Lash’s legacy: Nesser to receive WPIAL Heritage Award
Submitted photo
James 鈥淟ash鈥� Nesser holds a basketball commemorating St. John蘑菇视频 PCIAA state championship in 1965. Nesser, who died in 1988, will be inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as the Heritage Award winner on June 2.
James 鈥淟ash鈥� Nesser
Submitted photo
On June 16 Vince Nesser will join his father James 鈥淟ash鈥� Nesser when he is enshrined into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame.
The month of June is shaping up as a banner month for the family of the late Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame basketball coach James 鈥淟ash鈥� Nesser.
On June 2 Lash Nesser will be inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame as the Heritage Award winner. Then on June 16 Vince Nesser will join his father when he is enshrined in the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you can even rate it on a scale how excited everybody is,鈥� Vince Nesser explained.
The WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2023 will include Ray Brinzer (North Allegheny), Emily Carter (Bethel Park), Laura Grimm (Serra Catholic), Jonathan Hayes (South Fayette), Greg Meisner (Valley), Tom Pipkins (Valley), Sarah Riske McGlamery (Peters Township), Bill Cleary (Serra Catholic), Bill Palermo (Sto-Rox), Don Rebel, Virginia Fronk (Seneca Valley), James 鈥淟ash鈥� Nesser (St. John蘑菇视频 and Uniontown), Bob Osleger (Ringgold), the 1981-82 Monaca boys basketball team and the 2000-01 Oakland Catholic girls basketball team.
Laurel Highlands Athletic Director Mark John, who is the nephew of Lash Nesser, was instrumental in Nesser being selected for the WPIAL Hall of Fame.
鈥淚 not only nominated Lash I nominated Horse Taylor and Rick Hauger,鈥� John revealed. 鈥淚 nominated all those guys. The honor for Lash is well deserved.鈥�
Nesser passed away on Dec. 2, 1988, at the age of 67. He was profiled in a Memory Lane column in 2011. Here are some excerpts from that column:
Call him what you will, there has never been a more charismatic character prowling the sidelines in Fayette County sports than the late James 鈥淟ash鈥� Nesser.
At tiny Uniontown St. John and later at Uniontown High School, Nesser consistently turned out winning basketball squads and had a profound effect on both students and adults.
Nesser was born in Uniontown on Aug. 5, 1921 and attended Uniontown High School. The legend of Lash Nesser started at Saint Vincent College, where he was a three-sport star who earned his nickname as a baseball player (a catcher, Nesser was said to have a whiplash-like throwing arm). Nesser graduated from Saint Vincent in 1946, after completing three years of military service. He was a salesman for the American Tobacco Co. for a year before returning to Saint Vincent in 1947. He was approached by Fr. Edmund, a priest at Saint Vincent, who told him of a coaching vacancy at a little Catholic high school in Uniontown.
鈥淚 really wanted to coach football, after playing three sports at Saint Vincent,鈥� Nesser recalled in a 1981 interview. 鈥淚 told this to Fr. Edmund. But he said this friend of his needed a basketball coach, and would I help him out. Well, I was short on cash but long on charity and dedication, so I gave up a selling job that paid me as much a week as I would make in a month of coaching, and that蘑菇视频 how I ended up at St. John蘑菇视频. I think it was the idea of a challenge more than anything that got me into the coaching job. You get it into your head to see if you can coach, and I accepted the challenge, becoming a full time teacher (seven subjects) and coach. I thought I would give it a try for one year and see what came of it, but it turned out I had a lot of fun and I鈥檝e been at it ever since.鈥�
Through some painstaking research I鈥檝e been able to come up with a pretty accurate coaching mark for Nesser at St. John蘑菇视频 give or take a couple of games. He compiled a 434-233 mark with the Eagles from 1948-49 until the school closed after the 1975-76 campaign.
His early career at St. John蘑菇视频 was a source of great pride and great memories for Nesser.
鈥淭hose were great years in county basketball,鈥� he remembered. 鈥淓verybody was building a program, and we played anywhere and everywhere. We played upstairs in one building at Perryopolis, on a dirt floor in Masontown, Immaculate Conception played in the basement of a church with pillars that we had to weave around, and Dunbar Township had a court with a low ceiling at Leisenring where you couldn鈥檛 shoot an arching set shot, but had to fire the ball on a straight line because you would hit the ceiling. At Redstone, we played in the old 鈥楪lory Barn鈥� with a stove on the floor that acted as a post man for both teams, and we always packed plenty of Unguentine. One year we played in the Pittsburgh Catholic League and we played over a meat market. At Point Marion we played in a skating rink and Uniontown played at Lafayette Junior High until 1954. Honestly those were great days in county basketball.鈥�
Nesser was known for his sideline antics and was one of the more animated scholastic coaches in America. He went after players and officials with a big booming voice. During a game he would gnaw on his knuckles.
鈥淲ith my big burly voice, a lot of people get the wrong impression,鈥� Nesser said in a 1983 Pittsburgh Press profile. 鈥淓ven when I talk in a normal voice people say, 鈥楲ook at him hollering at those kids.'鈥�
Nesser captured the PCIAA state Catholic Association Championship in 1965 when St. John蘑菇视频 downed Williamsport St. Joseph 64-62 and he guided the Eagles to a state semifinal spot in 1962 and the final in 1976.
When St. John蘑菇视频 closed its doors in 1976 Nesser took over the coaching reins at Uniontown High School, where he compiled an 11-year record of 246-64 with a WPIAL championship and a state title in 1981. He is one of the few coaches with a Catholic Championship and a PIAA Championship on his resume. His combined career won-loss total at St. John蘑菇视频 and Uniontown is 680-297.
Nesser and the Red Raiders defeated Springfield Delco 73-61 to capture the PIAA title in 1981 and they did it without a player taller than 6-foot-2.
Nesser was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2020 and was inducted into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. He was enshrined in the Saint Vincent Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Uniontown Area High School Academics, Arts and Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. The WPIAL Hall of Fame just adds to his legend.
鈥淭he way the PCIAA operated back then all the catholic schools were in,鈥� Vince Nesser stated. 鈥淗e went up against schools that recruited. Lash never really recruited and he got lucky with Larry Fisher and won a state championship and he really did well at St. John蘑菇视频. Then it was Uniontown 2.0 when he coached the Red Raiders. They got a proven winner to replace a proven winner. A legend to replace a legend. It was almost unheard of for that to fall into place.鈥�
Vince Nesser reflected on what it was like to play for his dad.
鈥淚n my years my dad had a totally different approach to motivate me,鈥� Vince offered. 鈥淲e played in all those playoff games two years in a row. He tried to make me get to a different gear because he didn鈥檛 want to lose. The goal was always to win the game. It was intense. It was a different feeling, you want to do it for your dad. You want your dad to be a winner.鈥�
鈥淟ash was a student of the game,鈥� John said. 鈥淗e knew it inside out and he was a great motivator and that was one of his greatest assets.鈥�
鈥淭he environment that my dad created at St. John蘑菇视频 was incredible,鈥� Nesser said. 鈥淚t was exciting.鈥�
The WPIAL is hosting its Hall of Fame induction banquet on Friday, June 2 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Greentree. Vince Nesser is going into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame on June 16 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville.
Vince Nesser and his father Lash will be the second father-son duo inducted into the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame joining Gene and Doc Franks. There is a father-daughter duo with George and Shelley Bortz.
鈥淚t almost unimaginable,鈥� Nesser said. 鈥淭he reason is the greatness of my dad and what he accomplished in 30 years and then basically what I did in three years of high school and four years of college ball and that蘑菇视频 what makes it so overwhelming for a son.鈥�
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.