Introducing the "all-time" Fabulous 22 football all-star team

In 1980, a photo of Penn Hills senior lineman Bill Fralic appeared in the Post-Gazette. Paul Slantis’ portrait of Fralic after a Penn Hills practice became an iconic picture that captured the essence of Fralic and Western Pennsylvania football.

Fralic’s pants were covered in dirt and dried mud. Streaks of dirt ran down his uncovered shins. His huge arms and legs were evident. Big, strong, menacing. That was Bill Fralic.

“I was an assistant at Penn Hills for Billy’s career,” said Fox Chapel’s Tom Loughran, a WPIAL head coach for almost 40 years. “He was the most dominant high school player I have ever known.”

Fralic is a Western Pennsylvania legend and one of the most legendary stories about Fralic came when he was working at a local golf course. Then Pitt coach Jackie Sherrill played the course one day and met Fralic. Sherrill’s first question to Fralic was, “What college do you play for?”

Fralic was in eighth grade at the time - and 6 feet 3, 235 pounds.

Fralic started as a freshman at Penn Hills in 1977, which was unheard of at the time at a larger school. He went on to Pitt, where he became one of the best linemen in college football history and eventually made the College Football Hall of Fame. He had a nine-year NFL career, made the NFL’s 1980s all-decade team and was a four-time Pro Bowler.

Fralic died of cancer two years ago, but his legacy will live forever in Western Pennsylvania. He was a member of the very first Fabulous 22 in 1980. One other member of the “all-time” Fab 22 is related to Fralic. The mother of former Central Catholic quarterback Marc Bulger is a cousin of Fralic’s.

“He was larger than life. He was the best,” Bulger said of Fralic. “He was my idol. It is such an honor to just be listed on this same Fab 22 team as him.”

Arrington had this to say about his career: “I don’t even associate myself with my pro career. To me, there was nothing better than being a linebacker at Linebacker U. (Penn State). A close second is high school football.”

As a senior at North Hills, Arrington was considered the No. 1 player in the country and was selected the Parade magazine national player of the year. His legendary status comes partly from being one of the greatest two-way players in the history of Western Pennsylvania football (linebacker and running back).

He was a four-year starter at North Hills and when he graduated, he was one of only two players to run for 4,000 career yards in the WPIAL’s largest classification. He had 342 career tackles and 10 interceptions. He went on to Penn State, became an All-American, won the Butkus Award (nation’s top linebacker) and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2000 draft. He played seven years in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl three times.

“This is the first time I ever said this, but truth be told, I was too scared to take a shot at being a 6-foot-3 tailback in college,” Arrington said. “Maybe I should’ve. But it made more sense because I could dominate more as a linebacker.”

In the voting for the all-time Fab 22, Arrington was a close second to Fralic. Arrington had 478 points and Fralic 487. Fralic had 13 first-place votes and Arrington five.

“Do you understand how many ridiculously amazing, super-gifted dudes aren’t on this all-time list?” Arrington said. “I’m so humbled. But for me, it’s all about the experiences and influences on me, from my pee-wee league coaches, to high school coaches, to my family, teammates and so many others. If I’m No. 2 on this list, they’re No. 2 with me. This No. 2 slot isn’t all about LaVar. It’s a product of all those people.”

These days, Arrington is the head coach at Maranatha High School in California. He also will be a co-host of a new weekly show and podcast on Fox Sports Radio. “Up On Game” launches Saturday with Arrington and former NFL players Plaxico Burress and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Donald was a dominant defensive lineman at Penn Hills, but not that many colleges noticed him. When he committed to Pitt in the spring of his junior year, his only other scholarship offers at that time came from Rutgers, Toledo and Akron.

But Donald’s career took off at Pitt and he became a first-round draft pick of the Rams in 2014. He still plays for the Rams and twice has been selected NFL Defensive Player of the Year and has been called a shoe-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.

But in high school, Donald still had moments of greatness. One game is memorable, when Penn Hills beat Upper St. Clair in the 2009 WPIAL playoffs. Donald had three sacks in the game and spent about as much time in Upper St. Clair’s backfield as USC’s running backs. Jim Render, who retired as the winningest coach in WPIAL history, calls it one of the best defensive performances he ever saw.

“We couldn’t block him,” Render said.

Donald wasn’t far behind Arrington in the voting with 465 points.

Revis was a running back, receiver and defensive back at Aliquippa who, in 2003, had maybe the greatest three days of any athlete in Western Pennsylvania history. On a Sunday afternoon in Hershey, Revis had one of the best performances of any player in state championship history when he scored five touchdowns three different ways as Aliquippa won the PIAA Class 2A title. Only two days later, with no practice, Revis scored 35 points for Aliquippa’s basketball team in a big victory against rival Beaver Falls.

“Being a sports fanatic like I am, I know those three days, those 72 hours were unreal,” Revis said in the spring when he was selected to the WPIAL Hall of Fame.

While Revis, who now lives in Florida, was certainly talented in high school, his star shined brighter in college as a defensive back at Pitt. He became a first-round pick in the 2007 NFL draft and had a storied pro career, winning a Super Bowl and becoming known as one of the greatest cornerbacks in NFL history. He is a seen as an almost-certain Pro Football Hall of Famer in the future.

Revis finished with 458 points in the voting, and he, along with Fralic, Arrington and Donald, were the only four with more than 400 points.

One factoid tells all you need to know about Pryor’s talent at Jeannette: He is the only player in Pennsylvania high school football history to rush for 4,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards in a career. And don’t forget Pryor also was a terrific safety at Jeannette – and he scored more than 2,000 points in basketball.

After Pryor’s senior year, he was selected the prestigious Parade magazine national player of the year. He went on to play quarterback at Ohio State and then in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders. He eventually switched to receiver and played for a few other NFL teams. Pryor, who lives in Pittsburgh, is keeping in shape, hoping to possibly land a spot with an NFL team yet this season.

He called making the all-time Fab 22 team an honor, but he was half-joking and half-serious at being only the No. 5 player on the list.

“Aaron Donald didn’t score any touchdowns,” Pryor said. “Darrelle Revis did, but he definitely didn’t score as many as me. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. But it doesn’t matter. It’s still a great honor.”