Carey's Corner
FROM THE MALVERN ARCHIVES
A LOOK BACK
February 20th, 2023
One of the time honored sayings in football is “ It isn’t the X’s and the O’s but the Jimmy and the Joes that win the game and make a season or a program successful. Gamp and his staff had the coaching ability to take every Jimmy and Joe to their next level of accomplishment. From raw freshmen to seasoned seniors every player bought into the program. Hard work, attention to detail and love of his players was the “recipe for success”. Gamp cared about his players on and off the field. He did not think his job ended at 5 o’clock when the players finished practice. He pushed them to be the best Malvern Prep football players on the field and to be the best Malvern Prep person off the field. His numbers and his players are the litmus test of who he was and what he did.
In his career, Gamp has probably coached over 1000 players. In his time at Malvern these are some numbers that stand out to me.
18 players were recognized as INTER- AC MVP
| Pat Van Horn QB '78 | Luke Leslie QB '89 | Pat Clary DB '00 |
| David Orr RB '80 | Brian Gallagher RB '91 | Mike Treston RB '01 |
| Bill Lockhart QB '84 | Ryan Polley QB '94 | Dan Onorato LB '03 |
| Mike Augsberger QB '85 | Derrick Downs RB '95 | Ian Mitchell DB '05 |
| Mike Augsberger QB '86 | Steve Galczenski OL '95 | Ryan Nassib QB '07 |
| Jeff Caldwell RB '87 | Chris Downs RB '97 | Billy Conners QB '08 |
As I often do, here are some quick asides on MVP. Ian Mitchell made it as a DB. The irony is Ian was also the QB that year for Malvern. As a quarterback he went on to Dickinson and re-wrote the record books as a QB not as a DB. Ian is also in the Dickinson Hall of Fame. Danny Onorato made it as a LB but played QB too. In his senior year this linebacker set the single season MP record for passing yards in a season at 1,526. His record stood until 2014 when Alex Hornibrook broke it with 2,156 yards. John Haldeman HS and Dox Aitken HS were the only two back to back MVPs from another Inter-Ac school. Both played lacrosse in college. I know they are from another team but I played against Haldeman and saw Aitken play multiple times. HS took a page out of the MP multi-sport stud athlete handbook with these two players. Malvern has had 3 double winners- Pat Van Horn ’77,’78, Mike Augsberger ’85,’86, and Keith Maguire ’17,’18. Mike and Pat were two of MPs best QBs. Now for the 2nd irony, and it’s a big head scratcher. Chris Downs, the all-time leading scorer and rusher in Inter-Ac history, WAS NOT chosen as league MVP his junior year. They chose a linebacker from PC. Penn Charter and Malvern tied for the championship at 3-1. MP lost to PC and PC lost to GA. Chris stats for his junior year in the IA were 93 carries for 884 yards and a 9.5 average. How did he do against PC? He mauled them for 28 carries- 276 yards and a 9.9 yard average. Anyone besides me think that is MVP worthy? Anyone think about, maybe, a co-MVP?? It had previously happened in ’85, ’90, ’91, ’93 and ’95. Why not 1996? Go figure.
23 players were recognized as 1ST TEAM ALL DECADE ALL INTER-AC
| Paul Phelan RB '79 | David Rogers OL '86 | Hunter Jones OL '91 | Brendan Carney P '01 |
| Joe Sullivan K '79 | Chris Treston OL '86 | Chris Downs RB '97 | Trey Womack REC '05 |
| Jeff Caldwell DB '87 | Steve Ryan OL '83 | CJ Mooney DL '08 | Joe Price REC '08 |
| Kevn Bradley DL '80 | Chris Muntz DL '99 | TJ Cascio DL '02 | Paul Ostick OL '06 |
| David Orr RB '80 | Derrick Downs DB '95 | Billy Conners DB '08 | Bobby Panchisin OL '08 |
| Mike Augsberger QB '86 | Ryan Polley DB '94 | DJ Driscoll DB '01 |
212 players received 1st team ALL INTER-AC honors (Refer to the Malvern history tab listing the All Inter-AC teams from 1950 to the present)
Lastly, an astounding 101 players received recognition as 1st, 2nd or 3rd team All City. The All City team is pulled from every player from the Public, Catholic and Inter-Ac Leagues. Malvern players who made 1st team All City are listed in the attached Gamp tribute article. Quite a Who’s Who of Malvern football talent.
I could go on and on about Gamp but he is probably looking down on me saying "Hey, knock it off already. Let’s wrap this thing up".
I know this is a short article but I have attached a few newspaper stories to fill in some gaps. Each is a good read and highlights much of his career and his impact on local high school football.. Grab a cup of coffee. (Bottom of the Page)
Have also attached a video I found in my YouTube research. Its 15 minutes long and it is aptly called Coach Gamp Pellegrini. If you have not seen it before and you knew or played for Gamp, grab another cup of coffee. If it has been a while since you have seen it, still grab that 2nd cup of coffee.
So, from all the Jimmys, Joes, Kyles, Franks, Bills, Johns, Mikes, Pats, Dans, Andys, Jeffs and every player that wore the blue and silver and defended the Μ on the helmet…
THANK YOU TO THE ONE, THE ONLY…. GAMP.
More to come....
