Former Pitt three-sport star and Donora legend Lou “Bimbo” Cecconi passed away last Friday at the age of 95.
Cecconi was born October 13, 1928 in Donora, Pennsylvania. He attended Donora High School, which merged with Monongahela High School to form the Ringgold School District, where he excelled in numerous sports including football, basketball, and track and field. And baseball.
He helped Donora win back-to-back WPIAL titles in 1944 and 1945 in football as a junior and senior, won a WPIAL gold medal in basketball in 1945, and played on the baseball and track teams. He won 11 championships with his baseball and track and field teams. He could receive 12 letters within four years.
His specialty was football and he played with some great players at Donora. This includes quarterback Arnold Gharifa, who later played in the Army, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and played professionally in the 1950s. Also featured is halfback Dan “Deacon” Towler. He starred at Washington and Jefferson and then in the NFL, making four Pro Bowls and leading the league in rushing touchdowns twice in 1952 and 1954.
A talent on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, Cecconi later attended Pitt, where he played four seasons of football and basketball and one season of baseball. He is one of only three Pitt players to earn nine varsity letters.
Cecconi played many positions in Pitt football even though he was only 5 feet 8 inches tall. He led the team in rushing from 1947 to 1949, had passes in 1948 and 1949, receptions in 1947, interceptions in 1948, and scores in 1946 and 1947. He also served as captain in 1949.
The best game of his college career came in 1949 against rival Penn State, where he set a program record with three interceptions against opposing quarterback Owen Daughtry, threw a touchdown, and scored two points. They rushed to win 19-0 at Pitt Stadium. .
Cecconi also played in 75 games for Pitt basketball, averaging 5.2 points per game on 44.4 percent from the field and 55.5 percent from the foul line.
The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the 1950 NFL Draft, but released him. He returned to Donora to teach, but then the United States drafted him into military service and sent him to Germany from 1951 to 1953.
He returned to Pitt as an assistant from 1958 to 1965 and as offensive coordinator from 1969 to 1972. His best game as a coach came in 1970 against rival West Virginia, when he led Pitt from a 35-8 deficit to 97 plays to WVU’s 13, 36-35. I won. He also recruited the legendary Tony Dorsett to join the show before his retirement.
Mr. Cecconi coached all sports in the Sharpsburg School District from 1953 to 1958, then coached at Steele Valley for one year and served as an administrator until his retirement in the 1990s. He also served as offensive coordinator at Indiana State University from his 1966 to his 1968 years.
He is a member of numerous halls of fame, including the WPIAL, Pennsylvania Sports, National Italian American Sports, Mid-Mon Valley, and Western Chapters. Pitt is also listed as a member of the national team.
