Most veteran high school coaches look forward
to peaceful retirement. But not Joe Colella, who was head baseball
coach at Hopewell since 1964 and assistant coach four years before
that. “I enjoy it tremendously and intend to coach as long as I’m
healthy,” Joe said with cheerfulness not characteristic of his
profession. Between 1964 and 1987 his Hopewell teams won eight
section titles and compiled a record of 355-132-2 for a 73 percent
winning average. The Vikings’ 1979 WPIAL baseball championship was
the first in Hopewell High sports history. And the 1986 squad was
the first Beaver County team to win the PIAA state baseball title.
In 1964 Joe and Woody Clark started the Hopewell American Legion
baseball program. Joe’s Legion teams used mostly the same
players as his high school squads, and with equal success,
piling up a 490-139 record (78 percent) and winning 16 Eastern
Division titles, 6 Beaver County titles, and three Pennsylvania
Regional titles. As a junior at Rochester High School in 1948, Joe
led the league with a .450 batting average. He batted .410 as a
senior and was the youngest player in the 1949 Hearst All Star Game
at Forbes Field. He also was a four year baseball letterman at
Geneva College, leading all District 3 colleges with a .615 batting
average as a senior in1955. In the early 1950s, Joe was an
outfielder in the independent Pennsylvania-New York minor league. He
later played eight seasons in the Beaver County League with Ambridge
Legion, Rochester Legion, and Aliquippa J&L.
Most veteran high school coaches look forward
to peaceful retirement. But not Joe Colella, who was head baseball
coach at Hopewell since 1964 and assistant coach four years before
that. “I enjoy it tremendously and intend to coach as long as I’m
healthy,” Joe said with cheerfulness not characteristic of his
profession. Between 1964 and 1987 his Hopewell teams won eight
section titles and compiled a record of 355-132-2 for a 73 percent
winning average. The Vikings’ 1979 WPIAL baseball championship was
the first in Hopewell High sports history. And the 1986 squad was
the first Beaver County team to win the PIAA state baseball title.
In 1964 Joe and Woody Clark started the Hopewell American Legion
baseball program. Joe’s Legion teams used mostly the same
players as his high school squads, and with equal success,
piling up a 490-139 record (78 percent) and winning 16 Eastern
Division titles, 6 Beaver County titles, and three Pennsylvania
Regional titles. As a junior at Rochester High School in 1948, Joe
led the league with a .450 batting average. He batted .410 as a
senior and was the youngest player in the 1949 Hearst All Star Game
at Forbes Field. He also was a four year baseball letterman at
Geneva College, leading all District 3 colleges with a .615 batting
average as a senior in1955. In the early 1950s, Joe was an
outfielder in the independent Pennsylvania-New York minor league. He
later played eight seasons in the Beaver County League with Ambridge
Legion, Rochester Legion, and Aliquippa J&L.