listing/roster of Charleroi, Pennsylvania High School Graduates/Alumni


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    THE 80's
      Gai-Linn Tatrai, '87
      Jim Donley, '84
      William Procasky Jr., '85
      James A. Protin, '84
      Pete Kalamaras, '88
      Brend 'Bernie' Uhlemann, '85
      LaCarte Brothers, '85, '86, '87, '88 & '99

This New Yorker still loves Burgh's black and gold... By Jeff Pikulsky, The Valley Independent, March 13, 2004
William Procasky Jr. probably should be wearing pin stripes and rooting for the New York Yankees, but he vows to always bleed Pittsburgh black and gold.

The Speers native moved from Pittsburgh to New Jersey after he enjoyed an all-star baseball career at Charleroi High School.

A back injury Procasky suffered from weightlifting in his mid-20's sidelined him from playing sports, but he still enjoys the excitement of being a fan.

As the Yankee ball caps he sees during his 10-minute commute from his Hoboken, N.J., home to his New York office remind him of how easy it would be to convert to the local team's legion of supporters.

Procasky, 36, said he appreciates having lived in or near Pittsburgh at times when all three of the Steel City's professional teams won their respective championships.

The Steelers and Pirates brought home multiple titles in the 1970's. The Penguins opened the 1990s with their first hockey championship title and followed with another the next year.

At the age of 17, Procasky was close to winning a title of his own. During his senior year of high school, his baseball team placed third in the state.

After he spent a year in Germany as a high school student, Procasky decided to become a high school teacher.

He graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle with degrees in German and math. Then, to the head of the class he went.

Procasky said he felt a bit out of place at times during the year he spent at Keystone Oaks High School in the South Hills.

"I was 23 at the time," he said of his freshman year as a teacher.

"I was out in the hall and one of the teachers who didn't know me thought I was a student and told me to get back to class," he added with a laugh.

Procasky decided on a career change and ended up working for PNC Bank in Pittsburgh for eight years. Understanding a second language became his ticket to another level.

"We came to this area because I speak German, and I wanted to work for a German bank," he said of relocating to New York. "I wouldn't get to do that in Pittsburgh."

Procasky landed a job with a German Banking branch called DZ Bank and moved to the Big Apple in 1999.

He later switched to his current job with Dutch-owned ABN Amro Inc., where he is now the vice president of energy and chemical industry risk management.

"It's one of the largest banks in the world," he said. "I handle accounts and assess credit worthiness of customers. I did that to some extent in Pittsburgh. I was preparing proposals. Now, I get the finished package and present the deals."

Procasky said he appreciates the cultural diversity where he now lives.

"Here, you go to different neighborhoods and different languages are spoken. I think it reflects the way the world is going," he said.

Procasky said he now applies the value of patience he gained growing up in a family of diligent mill workers in the Mon Valley.

"I'm patient, and I don't think people here are," he said. "The people are the worst drivers in the world here."

The subway has become Procasky's new best friend.

"I love it now because driving is awful," he said.

In relation to sports, Procasky is now rooted in what recently became a national hotbed for controversy in professional athletics.

The New York Yankees agreed in February to acquire former Texas Ranger Alexander Rodriguez and pay more than $100 million left in his $252-million, 10-year contract that made him the highest paid player in sports history.

"All the Yankee fans were excited. I was disgusted," Procasky said of hearing the news. "It's kind of disgusting the way the Yankees buy the best players. I'm very against that trade."

Procasky said a chance to visit the Yankees' historic stadium was a slight letdown.

"It's a little disappointing. They remodeled it," he said of the ballpark. "There still is some nostalgia there, but, it's not really the house that (Babe) Ruth built any more."

Procasky said he is more of a New York Knicks' basketball fan than a Yankees' follower.

He said he still keeps tabs on the only baseball team he loves.

"I'm still a Pirates fan, even through they're awful." he said.

Procasky's said his favortie athlete is the late, Pittsburgh Pirates legend, Roberto Clemente.

He said memories of Pittsburgh's championship years and the players involved will always hold a place in his heart.

Those times are a stark contrast to the big-money mentality in sports today, he said.

"Athletes were different. They more reflected the character of the city," he said of the sports era in which he grew up. "They weren't these celebrities. Did you ever see Willie Stargell act like these guys today?"

Jeff Pikulsky is a staff writer for The Valley Independent.