It’s time for Beaver County memories, presented by St. Barnabas Beaver Meadows. Since it’s the time of year when the NFL crowns its champions in the annual Super Bowl, This Beaver County Memory will look back on the ten Beaver County natives that have either played or coached in a Super Bowl.

It’s probably not a big surprise to anyone that the most prolific community in Beaver County to produce Super Bowl participants is Aliquippa with four, including two coaches, and two players. Ty law and Derrelle Revis both began covering receivers as young scholastic defensive backs at Carl A. Aschmann stadium in Aliquippa, and both men would eventually win rings defending passes for the New England Patriots. Mike Ditka and Richard Mann also started out as Quips and later coached on the winning sideline in the NFL’s biggest game. Ditka for the Bears and Mann as an assistant for the Buccanneers.

The aforementioned Mike Ditka coached the 1985 Bears to a championship and that team had the greatest representation of Beaver County natives with three. In addition to Coach Ditka, Jimbo Covert from Freedom and Dan Rains from Hopewell helped the Bears win the Lombardi trophy that year.

Joe Namath from Beaver Falls is perhaps the most famous Beaver County Super Bowl participant with the Jets, but he wasn’t the only Beaver County guy on that team, which upset The Baltimore Colts. Babe Parilli from Rochester was Namath’s back up.

Tony Dorsett started scoring touchdowns on an old grass field behind Hopewell High School that has now been updated and bears his name. He later ran over and around many defensive backs as a running back for the Dallas Cowboys, including a couple Super Bowl appearances in the seventies.

And finally, Jerald Ingram from Beaver served as an assistant coach for the New York Giants during football’s biggest game.

Ten participants from six different communities in Beaver County have represented our county well in the Super Bowl. As we prepare for Super Bowl fifty one, here’s to hoping that another ten players in the next fifty years from Beaver County make their way onto the biggest stage in sports.

This has been Beaver County Memories, presented by St. Barnabas Beaver Meadows. Tune in to 1230 WBVP and 1460 WMBA.   everyday  for more Beaver County memories.