Steel City Yellow Jackets Journal

by Thomas Leturgey It’s not unusual for the Steel City Yellow Jackets to come out slow about the Beaver County Indians. The teams know each other well and Pittsburgh’s team routinely starts slowly in New Castle. The Indians came out strong with a 12-0 run, before Kenny Holmes sank a three-pointer to make it 12-3. After that, the Yellow Jackets would score more frequently, with Tone Reddic, Sr. and Artis Cleveland among those who added scores to make it 16-9. James Jackson and Artis Cleveland would add, as would Holmes with a three-pointer to make the score 24-18.  The Indians would continue to score and not be intimidated by the 6-1 Yellow Jackets. Reddic would hit free throws, miss two more but would snag his own rebound and bounce one in for two.  The Indians would score just as often as the Yellow Jackets and by the end of the first quarter, the Indians would maintain a 32-25 lead. Once the second quarter would begin, Brandon Johnson would hit a three-pointer and Reddic sco...

The Steel City Yellow Jackets drop their first game of the season. Photo by Arianna Rosemond. by Thomas Leturgey The Steel City Yellow Jackets are well aware that they have a tough time in Baltimore. Former Hawks Owner Greg Brown had said that the Hawks had never won in Pittsburgh and the Yellow Jackets were never victorious in the Hawks’ home nest. The Hawks were also one of only two teams to defeat Steel City's entry into the American Basketball Association last season. Even thought the Hawks dropped their first game of the season last weekend, that wouldn’t change Saturday Night in Charm City. The Hawks, coached by Terry Bryant, were ready for Ace Pippens’ team. DiShawn Bradshaw led Baltimore early as the team scored 33 points in the first quarter to the Yellow Jackets’ 28. Bradshaw posted eight in the first 12 minutes, on his way to a team-leading 36. Kenny Holmes came off the bench to score six in the first quarter, and a game-leading 41. The game would get tighter in the seco...

The Steel City Yellow Jackets celebrate with family following their 213-65 win against Bridgeport. Photo by Thomas Leturgey   By Thomas Leturgey Anything can happen in the American Basketball Association. The Steel City Yellow Jackets were originally scheduled to play the York Buccaneers on December 10th at A Giving Heart Community Center in Pittsburgh. However, according to ABA officials, the team folded months ago. Insteaid of a forfeit, Yellow Jackets owner Ace Pippens reached a deal for the Bridgeport Bombers to come back to Pittsburgh. The Bombers took on the Yellow Jackets in the team’s only pre-season contest. As an organization, Bridgeport is running on fumes and might shudder someday. However, the team’s coach and starting forward Cordell Nicola cobbled together a team that traveled to Pittsburgh and played with professionalism and gusto. The Bombers just ran into a buzz saw. The Steel City Yellow Jackets remained undefeated at 6-0 with a definitive drubbing of the Bombers...

Steel City Yellow Jackets Co-Captains Tone Reddic, Sr. (l) and Gilmore Cummings.   By Thomas Leturgey One can tell right away that Steel City Yellow Jackets Co-Captains Tone Reddic, Sr. and Gilmore Cummings simply enjoy each other’s company. When you talk with them, they laugh, pay attention to each other’s thoughts, and have a knack to simply get out of each other’s way when necessary. They met while attending Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Reddic had gone to the school to study Sports Management and play receiver and safety for the Division II football team, but played a lot of pickup basketball games on campus. A Business Management student, Cummings was on the Fighting Scot’s basketball team and was one of the guys who tried to woo Reddic onto the squad. They immediately became friends. When they discovered they shared a September 28 birthday (Reddic is three years older), the fellow Libras felt they were instant brothers. Reddic left to play basketball at Beaver County C...