victories was a 14-7 win over tough AA rival Chambersburg, a team that gave strong Class A Gettysburg (8-0-1) its lone blemish when the squads battled to a 20-all tie! Royersford's schedule wasn't as tough, but the Eagles came through it with "flying" colors -- winning all games by at least 3 scores!
And finally, we have created another special category.....but this one should only be temporary. That's because we've basically green-lighted Kanty Prep for a top claim in either the B or C Class -- trouble is, we don't yet know where to classify them for 1951 at this juncture! But we don't want to hold things up any further, so we'll just mention them and move on for now. We'll update the thread like always if/when the additional data comes in. Kanty was a clear C in 1950, and was a B-enrollment school in 1952. Either way, they'll eventually come in as #23 on our top claimant list, which is a clear record that we don't expect to ever surpass for any other year!
1951
Class AA (Large Schools)
(PITTSBURGH) WESTINGHOUSE (9-0); WEST SCRANTON (8-0); Uniontown (10-0); Farrell (9-1)
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: (Philadelphia) West Catholic (10-0); (Erie) Cathedral Prep (9-0)
Class A (Mid-Sized Schools)
RIDLEY (TWP) (11-0); SWOYERSVILLE (11-0); Conemaugh Twp (10-0); Lewistown (9-0); New Brighton (10-1); Palmerton (8-0)% (tie)
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: Johnstown Catholic (8-0)
Class B (Small Schools)
KULPMONT (10-0); BOILING SPRINGS (10-0); WILMERDING (9-0-1); JEFFERSON (TWP) (8-0-1); Conshohocken (9-0); Jessup (8-0-1) (tie)
Class C (Smallest Schools)
BEAVERDALE (10-0); SCOTLAND SCHOOL (8-1); Royersford (8-0)
Class B or C ??
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: (Erie) St John Kanty Prep (7-0)
% - Denotes cancelled game.
TED SILARY TRIBUTE: In closing, I'm posting a special tribute to a fallen comrade. The PA Scholastic Sports Community lost a legend a few weeks ago when Philadelphia HS sports guru Ted Silary passed away on May 18th at 72 years of age. I originally thought it would be fitting to honor Ted in this 1951 post not only because of the timing, but also because of how dominant West Catholic was during that particular year (After all, so much of our Philly research has come from Ted's records @his infamous website). However, another special reason has been discovered -- ironically, Ted's birth year was 1951 (March) ..... so now it just totally makes sense, irregardless of other factors. So "Thanks, Ted" for your immeasurable contributions. RIP.
LINK to Ted Silary Archive Website: tedsilary.com/
LINK to Philadelphia HS FB City Title Game Recaps: tedsilary.com/FBCitytitlegames.htm
1951 West Catholic City Title Game Write-Up:
1951
At Franklin Field
West Catholic 42, Bok 0
Jack McEachern rushed for 118 yards and a TD and passed 6-for-12 for 75 yards and another TD for West, which never punted en route to completing its first perfect season (10-0) since 1943. Art Dettra ran for two TDs and John Bauer kicked six PAT. The Burrs won the total offense battle, 341-71. Bok advanced to the West 13 late in the first half, but was immediately pushed back to the 37.
Now let's move on to '51.....
1951 PA Scholastic Football State Champs (Mythical)
1951 might best be described as "The Year of the West" -- not "West" as in Western PA, but rather "West" as in "West"inghouse, "West" Catholic and "West" Scranton!!! All 3 of those then-large schools made what was perhaps their greatest-ever impact on the statewide football stage during the fabulous '51 campaign.
Pittsburgh's Westinghouse gets our lead AA position for PIAA schools, but not far behind was a West Scranton team that purportedly "won" a pre-season scrimmage against ultra-loaded Class A claimant Swoyersville.
And if there was a post-season poll that included non-PIAA teams, Philly's West Catholic High would've certainly challenged for the top -- the Burrs set a then-record for points and victory margin in Philadelphia City title contests.....blitzing Bok Vo-Tech 42-0! [See TED SILARY TRIBUTE below]
Also stellar in 1951 AA was a barely-challenged Erie Cathedral Prep juggernaut that defeated powers from 4 states.....including the legendary "barnstorming" Mooseheart program from Illinois, 37-13! A 1951 West Catholic vs Cathedral Prep Diocesan State Championship would've been an evenly-matched all-time classic! Rounding out our very crowded AA field are 2 WPIAL schools, undefeated Uniontown and once-beaten District and Saylor Ratings champ Farrell.
Previously-mentioned Swoyersville (B playing up to A) was legendary in 1951, but not legendary enough to get the lead slot over Ridley Twp! (LOL) The Green Raiders dominated a strong schedule, with only perennial AA toughie Lower Merion staying reasonably close (28-14) in their game for suburban (Philly) bragging rights. Western Conference champion Conemaugh Twp joins them in a stacked Class A group, along with fellow unbeatens Lewistown and non-PIAA Johnstown Catholic from the District 5/6 Region. WPIAL back-to-back champ New Brighton and the "Zinc Lads" from Palmerton in the Lehigh Valley round out the group.
Class B is once again headed up by Kulpmont, but the Wildcats have plenty of company at the top. Boiling Springs' best-ever team and WPIAL co-champions Wilmerding and Jefferson Twp are right there as well. Conshohocken ("Conshy") and Jessup were also deemed worthy after navigating difficult schedules.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Class C grouping.....and they were exceptionally-strong this time around. For example, lead entry Beaverdale dominated strong B program Adams Twp (8-2) by a 20-0 count, while Class A top claimant (and .500+ Saylor) Conemaugh Twp had a much-rougher time with them (a 34-32 nailbiter). Beaverdale would go on to end powerful Bellwood-Antis' 20+ game win streak in what was probably the most-hyped Inter-County Conference Championship game of all-time.....B-A was defeated 14-7 @hollidaysburg in a fiercely-contested classic!
Scotland School was also top rung, losing only a 14-13 heartbreaker to Class B top claimant Boiling Springs on the Bubblers' home field. Included among the C Class Cadets' victories was a 14-7 win over tough AA rival Chambersburg, a team that gave strong Class A Gettysburg (8-0-1) its lone blemish when the squads battled to a 20-all tie! Royersford's schedule wasn't as tough, but the Eagles came through it with "flying" colors -- winning all games by at least 3 scores!
And finally, we have created another special category.....but this one should only be temporary. That's because we've basically green-lighted Kanty Prep for a top claim in either the B or C Class -- trouble is, we don't yet know where to classify them for 1951 at this juncture! But we don't want to hold things up any further, so we'll just mention them and move on for now. We'll update the thread like always if/when the additional data comes in. Kanty was a clear C in 1950, and was a B-enrollment school in 1952. Either way, they'll eventually come in as #23 on our top claimant list, which is a clear record that we don't expect to ever surpass for any other year!
1951
Class AA (Large Schools)
(PITTSBURGH) WESTINGHOUSE (9-0); WEST SCRANTON (8-0); Uniontown (10-0); Farrell (9-1)
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: (Philadelphia) West Catholic (10-0); (Erie) Cathedral Prep (9-0)
Class A (Mid-Sized Schools)
RIDLEY (TWP) (11-0); SWOYERSVILLE (11-0); Conemaugh Twp (10-0); Lewistown (9-0); New Brighton (10-1); Palmerton (8-0)% (tie)
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: Johnstown Catholic (8-0)
Class B (Small Schools)
KULPMONT (10-0); BOILING SPRINGS (10-0); WILMERDING (9-0-1); JEFFERSON (TWP) (8-0-1); Conshohocken (9-0); Jessup (8-0-1) (tie)
Class C (Smallest Schools)
BEAVERDALE (10-0); SCOTLAND SCHOOL (8-1); Royersford (8-0)
Class B or C ??
Non-PIAA, Private/Special: (Erie) St John Kanty Prep (7-0)
% - Denotes cancelled game.
TED SILARY TRIBUTE: In closing, I'm posting a special tribute to a fallen comrade. The PA Scholastic Sports Community lost a legend a few weeks ago when Philadelphia HS sports guru Ted Silary passed away on May 18th at 72 years of age. I originally thought it would be fitting to honor Ted in this 1951 post not only because of the timing, but also because of how dominant West Catholic was during that particular year (After all, so much of our Philly research has come from Ted's records @his infamous website). However, another special reason has been discovered -- ironically, Ted's birth year was 1951 (March) ..... so now it just totally makes sense, irregardless of other factors. So "Thanks, Ted" for your immeasurable contributions. RIP.
LINK to Ted Silary Archive Website: tedsilary.com/
LINK to Philadelphia HS FB City Title Game Recaps: tedsilary.com/FBCitytitlegames.htm
1951 West Catholic City Title Game Write-Up:
1951
At Franklin Field
West Catholic 42, Bok 0
Jack McEachern rushed for 118 yards and a TD and passed 6-for-12 for 75 yards and another TD for West, which never punted en route to completing its first perfect season (10-0) since 1943. Art Dettra ran for two TDs and John Bauer kicked six PAT. The Burrs won the total offense battle, 341-71. Bok advanced to the West 13 late in the first half, but was immediately pushed back to the 37.
I was lucky to talk to Ted and Huck a few times thru the years. RIP Ted, your name will live on. Sad day.