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Email: "Keith-Roosevelt rivalry has its place in history"
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It wasn’t Penn State-Pitt. Or Altoona-Johnstown, either. But, for a junior high school football rivalry, it didn’t get much bigger or better than Keith-Roosevelt. And, now it’s history.

The 81st and final meeting went into the record books Thursday night with Keith scoring an 18-14 victory before a crowd of 3,000 at Mansion Park.

Over the years, the series provided many memorable moments for Altoona football fans. In fact, the game was such a big deal in the community that the Mirror used to publish a full-page spread, including team photos, rosters, and records, the day before the big game each year.

Of course, that was before Logan Junior High School and also before Bishop Guilfoyle fielded a ninth grade team. When Logan and BG began playing, Keith-Roosevelt coverage, at least the big pre-game buildup, had to be cut back. The rivalry never lost its luster, though.

Many former players and coaches were scattered through the crowd last night, and all have special memories of what will always be a special rivalry.

For former Roosevelt coach, Bill Reimer: “It was the 1994 team, with Weaver and Showalter, and Keith, with Nedimyer and Durbin. They were undefeated, we had a couple of losses, and it was one of the greatest football games I was ever associated with on the junior high level. It was a super game, and we lost in the last few seconds.”

His three sons all played for him , “and that was a big thrill,” noted Reimer, who taught one year at Keith, 13 at Logan, and 21 at Roosevelt. He coached 13 seasons at Logan and 21 at Roosevelt.

The Reimers weren’t the only father-son combinations to participate in the rivalry. Bob Crago played and coached at Keith, and his son, Mike, played for the Rams. Robert (Beef) Thompson coached Roosevelt from 1951 through 1959, and his sons, Dave and Steve, both played for the Roughriders. Steve was on hand last night, and recalled that his father suffered a fatal heart attack while coaching a game against Cochran in Johnstown.

Thompson also said he remembers Roosevelt beating Keith twice in 1961.

“Buddy Geis caught a touchdown pass in the last couple of seconds at Keith for a 21-19 win,” Thompson said. “I was in 7th grade at the time, and we also beat them earlier in the year due to a scheduling quirk.”

Ex-coach Karl Luckner has been retired for several years, but he’s still a fixture at many Altoona Area School District athletic events.

“I started at Roosevelt,” Luckner said prior to last night’s kickoff. “I enjoyed my three years there — I don’t know if we won or lost because that’s history.

“I then spent nine years coaching at Keith — six with John Branick — and we had a nice record,” Luckner recalled. “The most memorable thing for me was my first year. I thought I was the best coach in the world because I had Jim Curry, who was a 6-foot-4 quarterback, and Geech Gutshall, who could run like a deer.”

Rick Auker and Bud Dinges, teammates at Keith, and Bob Hunt, who played at Roosevelt, stood near the fence and kidded each other about the 1957 game, won by Keith, 2-0, on a safety.

“If it hadn’t been for Bud, I would have scored a touchdown,” Auker said. “That’s right, I pushed him from behind and John Weamer, the official, threw the red flag and John Branick about jumped out of his shoes,” Dinges noted.

“That was the only win we had that year,” Dinges said, laughing. “I think we had a tie, too,” Auker added.

When asked what he remembered about that tough 2-0 loss, Hunt replied: “That was 50 years ago, I can hardly remember. We had Teddy Crumm and and Ray Carraciola, John Colombo and Rick Riccio ... and it was a nice, sunny day.”

Lou DeAngelis was a standout halfback at Roosevelt in 1952, and remembers losing to Keith.

“Curt Plowman was the big running back for Keith, and he broke his elbow on the third play of the game,” DeAngelis noted. “They were supposed to beat us bad, but it was only 7-0 when Joe Huber threw a touchdown pass to Terry Ward. I’ll never forget their names.”

As a former student at Roosevelt — I hate to think how long ago — and as a proud father, who watched both his daughter and son participate in the band and basketball at Roosevelt, and then as a reporter, who covered and watched numerous games, the rivalry has always been special to me.

I’ll remember the likes of Brenner and Trexler, Diviney and Ellis, Ebersole and Nedimyer, the Kerns, McGraths, Frascas, Geis’s and Bensons, and Dillen, Glashauser and Nicewonger, Swanner and Campbell, and many, many more.

I’ll also remember director Ray Detwiler and the Roosevelt band marching out 5th Avenue to Mansion Park, pep rallies and afternoon games

The consolidation of the two schools has drawn mixed reaction from the community.

“This is the worst thing that ever happened,” Thompson said. “Look at the crowd here tonight. There are more people here than were at the last Altoona High game. I don’t think it should happen, but time moves on.”

DeAngelis also is disappointed to see the rivalry end.

“I can’t believe it’s ending,” he said. “There’s no way it should end. I don’t know why they did this. I don’t want to see it ever end.”

“The rivalry has been a great thing because it wasn’t only in football, it was in basketball and track, most everything. Now they’ll be a lot of talent under one roof,” Luckner said.

“I really wish they would keep it,” Reimer said, “but as long as they have two teams that will open opportunities for a lot of kids to play. They may not play each other, but at least they’ll have opportunities to play.”

[Lane is a retired sports editor of the Mirror. His column appears occasionally.]

 

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