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...

Artis Cleveland (l) and Antonio Reddic, Sr. (c) and Kenny Holmes (r) gather with the Yellow Jackets and coach Ace Pippens (center bottom) following their 142-89 sweep of the Burning River Buckets.    By Thomas Leturgey The Steel City Yellow Jackets had their first away-and-home weekend of the 2022-2023 campaign and went up against a formidable Burning River Buckets club. The score was a competitive 121-111 affair in Cleveland on Saturday, so a couple of worn-out teams traveled back to Pittsburgh to face off less than 24 later in the Allentown neighborhood within the city of Pittsburgh. And the Yellow Jackets were ready. Much has been made of the dominance of guard Kenny Holmes, who has averaged 40 points a game coming off the bench this campaign. But when he showed up on Sunday, the rigors of a 42-point exhibition were on display. But once “Agent Zero” was warmed up, he was effective. In addition, the returning Tone Reddic Sr. said after Sunday’s game that he knew he had some ...

  The victorious Yellow Jackets talk with Coach Ace Pippens after their game Saturday Night. By Thomas Leturgey The Burning River Buckets came to play in the first quarter of the home versus away showdown with the #1 ranked Steel City Yellow Jackets. The #10-ranked team from Cleveland jumped to a 12-0 lead at Mentor High School before Ace Pippens’ club could find the basket. With 8:41 to go in the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets called a timeout, facing the biggest deficit they’ve had all season.  It would be a few more minutes before Amaru Caldwell would score, to make it a 12-2 game. The Buckets were playing a more aggressive defense against the Yellow Jackets and they did a good job scoring early on. But James Jackson scored to start a run that would find the Yellow Jackets back in the contest. Caldwell would hit a three-point play to make it 18-7 before Kenny Holmes came into the game. He scored and then Tim Jackson made it 18-11. Artis Cleveland started to rebound in th...

Co-Captain Tone Reddic, Sr. is back this weekend for the series against Cleveland. By Thomas Leturgey Tone Reddic, Sr. watched last weekend’s last-seconds victory over the Ohio Bruins via the online broadcast. He was itching as he watched the Steel City Yellow Jackets trail in the final moments before Kenny Holmes hit a 3D triple pointer for the 131-130 victory.  It was time for the Co-Captain to come back to help defend the National Championship. Reddic, 34, has been playing competitive sports since he was about 14. He played receiver and defensive back (and anything else they needed) for Aliquippa High School and was able to take part in a game in the playoffs at Heinz Field. Now, his son, Antonio, Jr., is a 14-year-old sophomore who is playing receiver and cornerback for the same Aliquippa High School. Reddic, Jr. was getting ready to play Friday night at the same venue, now called Acrisure Stadium, and Dad was in attendance. But it was the Yellow Jackets that has been foremost ...