Looking back with Dr. Petro

By WAYNE STEWART

For MVI Sports

Dr. Dimitri Petro became the Ringgold sports physician long ago, well before Donora and Monongahela school districts merged. Working countless Donora High football games, he witnessed many great moments and glimmering stars.

He felt that was especially true after the Dragons, with a dwindling high school population, made a dramatic move. 

“That was the year Donora dropped down their rating from Class AA to A. They played their games on Thursdays and Saturdays so they wouldn’t conflict with the other Valley schools,” Petro said. “They figured they might get better attendance.” 

Because he was also Charleroi’s team physician, Petro found himself attending two football games each week.

Three DHS athletes really stood out to Petro. 

Bernie Galiffa, a precise passing machine; Malcom Lomax, a bruising linebacker and running back; and the fleet-footed Ken Griffey, mostly a wide receiver. 

“They were undefeated in football in 1967, with one tie, and they were undefeated in basketball until the WPIAL finals at Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena. That was a terrific team. Their only loss was to Laurel Highlands, and they went on to win the state title.” 

The powerhouse Dragons went 22-1, winning games by margins like 89-43, 102-52 and 106-49.

“Bernie was the best high school quarterback I ever saw,” he said. “He was better than Joe Montana in high school. Joe didn’t start until halfway through his junior year, but he went to the right school – Notre Dame – and got with Bill Walsh in San Francisco. He was a great pro player, joining the right team at the right time, but if I were picking a high school team, I’d pick Galiffa.

“Lomax was the best linebacker I ever saw in high school. He was only around 5-9. He wasn’t selected initially to play in the Big 33 game, but his cousin who lived in Monessen, was a highly rated lineman who was in that game. When another player couldn’t go, Malcom was an add-on, and he won the Most Valuable Player Award. I asked Malcom about his cousin also playing. He said, ‘If he’s All-State, I’m All-Universe,’” laughed Petro. “That was typical of Malcom.”

Petro remembered the connections Galiffa had with his teammates, but none were as strong as the one with his top receiver.

“Griffey was Galiffa’s deep threat. I remember Bernie would stand on the 50-yard line and throw into the end zone to Griffey, his long ball receiver,” he recalled. “Of course, Ronny Campbell was his main target one year. I think he caught 75 passes one year and 15 in one game.

“When Galiffa was younger, he was the backup quarterback for his older brother, but when there was a passing situation, he’d go in.”   

Of course, Petro’s football memories go even further. 

The 1952 DHS graduate reminisced about other Dragons that graced the field. 

“When I was a kid I saw “Deacon” Dan Towler, Roscoe Ross, Arnold Galiffa the starting quarterback in 1944. Bimbo Cecconi was the quarterback in 1945. They were terrific. 

“Galiffa was the punter and he only punted four times the whole season. I think the 1945 team lost nine starters from 1944 — they only had two starters back, Ross and Towler. Ross was an open field runner and Deacon ran up the middle. They were both pretty well built,” Petro said.

“In 1945, I think they gave up one touchdown the whole season, and that was scored against the offense because the Dragons had the ball on their own 10-yard line. Dan had the ball stolen out of his arms and returned for a touchdown. 

“I remember watching a game from the back of the end zone against a school from Pittsburgh, either Westinghouse or Fifth Avenue. Towler got the ball from the opening kickoff on the 5-yard line and ran straight down the field. Nobody touched him, and all 11 players from the Pittsburgh team were on the ground blocked by Dragons.”

There’s a story that has circulated around Donora for decades, so long that some people began to wonder if it was a true tale about the speedy Ross or merely myth. 

“A rabbit ran onto the field during a game when Ross was running for a touchdown, and it appeared that he beat the rabbit.” 

Petro says that while he wasn’t at that game, the story is credible because it “was written about in the paper.”

How great were the Dragons of that era? Petro recalled, “I think the 1945 team was ranked by a rating service as being the second-best team in the country. The first team was from Texas with future hall of famers Bobby Layne and Doak Walker. If we’d played them, I feel we could have beaten them or anyone.”

Petro rattled off other Donora football standouts including Bob Rosborough, Angelo Dabiero, Tom and Bill Urbanik and Larry Crawford. 

“Crawford might have been about the same size as Towler. When Towler was in high school, I think he was 190 pounds and only about 6-feet tall. Not that big by today’s standards.”

It’s obvious that looking back with Dr. Petro is like a leisurely, enjoyable stroll down Donora’s memory lane — a walk through the glory days in the “Home of the Champions.”