counterrevolutionary indoctrination: Guido: Longtime NFL scout enters Plum Hall of Fame

By George Guido

Published: Wednesday, July 10, 2013, 12:36?a.m.
Updated 5 hours ago

After starring in football and baseball at Plum High School, John Wojciechowski has parlayed his life's experiences into a NFL player personnel career that has served three classic franchises: the Steelers, the Cowboys and the Packers.

Wojciechowski is in his 17th NFL season as a scout and player development aide.

On Nov. 14, he will join seven others in this year's Plum Sports Hall of Fame induction class.

The ninth annual banquet will be at Edgewood Country Club at 7 p.m.

Wojciechowski, a 1992 Plum graduate, was named first-team, all-conference in football and baseball. He was a three-year captain and a football All-American at Duquesne University where he held the school record for career sacks as a defensive end.

Wojciechowski also was a three-year starter in baseball with the Dukes. He is an area scout for the Packers.

There are plenty of other people with Pittsburgh ties in Green Bay.

Head coach Mike McCarthy grew up in the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh and attended the former Bishop Boyle High School in Homestead; offensive coordinator Tommy Clements was one of the most celebrated area athletes in the early '70s at Canevin Catholic High School (now Bishop Canevin); defensive coordinator Dom Capers held the same position with the Steelers; outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene and secondary coach Darren Perry played for the Steelers; and running backs coach Alex Van Pelt started four years at quarterback for Pitt.

Also set for induction is Lou Klauss, who was Plum's wrestling coach for 11 seasons and helped found the community's junior wrestling program.

He also coached Plum to WPIAL team golf titles in 1968-69.

John Ratesic will be inducted as a coach and an administrator. He was the school's assistant principal for 20 years and principal for five years and helped create the Hall of Fame. Ratesic was also a well-liked, long-time WPIAL football steering committee member.

Here are the other inductees:

? Steve Marsalese (1981). After lettering in football, basketball, volleyball and track, he was a member of the school's 1981 PIAA championship volleyball team. He was an all-state honorable mention selection in football in 1980.

? Jeff Schmeck (1976). An all-state honorable mention pick at center from Plum's first WPIAL football playoff team in 1975, he also held the school record in the shot put, since broken, at 55 feet, 9 inches.

? Erica Van Tassel Carter (1994). A three-time WPIAL champion in swimming, Van Tassel Carter qualified for 12 PIAA championship events during her career. She earned a swimming scholarship to Penn State and was a four-time academic all-American.

? Monica Zalevsky Williams (1984). As a letterwinner in volleyball, basketball and track, Zalevsky Williams was a member of the school's volleyball team that defeated North Allegheny for the 1984 PIAA title. She later excelled in volleyball and basketball at Carnegie Mellon University.

? Paul Shish (1966). A posthumous inductee, Shish participated in football, basketball, baseball and track. He was all-WPIAL in football and the Plum Athlete of the Year for the 1965-66 academic year. He earned a football scholarship to Clemson and played four years for the Tigers.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.