Poll: On the field - who was the toughest, meanest s.o.b. to ever suit up for PSU?
- Thread starter MtNittany
- Start date
I had to change my vote to Heller. The time he jacked up a PSU receiver for helping a guy he just destroyed up off the turf pretty much says it all.
I asked him about it and he said "I'm trying to put the ****** in the hospital, and he's helping him up. Un******believable."
I asked him about it and he said "I'm trying to put the ****** in the hospital, and he's helping him up. Un******believable."
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can I write in for LaVon Chisley (or are we not supposed to talk about that)?
You don't even have him listed....Steve Wisniewski not only has the reputation of being the meanest, nastiest player to ever play for PSU, but potentially one of the meanest, nastiest players to ever play in the NFL.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
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Good call. My write-in vote goes to Steve Wisniewski.
Heller lived directly below me in West Halls (his roommate was Rocky Washington - what a trip that dude was.... I was told that he was assigned Heller as a roommate as he was afraid to run his ever-trash-talking mouth off to Heller, although I'm not sure if that is so.). In any event, Heller was like 6' 7" and 280....and looked like one of those Greek Statues chiseled out of granite. One hell of an athlete for his size and one really bad-ass dude (saw him get into a fight at Fiji one time and he was literally tossing dozens of people around like toys).
Actually, Steve Sefter lived down the hall from me - he was one tough SOB, but maybe the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet out of pads or off the wrestling mat.
Even though he is a bit of a douchebag now, Matt Millen probably belongs on that list...
If I remember correctly, the fight did not end until Curt Warner showed up and talked him "off the ledge" so to speak.... (or at least I think it was Warner if I remember correctly). I think the whole thing started because Ron's GF was at the party inside and they would not let him in as they were saying his name was not on the "guest list"....I was outside in line waiting to get in and then the whole thing spilled out into the yard....
I worked with Steve's dad for a few years at the start of my career. The apple didn't fall far from the tree. Super nice guy, just don't piss him off (I never did).
Yep - that's why I said "of these". I knew I'd miss 2 or 3 obvious ones - and Hartenstine is certainly one of them.
Shane was too good of a guy. Bauer got the nod over him for hitting Michael Irvin in the back of the head w/ a football during warmups for the Fiesta Bowl.
Back when I used to listen to ESPN radio, Golic told a funny story about Heller. He roomed with him for training camp one summer with the Eagles. He said they shared this small dorm room and every morning Heller would get up early and do naked yoga. So that was what he woke up to every morning during camp. Now that I'm reading these stories about Heller, I guess there wasn't much Golic could do about it.
Greg Buttle deserves mention. This from the '74 Pitt game:
Donchez, the former Penn State running back who lives in Bethlehem, gave such a spirited pre-game speech before the 1974 game at Three Rivers Stadium that he threw his helmet across the locker room in anticipation.
His helmet hit Greg Buttle, a future all-American linebacker, in the head, producing a gash and knocking him cold. Buttle eventually came to and played a fearsome game, which Penn State won 31-10 on its way to the Cotton Bowl.
"His head was split open, and there was blood all over his jersey," Donchez said. "The Pitt guys were taken aback. They looked like, 'Who is this guy, why is he bleeding, and why is he making all these tackles?'"
LINK
Donchez, the former Penn State running back who lives in Bethlehem, gave such a spirited pre-game speech before the 1974 game at Three Rivers Stadium that he threw his helmet across the locker room in anticipation.
His helmet hit Greg Buttle, a future all-American linebacker, in the head, producing a gash and knocking him cold. Buttle eventually came to and played a fearsome game, which Penn State won 31-10 on its way to the Cotton Bowl.
"His head was split open, and there was blood all over his jersey," Donchez said. "The Pitt guys were taken aback. They looked like, 'Who is this guy, why is he bleeding, and why is he making all these tackles?'"
LINK
A couple of others who come to mind:
Bill Dugan, OL from late 70s, early 80s who played for the Seahawks for a few seasons. He was no fun to deal with at fraternity parties... even his teammates couldn't calm him down at times. Finally had to go right to JVP for help. Dugan didn't give us any trouble after that.
Someone mentioned guest list issues with ball players - sometimes as pledges we just had to ask forgiveness later for letting someone in rather than make a scene then and there. Some of our own players were no help anyway.
John Ebersole (I think it was) had a rep for being nasty on the field. Late 60s.
Hartenstine was legendary for his nastiness on and off the field.
Ron Heller's on-field rep matched his, from what I understand.
A Millen story, told by Millen during one of his fireside chats at Fiji when he came to visit - at Kentucky in 1978 (PSU won, 30-0, in what was supposed to be a decent game). Opening kickoff, the Kty returner gets run out of bounds and into the PSU bench after a good return. He runs right at Millen, who is waiting to take the field with the defense, and who forearms him off his feet, 2 or 3 yards out of bounds but away from the refs' noticing. The guy gets up and thinks about starting something, the PSU players are already all around him, and Millen just glares at him. He turns and trots off. Message sent. 30-0.
Someone mentioned Steve Sefter. Very nice family. Chris was a Fiji when I was there, John used to come by when home from Princeton. Their Dad and mine enjoyed talking when they were both at the house for a function. My Dad was a railroad (PRR/Conrail) engineer, and Mr. Sefter had an interest in that either as another railroad guy or just as an area of interest.
They were from New Cumberland before moving to State College, or vice-versa?, iir.
Bill Dugan, OL from late 70s, early 80s who played for the Seahawks for a few seasons. He was no fun to deal with at fraternity parties... even his teammates couldn't calm him down at times. Finally had to go right to JVP for help. Dugan didn't give us any trouble after that.
Someone mentioned guest list issues with ball players - sometimes as pledges we just had to ask forgiveness later for letting someone in rather than make a scene then and there. Some of our own players were no help anyway.
John Ebersole (I think it was) had a rep for being nasty on the field. Late 60s.
Hartenstine was legendary for his nastiness on and off the field.
Ron Heller's on-field rep matched his, from what I understand.
A Millen story, told by Millen during one of his fireside chats at Fiji when he came to visit - at Kentucky in 1978 (PSU won, 30-0, in what was supposed to be a decent game). Opening kickoff, the Kty returner gets run out of bounds and into the PSU bench after a good return. He runs right at Millen, who is waiting to take the field with the defense, and who forearms him off his feet, 2 or 3 yards out of bounds but away from the refs' noticing. The guy gets up and thinks about starting something, the PSU players are already all around him, and Millen just glares at him. He turns and trots off. Message sent. 30-0.
Someone mentioned Steve Sefter. Very nice family. Chris was a Fiji when I was there, John used to come by when home from Princeton. Their Dad and mine enjoyed talking when they were both at the house for a function. My Dad was a railroad (PRR/Conrail) engineer, and Mr. Sefter had an interest in that either as another railroad guy or just as an area of interest.
They were from New Cumberland before moving to State College, or vice-versa?, iir.
Some of the guys from the 1912 team must have been some mean dudes:
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2008/10/22/637430/a-lesson-in-penn-state-ohi
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2008/10/22/637430/a-lesson-in-penn-state-ohi
True funny story on this topic - you'll get a kick out of it and probably understand it.... Had this class where this really hot girl and her friend were always sitting next to me in class - I usually sat near some people I knew, but no really close friends or even acquaintances were in the class (which happened on occasion due to the size of campus). Anyway, this girl missed a class and asked if she could borrow my notebook so she could take notes from my notes (this was before copying machines were readily available)....and she'd give it back to me the next class. Of course, I said, "yea sure, no problemo....".
So she gives me the notebook back before class the next class and the lecturer starts class, so I open my notebook leafing to a clean page and I notice that this girl has written little notes in the margins of the last couple of written pages and on the top of the first clean page. Without going into too much detail, it basically says, "hey dumb@ss, when are you going to ask me out on a date....?". So I'm reading this as class is starting and this girl (and her friend) are laughing their @ss off as they can see my facial expressions while reading these notes.... After class is over, I'm talking to them as we leave and out in the hallway....and we all have a good laugh at my expense....and of course I invite her to Highway Pizza to meet up and then either go to the movies, Docs or whatever....
Go to Highway Pizza and completely by coincidence Steve Sefter saw me there....and catches me going to the bathroom.....effectively says, "What the heck are you doing with....you know that she's been going out with Ron Heller recently?". So I explained what happened, that I didn't know she was going out with anyone (didn't even know her at all before this class), and that she'd basically asked me out, not vice versa. So he more-or-less says, "look do yourself a favor, have a nice meal with her - there's no harm in that, especially because you have this class together - but don't go out on the town on a date with her". So later when we were done eating, I told her I wasn't feeling very good and would have to give her a rain-check on the night out....she said she was going to stay downtown and find some friends.....and that was that.
Obviously we still saw each other in class and eventually I essentially asked her if she was dating RH.....she basically said, "on occasion, but not exclusively or anything.....he doesn't own me...". I told her to let me know if she ever broke it off with RH.....we remained friendly, but honestly I only saw her a handful of times after that class together (and yes, this transpired after the Fiji fight I witnessed - although I don't think it was the same girl, so my actions are quite understandable for all those who would say they would have done differently!).
Ronnie's real girlfriend (from HS) was in Utica. We used to make the drive up there - once w/ a keg.
Tangentially knew Shane (or should I say on occasion spent some time doing minor socializing with him) as he went out with a girl from Erie who I knew through friends who attended the HS she went to back home (which was not the HS I went to). He always hungout with this one guy that had long sandy-blonde hair and looked like a Cro Magnon Man....
Heller victorious in mat debut
- Chris Lindsley
- Jan 24, 1983
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Heller victorious in mat debut
For the third year in a row, Penn State Wrestling Coach Rich Lorenzo decided to let his football-playing heavyweight open against Lehigh, and each time his decision has been rewarded with a victory.
But unlike the past two seasons, the heavyweight in question was not former All-American Steve Sefter, (who is redshirting this season but is working out with the squad). Instead it was junior Ron Heller who defeated the Engineer's Frank Koos 16-4 in Heller's first competitive wrestling match since high school.
Although Heller, who also is an offensive lineman on the football team, has not wrestled competitively for three years, he feels that his working against Sefter every day in practice has helped to build up his confidence, and says Sefter is a major reason for his success.
"I was nervous going out there tonight, but after working out with Steve I knew that if I could hang with him, I could hang with anyone," Heller said. "I could not have done this without him."
Penn State Assistant Wrestling Coach John Fritz agreed that having Sefter around will aid in the continuing development of Heller as a wrestler.
"Sefter is one of the most intense wrestlers in the United States, and his working with Ron will help him (Heller) to improve as the season continues," Fritz said.
Lorenzo was pleased with the performance turned in by Heller, and said that he has the attitude and competitiveness necessary to be successful.
"Ron turned in a super effort," Lorenzo said. "I wasn't going to wrestle him, but he said he really wanted to wrestle, and Fritz and (trainer) Ed Sulkowski sort of talked me into it, and at that point in the match, we really had nothing to lose by wrestling him."
But despite his strong performance against Lehigh, Heller knows that it will be a little while before he reaches top form.
"I need to work on my conditioning, so I can go a whole match without gasping for air when it's over," Heller said. "I also need to keep working hard in practice, and hopefully by the time Easterns roll around, I will be in the best shape possible."
Sefter agrees that in going from football to wrestling, Heller is behind all the other wrestlers in his training.
"The major hurdle he faces is his conditioning, something that takes a month or two to achieve," Sefter said. "He is not in wrestling shape yet, and he must be mentally ready to wrestle to be effective."
"He needs to develop a high level of intensity," said Lorenzo, assessing Heller's transition from sport to sport. "He also must rely more on finesse when it comes to executing "setups," which are certain moves which make opponents react to fakes."
"In football," Heller said, "if I made a mistake the team was there to help me. But in wrestling, one mistake and the match could be over."
Although Heller has been with the team for less than three weeks, Lorenzo feels that he is a welcomed addition to the team.
"The team respects him for coming out after a tough football season," Lorenzo said. "It is great to have him with us."
As far as making his wrestling debut against Lehigh is concerned, Lorenzo feels it was a good match for him in which to start.
"The Lehigh match is an excellent place for him to start," Lorenzo said. "He made some errors, but he still was able to compete for seven minutes, something he could not do against a top heavyweight.
"Ron is still weeks away from his maximum effectiveness as a wrestler," Lorenzo said. "And his three year absence from wrestling will make his return a difficult and challenging experience."
Where's Greg Buttle? He needs to be on this list. I remember we were playing Syracuse in Beaver Stadium and Syracuse had a pretty good team and QB named Bill Hurley. During the game, Buttle blitzed, got to Hurley and he didn't tackle him in the conventional way. He just picked him up and dropped him down. Buttle didn't even get dirty. It was a marvel.
Mike Hartenstine should've been included on this list. Probably a few more names as well. Kim Herring, James Boyd, Larry Kubin... I could make this addendum pretty long if I sat down and thought about it long enough.
Sorry, meant "Mr. C's " above not Doc's (I used to live in Shadyside - freudian slip!).....anyway, we were supposed to go for a night on the town to the movies.....dancing at Mr. C's.....both......etc.... Ahhhh, the "good 'ole days"! Have to admit, it was a blast and I think there's a decent chance we might even know each other based on some of the things you've said - did you live in on the first floor of the first "level" dorm of Hamilton on the quad (i.e., the one facing Pollock Road closest to Fiji)???
Don't think so, but Steve Sefter did - he was an AA HWT Wrestler as well as being a starting DE.
Whats the Heller Jones Beach story? Anyone remember that? Something about peeing in the ocean in front of everyone lol?
That was Dickie Mo (Maginnis) - rest his soul. Dick had never been further than Harrisburg, and he went to visit RH one summer. They went to Jones Beach w/ 2 cases and were laying out doing their thing. After awhile Dick has to take a leak and doesn't understand when Ronnie tells him to go in the ocean - everyone does it. A few minutes go by and Heller hears screams. Looks down and sees Dickie in knee deep water taking a piss.
