California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

When Dick Fields graduated from Bellmar High School in 1952, he didn’t think that he would end up in college someday. He did what a lot of men did at the time, he went into the service.

Six years later, he ended up a student at California. Forty-six years later, he is being inducted into California’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Athletics was nothing new to Fields. He was a starter for three years in football, two years in basketball, and earned one letter for baseball while in high school.

Field’s even received all-WPIAL football honors in 1951 from the Pittsburg Post-Gazette as a guard. He also earned all-county honors for basketball during his senior year.

After high school, Fields moved on to the service.

“I had been stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and I played three years of football there. I came out of the service, got married, had a child and was working in the mill when I got the chance to go to California. When I got out of the service and started to work in the mill, I thought that was it, I was going to work in the mill for the rest of my life,” Fields said.

“I was always grateful that I had the chance to go to California. My wife wanted me to go to school. The mayor of Roscoe came down and asked me about going to college and playing ball. My wife was a nurse and said, ‘Why don’t you go? I have a degree and I think you can get one.’ So, we moved from Belle Vernon to California. We lived on College Avenue right where the library is now. She did most of the raising of the children because I was going to school, playing ball and working the midnight shift in the mill,” he continued.

Fields began at California in 1958 and became a four-year starter for the Vulcans.

Fields earned all-state honors during his senior year and was named to the California All-Time Team. He was the captain of the 1961 team and was also a member of the 1958 undefeated football team.

“I was the starting left tackle on the undefeated team in 1958. We won the PSAC that year, but it was amazing. We were the only undefeated team in Pennsylvania, and we never got a bowl bid. We often wondered why, but it just never happened,” Fields said.

“We had an older team, especially on offense. We only had one young fellow. That was Dave Lewis. He played left end right beside me. He was only 18 years old. Everybody else like myself was about 23 years old as a freshman. There was no ‘rah rah’ stuff. When we went to play a game, it was like going to work. There were no pep talks, we just went out and played, and won,” Fields continued.

Fields graduated from California with a degree in secondary education in 1962. That year, he began his teaching and coaching career at Sewickley Township High School.

In 1965, he moved to Belle Vernon where he remained until he retired in 1994. While teaching at Belle Vernon, he also coached the football team for nine years with five of those years as a head coach. When he stopped coaching at Belle Vernon, he didn’t end his coaching days.

Fields served as an assistant coach at California University under Hal Hunter for four years.

He then moved on to Yough High School for seven years, Thomas Jefferson High School for one year, Elizabeth-Forward High School for five years and California Area High School for two years.

For a man who didn’t even consider going to college to end up being inducted into the California’s Athletic Hall of Fame is quite an honor which Fields is happy to be receiving this year.

“When I was notified that I made the Hall of Fame, the first thing that went through my mind was why? I was only a lineman. Usually these kinds of honors only go to backs and receivers. But, I am very excited about it,” Fields said.

Dick Fields was a four-year starting offensive lineman who played for the Vulcan football team from 1958 through 1961. He earned all-state honors following his senior season.

During Field's four years, Cal compiled an impressive 26-5-1 cumulative record. Cal's record during those years were 8-0, 6-2, 7-1 and 5-2-1. The '58 squad was one of only two undefeated teams in Cal football history along with the 1946 squad. The '58 Vulcans outscored its opponents by a per-game average of 25.9-3.9. Cal's smallest margin of victory that year was a 13-0 win over Edinboro. Fields was considered one of the team's top linemen and one of the top collegiate players in the state.

Fields is originally from Belle Vernon, PA, and a 1952 graduate of Bellmar High School. He earned his B.S. in secondary education from Cal U in 1962. Following his collegiate days, Fields enjoyed a distinguished teaching and coaching career. He taught at Sewickley Township High School from 1962 through 1965 and then at Belle Vernon High School from 1965 until his retirement in 1994. He also became one of the area's more recognizable football coaches. He was the head coach at Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward and California as well as serving as assistant coach at Cal U, Yough High School and Thomas Jefferson High School. Fields and his wife, Joann, reside in Belle Vernon and have three children- Jodie, Michael, and David.