Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff gets hero's welcome from friends, fans in return to Erie

Fred Biletnikoff’s recent trip to Erie proved triumphant in every respect. The 80-year-old Hall of Fame football hero met with old friends, high school students and fans throughout over several days.

More: Fred Biletnikoff's name is on Erie High's field. His heart is in what it means for students

The primary reason for Biletnikoff’s return to Erie was to help re-dedicate the football field named for him at Erie High School. That school was formerly called Tech Memorial and Biletnikoff excelled in several sports there in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I was impressed by the way he went out of his way to connect with the high school kids, none of whom were born when he was starring for Florida State and the Oakland Raiders.

Biletnikoff’s wife, Angela, was also a big hit with his Erie friends, as she joined him at Polish Falcons and an Erie SeaWolves game where he threw out the first pitch. She said it will be 30 years since he received the 3 a.m. call that he’d been elected to Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Biletnikoff spent a total of 28 seasons with the Raiders as a player and a coach, and longtime fans of the team, such as Doug Yaple, seemed thrilled to shake his hand and get his autograph.

● Plans for Biletnikoff Field are exciting, but I still find it hard to believe that more than $6 million has been raised for all of the improvements. Two decades ago, it was stunning when Pennsylvania officials released $8 million for what became Jerry Uht Park, which is known today as UPMC Park.

More: Biletnikoff Field improvements begin. What will they bring to Erie High?

Many argued at the time that Erie should not be going after funds from the state for projects like sports or arts facilities, but the success of UPMC Park changed the thinking on that.

Today, Erie has the Bayfront Convention Center, a beautifully restored Warner Theatre and other outstanding venues.

● Anne-Marie Welsh said her daughter, Emily Welsh Holwick, has left her job as news anchor at Kansas City’s largest TV station after seven years to become a communications specialist with the American Association of Family Physicians. It’s based in Kansas City.

Emily Welsh had been a popular news anchor at WSEE-TV before she advanced to a successful career in Kansas City. Now married to Hudson Holwick, they are parents to 2-year-old Evan.

● Erie’s Monsignor Tom McSweeney received a big ovation at last week’s Press Club of Western Pennsylvania Golden Quills Awards banquet in Pittsburgh, where he received the prestigious Service to Journalism Award.

Afterward, McSweeney was approached and congratulated by leaders of the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill where 11 people were killed in a shooting in 2018.

Cindy Patton, former WJET-TV news reporter and anchor, also attended the Golden Quills dinner. She’s been working for the past seven years in communications for UPMC’s Cancer Center in Pittsburgh.

● At the Golden Quills event, Katie Blackley won in the audio journalism category for her documentary “How Did the Pittsburgh Pirates Get Their Name?”

The answer, of course, is that Louie Bierbauer, an Erie native who played 12 years in the big leagues, was “pirated” away from Philadelphia to play for Pittsburgh. Bierbauer, who was born in 1865, returned to Erie when his baseball career ended in 1898, and died here in 1926 at the age of 60. He’s buried in the Erie Cemetery.

More: Harbor Creek graduate Isaac Mattson joins list of 13 Erie-born MLB players

● The new Landing Hotel in Pittsburgh, which opened in September, is quite impressive. Connected to Rivers Casino, it has spectacular river views and is another great addition to Pittsburgh’s North Shore, which not too long ago was one of the most dilapidated parts of town.

● Congratulations to the Rev. Chris Beran and Rev. Cory Pius on their May 26 ordination as Catholic priests. Ordained by Bishop Lawrence Persico at St. Peter Cathedral, both men completed their studies at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.

● The news that 95-year-old Rosalynn Carter has dementia saddened the friends she made in Erie when she gave the keynote address at the 1981 International Year of Disabled Persons convention.

More: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter diagnosed with dementia

Dr. Gertude Barber, who hosted the convention, had appointed me to find somebody to give the keynote address. When I called her with the good news that I’d secured Chuck Tanner, then manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Barber said, “That’s good, Kevin, but I already lined up the first lady.”

I thought she meant Ginny Thornburgh, wife of then-Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh, but Barber had gone straight to the top. “Please thank Mr. Tanner and tell him we’ll try to fit him in someplace else,” she said.

● Watching ESPN’s “30 for 30” on the American Gladiators, it was fun to see Erie’s Johnny Ferraro and Danny Carr back in the day.

A great photo was posted online showing three of the four original bouncers at the old Calabrese Club ― Carr, Donny Plonski and Rick Kraus. Bruce Stevenson is deceased.

More: Erie enters spotlight during ESPN's 'American Gladiators' documentary

● Tickets went quickly for the Jefferson Educational Society’s 15th anniversary bash Saturday at the Bayfront Convention Center. The main speaker is Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist David Brooks, who should have plenty to say about the upcoming presidential campaign.

Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fred Biletnikoff warmly welcomed home to Erie PA for field dedication