PETE MAROPIS

Pete Maropis, Baseball (Posthumous)—Union HS and Alliance College – Born in Langeloth, Maropis was a multisport star and academic standout at Union High School. After serving as a radioman in the U.S. Coast Guard aboard search and rescue airplanes in the Pacific until the end of World War II, Maropis turned down football scholarship offers from the University of Georgia and St. Mary’s (Calif.) College and excelled in football, basketball, and baseball at Alliance College in Cambridge Springs, Pa. He signed a professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and began in Class B, Davenport, Iowa. Despite spending two and a half years in the military he advanced to the Pirates’ Class AA affiliate in New Orleans, La. Maropis compiled a .291 career batting average in the Minor Leagues with 21 home runs, 52 RBI, the six different teams from 1948 to 1951. He passed away on Dec. 16, 2021, at the age of 96.