Grandson of Chuck Abramski
is starting quarterback for Indiana
Written: Sep 05, 2008
  By JOHN D’ABRUZZO
jd’abruzzo@ncnewsonline.com
Ben Fiscus has always had a strong connection with his grandfather.
And the game of football has only served to further fuel their bond.
Fiscus, the starting quarterback for Indiana (Pa.) High, is a grandson of former New Castle High football star and longtime coach Chuck Abramski.
“If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be playing,” Fiscus said. “I always wanted to play growing up, but my mom was worried about me getting hurt. So when I was in the fifth grade, he talked her into letting me play.
“Once she let me play, he started working with me right away.”
When Fiscus takes the field in a nonconference game at 7:30 tonight against visiting New Castle, he’ll be thinking of his grandfather.
Abramski had been living in New Castle until a year ago, when was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He turned 77 on Aug. 29 and lives in a nursing home in Hillsdale, Pa., which is located outside the city of Indiana.
Abramski’s wife, Theresa, died of cancer shortly after the two returned to New Castle in 1999.
“He’s always loved New Castle,” his daughter, Marian Abramski Fiscus, said. “Wherever he’d go around town people would yell out, ‘Hey, coach.’ And he just loved that.
“I know he would love to go to the game. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful we’ll be able to take him.” He’d be thrilled to watch his grandson play quarterback, especially against New Castle.”
A 1950 graduate of New Castle High, Abramski won a pair of WPIAL titles as a lineman for the Red Hurricane. He got into coaching not long after high school and joined Lindy Lauro’s staff as an assistant.
After six seasons in New Castle, he coached at Suffield (Ohio) High before moving on to Brownsville, New Brighton and then Ringgold where he coached a young quarterback named Joe Montana. In fact, Montanta thanked Abramski in his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech in 2000.
“He’d always want to talk to me about football and what I need to work on,” said Fiscus, who also is a son of Richard Fiscus. “He’d talk about when he coached Joe Montana and how what he was telling me was the same thing he used to tell him.”
Last week against Plum, Fiscus threw for 80 yards and two touchdowns while running for another in a 28-7 victory for the Class AAA Little Indians. The 6-foot, 175-pounder, who also plays basketball and baseball at Indiana, also had two interceptions on defense.
“Ever since my son was a little boy, dad would go around telling everyone he’s going to be a great player,” Marian said. “He said, ‘He’s going to be an All-American.’ ”
Abramski coached at Ringgold from 1971 to 1982 before serving as an assistant coach at Elizabeth Forward and Belle Vernon. He closed out his 35-year coaching career after he became the defensive coordinator at California University of Pennsylvania.
“Chuck was always a fiery competitor as coach and as a player,” said longtime friend Frank Bongivengo Sr. “He loved the game and everyone knew it. He’s always had a great passion for the game.”
Bongivengo, the legendary Shenango football coach who now serves as an assistant at New Castle for his son, Frank Bongivengo Jr., coached alongside Abramski at New Castle in the early 1960s.
Bongivengo said he’ll miss seeing his old friend at tonight’s game.
“Oh, it’s a shame because he would have really loved it,” Bongivengo said. “Especially with his grandson playing.”
According to his daughter, Abramski’s only true regret is that he never served as a head coach at New Castle.
“He always dreamed of coaching in New Castle,” she said. “He was Lindy’s assistant, and at the time Lindy was a dynasty. He still had plenty of years ahead of him back then. Dad wanted a challenge, so he went off and took over programs and built them up.”
Upon his 1997 induction into the Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame, Abramski told The News, “Football is my whole life. Ever since I was old enough to put gym shoes on, I admired and worshipped football at New Castle. “It opened a lot of doors for me.
“The best things in my life, other than my family, came from football.”
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