Al Pavis

• Post by: mcalibrary
• December 19, 2023
• Comments off

INDUCTEE

Al Pavis was ahead of his time. He was a versatile two-way football player; a good enough runner and defender to attract the attention of most of the big league college scouts. But on fourth down he was something special.

Kicking the football was what God had in mind for Al Pavis.

In today’s age of specialization, everyone who has seen him kick agrees, Al Pavis would be earning a living as an NFL punter.

Susquehanna assistant Coach Bob Pittello, a high school teammate of Pavis, remembers the summer afternoons at Reichwein’s pool in Mowery. He and his teammates would take turns shagging Pavis’s kicks. “He’d kick with bare feet”, Pittello remembers, “Higher and farther than you could possibly imagine”.

Pressed for comparisons, Pittello doesn’t even pause to think about it: “He was the finest kicker I have ever seen, anywhere”.

During Pavis’ three-year starting career for the Tornadoes they were 25-3-4. And he was right in the middle of it all. He has the fourth longest run ever recorded by a Tornado ballcarrier, a 90-yarder against Lewistown in 1940.

He played for one year at Temple after leaving Mt. Carmel; and was good enough to be named Second Team All State by the Old Philadelphia record. Like many kids in that era, however, he was drafted in the service. He never did resume a football career afterwards. But he is remembered for that special gift…the finest punter most people have ever seen.