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If you are from Anywhere, USA, and happened to stumble upon this site, Franklin and Oil City are about eight miles apart along Route 8 in Venango County, Pa. -- which is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Erie in the western part of the state.
Penny Weichel, site editor
Covering high school football in Venango County, Pa.
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Oilers' 27-game winning streak in hoops
It began with a win against Pleasantville in 1914-15.
Franklin's
all-oughts team
The first and last of former FHS coach Dave Smith's all-decade teams
School enrollments from back in the day
Found these figures in The News-Herald from 1936-37 when I was doing my original Franklin site.
BAY LAWRENCE
A little about Rolland "Bay" Lawrence a star in the 1960s for Franklin who played in the NFL.
Walter Camp gives thumbs up to Franklin
Father of American football rules in favor of Franklin in a dispute with Greenville.
FOR THOSE WHO GIVE A HOot: "owl" game firsts
The first game under the lights in Venango County was hosted by St. Joe, which was playing Stoneboro at Oil City's West End Grounds in 1931.
LOU FOGLE
The former FHS star flirted with the pros, but had a successful high school coaching career in the Carolinas after starring for Clemson.
TIGER LAVERDE
FIRST team All-State GUARDS
Two FHS guards from the 1960s, Paul Beals and Fred Blackhurst were first-team all-state guards.
MILESTONE MILER
Charlie Winger won three state championships for Oil City in the early 1950s, He's pictured here with coach John Kaufman.
He later starred at Grove City College -- he's one of the guys in the photo above -- and held the OCHS record for 53 years.
AL FOSTER Scored 51 points in 1918 game
ted marchibr0da
He played QB in the NFL after being drafted by the Steelers and was Coach of the Year for the Colts in 1975.
Oil City's Adam Lehnortt and Ben Lynch both starred for West Virginia in the early 2000s.
mountaineer
mainstays
NATE BYHAM
Nate Byham's pro career was cut short by knee problems. He starred at Pitt after graduating from Franklin. He is an assistant coach at Albany.
DALE LASH:
Second fiddle to AL Foster NO More
Dale Lash scored 28 points in the 1918 game that Al Foster bucketed a then OCHS school record 51. He also played on the Oilers' unbeaten team in 1916. Then he went on to make a name for himself in New England.
GROVE state champions
Rocky Grove had two state track champions in 1959 -- Bob Flickner (left) and DeWitt Green.
DAVE DETAR
Oil City's Dave Detar wrestled for and coached at Penn State in the early 1920s.
Former five-star tight end Ben Koyack of Oil City played at Notre Dame and then enjoyed a brief career with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
BEN KOYACK
JIM SHAUGHNESSY
Jim Shaughnessy was a first-team all-state running back for Oil City in 1964.
After starring at Oil City St. Joe and in college, Forrey Hall played on the 1948 San Francisco 49ers, accumulating 966 all-purpose yards
SHIELDS HAS A NAME!
For years, he was just "C." Shields.
ONE MAN's ALL-OIL CITY College team (1930)
The guys who were good back in the day.
SOME REALLY OLD TRACK TIMes
The times won't wow you from an inter-school meet held in 1899 at the OC Fairgrounds.
