Ralph Gray, a retired Penns Valley High School mathematics teacher, is writing a book recounting the history of football rivalry between State College and Bellefonte.
Gray retired from teaching in 1997 and began writing football-related articles for Cambria County newspapers and for Plymouth magazine. He commented to a friend about the large amount of data he had collected for an article about football in the Barnesboro and Spangler schools, and his friend urged him to write a book. He then wrote three books about that rivalry.
When teaching at Bellefonte, he also developed an interest in the longstanding Bellefonte and State College rivalry, which dates back to 1890.
According to Gray, the two teams played each other sporadically between 1890 and 1918. In the next three decades, high school football grew in popularity and the teams played each other every year and, from 1941 to 1945, twice each year — as their opening and closing games.
In 1940, some Penn State students found an old iron kettle which became the trophy for the Bellefonte-State College games beginning in 1941. The series remained a close battle, with State College holding just a two-victory edge until 1956, which Gray calls a “critical year.”
That year, the new Bald Eagle High School opened, and players from Milesburg, Julian and Unionville area who had attended Bellefonte High were assigned to Bald Eagle.
“That was a new phase — State College kept growing, but Bellefonte lost material,” says Gray.
From 1956 to 1972, State College dominated the series, with Bellefonte winning just four of the 17 games played. The Iron Kettle series ended in 1972.
Bellefonte dropped State College from its schedule in 1973, but picked the Little Lions up again in 1976 when the PIAA allowed an 11th game on their schedules. Bellefonte again dropped State College, then again resumed play for another eight years, with Bellefonte winning two games and finally losing by a 62-0 score in 1999.
Gray has also written books about a similar rivalry between Barnesboro and Spangler high schools in Cambria County. Although Gray’s career was centered on mathematics and science, he is no stranger to football.
Gray was born in 1939, the son of a coal miner, and grew up in the Cambria County village of Mosscreek. He attended Barnesboro High School, where he played on the varsity football team as a freshman in 1953. The following year, the Barnesboro and Spangler schools merged to become Northern Cambria High School. Gray played on that team, and was its captain during his senior year in 1956. He won several awards for his playing abilities and, after graduating in 1957, Gray chose George Washington University from several scholarship offers.
After a year, Gray transferred to Indiana State College (now Indiana University of Pennsylvania), where he played on the football team. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in education in 1961. That same year, he married his high school sweetheart, Kay Taylor, the Barnesboro High School principal’s daughter.
Gray taught mathematics at Bellefonte High School for 20 years, where he became head of the department. While there, he earned a master’s degree in education from Penn State in 1965. He also coached high school and Legion baseball for 19 years.
In 1981, Gray accepted a job at Penns Valley High School and headed the mathematics department. He taught college-level calculus courses at the University of Pittsburgh, too, and was also a PIAA football official for 30 years.
Gray’s book will feature many old photos and statistics from the games, as well as information on the many outstanding coaches throughout the rivalry. It will also contain an index of all players and coaches of the teams.
“It will take me a full week to write the index, but I think it’s worth the effort,” says Gray.
Gray enjoys researching and writing about football. “I enjoy the research because I learn a lot,” he says. “It’s (information) out there, but boy, you have to dig.”
Gray plans to release the book, which has the working title “The Battle of Benner Pike,” in April. He will hold book signings in both State College and Bellefonte.
