Meet Donald Asmonga
Donald Asmonga was a rare, gifted athlete from Homestead, Pennsylvania—a small mill town outside of Pittsburgh. He excelled at several sports and captured recognition at the high school, college, and professional levels.
A high school basketball state champion, a football standout for Alliance College, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, a forward for Baltimore Bullets, the most-winning coach at Pennsylvania’s Belle Vernon Area High School, and a scout for the Cincinnati Reds all describe Don Asmonga. But, there’s much more to his story and his love of sports.
A native of the West Mifflin-Homestead-Munhall area, Don was born on February 15, 1928, the son of Steven Asmonga of West Mifflin and the former Mary Melnick of Belle Vernon. He was the oldest of three boys and six girls.
An outstanding all-around athlete at Homestead High School, he led the basketball team to a 28-0 record and the state championship in 1946. The Homestead team of 1946 was also famous for the nickname, “Four Johns and a Don.” He was also an exceptional football and baseball player in high school, capturing All-WPIAL recognition in those sports as well.
Following high school, he moved onto Alliance College on an athletic scholarship. At Alliance he captured the Tri-State Scoring Honors in basketball with 49 points in one game during his collegiate 1946-47 campaign. In football, he made the first team at age 18 over returning GI’s who were in their mid-20’s. After one year and two months of college, he signed a professional baseball contract with the Boston Red Sox scout “Socko” McCarey of local Pittsburgh fame.
While with the Red Sox, Don played in Wellsville, New York in 1948. Following Wellsville, Don moved on to San Jose, California in 1949 where he famously pitched a no-hitter for 12 1/3 innings in a game he entered in the fourth inning. The game was eventually called for darkness in the 20th inning with the teams tied 4-4. His next team was Birmingham, Alabama, of the Southern Association. In 1950, he was optioned to Scranton, Pennsylvania of the Eastern League. In 1951, Don played in Louisville, Kentucky.
While at spring training with the Red Sox in 1952, he re-injured his pitching arm and was eventually forced to give up baseball but not after a few more stints in Asheville, North Carolina, and Canada but his arm had become too weak. His career could have continued as he was a good hitter, but even playing at first base he had trouble throwing the ball.
Asmonga was a strikeout specialist. He sat considerably more than 200 batters down by striking them out. Bill Feist, a writer in San Jose, captured the essence of Asmonga’s baseball attributes when he wrote in 1949, “Asmonga’s principal defect is wildness. Don has developed a splendid curve and has the live fast one needed for success. His control has shown definite improvement since he came to San Jose. Professional scouts agree he has more stuff than any other pitcher in the California League today.”
Following the end of his baseball career, Asmonga played professional basketball with the Altoona Flyers from 1949-53 and then spent part of a season with the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA before they folded. He also played semi-pro ball for area teams including Mount Washington in the Greater Pittsburgh League, Munhall-Homestead, the Duquesne Zemps and Manning Spellman of the McKeesport Daily News League.
Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Asmonga worked as a milkman by day for Menzie Dairy of McKeesport and in the Duquesne Water Department at night. He resumed his college education in 1963 and in 1965 he received his teaching degree in social studies from then California State College. He was hired as a teacher at age 39 in the newly formed Belle Vernon Area School District.
As Belle Vernon’s first basketball coach, his crowning achievement came in 1978 when his Leopards won the WPIAL championship over Norwin. That year, the Leopards also made the state semi-finals before falling to Erie Prep. Coach Asmonga led the Leopards to the playoffs in 1974, 1976, and 1981. During his basketball coaching tenure, his teams compiled an impressive overall 287-254 record. In 1967, his Belle Vernon baseball team won a WPIAL sectional championship. He retired from coaching in 1988.
Don Asmonga was inducted to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame as a player and coach in 1988. He was also inducted into the Mid-Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 and received the prestigious Dapper Dan Award in February 1979 for excelling as a basketball coach.
Golf occupied much of Asmonga’s later years. He participated in numerous golf leagues and enjoyed success at tournaments along side his brothers, Art and Pete and son, Danny. Well into his eighties, Asmonga continued to demonstrate his natural athletic gifts and strong love for competition.
When his health declined, his love of sports extended beyond being a player and coach to that of an active spectator and student of many games. Asmonga followed a variety of televised sporting events spouting off statistics and sharing his opinions on teams and athletes. The father of six children, he was often seen on the sidelines of his grandchildren’s events whether it be lacrosse, tennis, wrestling, or hockey.
Asmonga truly loved and lived sports.