(EDITOR’S NOTE: Since May of 1999, the Times News Sports Department has featured an On This Date practically every day, highlighting an event that happened in the past. With the coronavirus putting a halt to sports locally and nationally, the On This Dates have been expanded to the stories that actually ran in that day’s or the next day’s newspaper. Today’s On This Date story is from June 24, 1995).

By Joe Plasko

TIMES NEWS Staff

As a football lineman, Joe Tout is unaccustomed to the limelight.

A star in wrestling and baseball as well as in football, Tout’s career at Panther Valley has formed a glittering whole that shines quite brightly on its merits.

It is a career that will continue on the gridiron at the University of New Haven, an NCAA Division II power that can now boast four former Panthers on its defensive unit.

To cap it off, Tout put together a senior campaign that has earned him the TIMES NEWS Male Athlete of the Year Award for 1994-95.

The Nesquehoning native becomes the fifth performer, and the second from Panther Valley, to receive the award, which is selected by the TN Sports Staff. Previous winners include Mike Wertman of Northwestern, Brian Rehrig of Jim Thorpe, PV’s Brad Miller and Carl Wolter of Lehighton.

“I was really surprised by this,” said Tout, the son of Joseph and Joan Tout. “In football, I don’t usually get a lot of recognition because I’m a lineman, but I felt I had a real good year. Still, there were a lot of guys who got a lot more press than I did.”

Others might have gotten the ink, but Tout delivered the goods. The 6-1, 250-pound tackle was named to The Associated Press Small School All-State Second Team on defense, where he was the Panthers’ second leading tackler this season with 103, including 50 initial hits.

As a junior, Tout was in on 92 stops, including 29 solos. He also recovered an incredible eight fumbles that season.

“After watching some of my tapes, I saw that a lot of times I was the second guy to the ball and ended up helping out,” he explained. “When guys miss tackles, that’s how you get a lot of opportunities. You hustle around, you can get lucky.”

Luck had little to do with Tout’s performance, although he would have preferred a better turn in the Panthers’ fortunes.

“It was a disappointing season,” assessed Tout of the Panther gridder’s 4-7 finish. “Talent-wise, I felt there weren’t too many teams in the state that had more talent than Panther Valley, but things just didn’t work out for us.

“When you have a disappointing year, you look forward to seeing the All-State team. When I made that, it made things a whole lot better.

The Panthers did have some football highlights, however, including a win over District 11 class A runner-up Mahanoy Area and a dominating performance against Nativity in which Rodger Gehring rushed for 228 yards behind a Tout-led line.

Tout was also a First Team TN Football All-Star selection and played in the Schuylkill County Coaches All-Star Game.

Joe will have a chance to build on his football resume at New Haven, where Panther alums Mark Krajcir and Matt Machalik are already on the roster. In addition, PV linebacker Mike Brunda will join Tout at the Connecticut school next season.

“This is my shot to play football in college, and I’m not going to let it get by,” stressed Tout.

Football is only part of Tout’s story, which also includes a District 11 wrestling title and a dramatic home run in a championship baseball season.

Tout didn’t wrestle until his sophomore season, when then-coach Jay Hoffman convinced him to try his hand on the mats instead of the hardwood. The result was a District 11 heavyweight crown and a berth at Regionals.

“Mr. Hoffman was my algebra teacher in eighth grade, and he mentioned to me about wrestling,” recalled Tout. “I played basketball as a freshman and was sixth man, but I felt I had to get in better shape for football, and wrestling really helps you out with quickness.”

Tout concluded with a 64-30 career record, leading the Panthers with 82 team points each of the last two seasons. He was a three-time Regional qualifier, adding third and fifth place district finishes to his 1993 crown.

As a senior, Tout was 23-9 with eight pins. He was the Jim Thorpe Olympian Booster Club Tourney heavyweight champ. He placed third at the Schuylkill League Meet and qualified for Regionals once again. He was named to the TN All-Star Wrestling squad.

On the baseball diamond, Tout returned after missing his junior year with a shoulder injury. All the slugging first baseman did was hit .367, driving in a team-high 30 runs in 21 games. He also belted two home runs, one of which could be considered the most important in Panther baseball history.

Tout came up to the plate with the bases loaded against archrival Marian and deposited the first pitch over the fence for a grand slam. That proved to be the winning blow in PV’s 7-6 win, which went a long way in deciding Division III of the Schuylkill League and giving the Panthers their first-ever hardball title.

“When I injured my shoulder my junior year, I needed time to rebuild it, so I didn’t go out (for baseball),” said Tout. “I ended up missing it a lot. This was my last chance to play with the kids from my high school, and coach (John) Schreiner took the time to work with me and get me back into baseball shape.

“It meant so much to go out as a winner. To do something in baseball no one else in the history of the school has done was impressive.”

Tout moves on the New Haven, where he will major in criminal justice, but he takes enough memories for his own personal highlight reel.

“I’m really pleased there’s something in each sport that I can look back on,” he concluded. “My sophomore year in football, with the team we had, was incredible. I’ll never forget that Eastern Conference game at Marian and all the people who were there.

“When I won the District title in wrestling my sophomore year, I didn’t know what I had done at the time; I was just glad to do something good for my school. And in baseball, I’m proud to be part of our first league champion.”

Add one TN Male Athlete Award to that list.