HEARTBREAKER: The man who broke the hearts of St. Bernard
football fans in 1959 stopped by the other day with an Era clipping
telling how the Smethport Hubbers prevailed in the last 30 seconds
of the season opener that year.

Jim Ludwig of Bradford, the halfback on the Smethport High team,
raced 45 yards for that winning touchdown lifting the Hubbers to a
20-14 finish over the Ramblers in what can only be described as a
heartbreaker.

We had started this dialogue with reports on legendary Rambler
coach Don Raabe whose skills were evident in this game – even
though his team lost. You may remember previous columns this summer
about the unbeaten Rambler team of 1958, also coached by Raabe.

We had planned to condense this material into one column but the
article itself was some classic sports writing by Era sports writer
Bill Evans:

“The loss, first in 12 games, was a crushing one for the
Ramblers, who had seemingly snatched a last-minute victory in a
fantastic last-quarter rally. Down 13-0 at half-time, the Bernies
battled back in a tremendous display of inspired football.

“Led by Tom Viola, an inexperienced quarterback possessed of
remarkable resourcefulness and a fine throwing arm, the Ramblers
put fullback Pat Clifford across with a touchdown and extra point
early in the fourth quarter to narrow the Hubber edge to 13-7.

“St. Bernard continued to apply pressure against a Smethport
team that had completely dominated the first half play.

“Tom Frigo intercepted a Hubber pass on the Bernie 45 and
returned to the Smethport 47. Viola’s pass to Frigo was good for
five yards. The 145-pound Bernie quarterback, rushed badly all
night, evaded three oncoming defenders and whipped a pass to Mike
Miller, who took the ball at his shoe tips on the Hubber 26.

“Viola tossed unsuccessfully to Frigo and again to Miller, but
then pitched an 18-yard beauty to Miller on the Smethport
eight-yard line. Clifford hit the middle for three yards.

“There was less than a minute to play, and the big crowd was in
an uproar. The little Bernie quarterback faded far back and looped
the ball into the left corner of the end zone. The waiting Frigo
nestled it to his chest for the score-tying touchdown.”

We conclude this exciting chapter in local sports tomorrow.