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Ed Gotwals: 'Ding-Dong' brought loyalty to JB sports


Start with his nickname: "Ding-Dong."

Add a gravelly voice that had a tendency to say whatever he was thinking, and not always in the most flowery way.

Then throw in his appearance, which was not exactly George Clooney-esque, but almost always included some type of clothing or hat from one of his favorite teams.

Put that all together and your first impression of Clarence F. Pittman might not have been a great one. But it would have been an incorrect one.

James Buchanan High School athletics lost perhaps its best fan last week when Mr. Pittman - better known to most as "Ding" - passed away at the age of 85.

Any coach or official, and many fans, who were at JB for an athletic event over the last 30-some years probably ran into Ding in some way. He was not easy to forget. He was, as they say, a character.

Most of my dealings with Ding came on the soccer field when I officiated or covered Rocket games. For quite a few years, he was the guy who dealt with the substitutions. It was pretty much impossible to run into Ding and not get involved in a conversation - he was one of those guys who always remembered who you were and had something interesting to say.

"He was well-known in midstate athletics," said Wayne Henry, a former JB athletic director. "I'd have coaches ask about him all the time, because he'd talk to anybody."

Dick Heckman, another former Rocket AD, said, "He might have been the most-recognized fan around. He knew everybody - coaches, officials, fans. He was one of a kind ... a unique individual, and very popular."

Henry and Heckman both told a story that gives some insight into the passion Mr. Pittman had for his Rocket teams. The 1990-91 JB boys basketball team had a fantastic season with Heckman as the coach. The Rockets won the Blue Mountain League title, lost to Harrisburg in the District 3 Class AAAA semifinals and made it to the state tournament. JB finished 26-3.

Ding was the scorekeeper for that team; in fact, he did that task for 27 years ("He had immaculate penmanship, and he was sharp," Henry said).

At the end of the season, when Heckman had jackets made up for the team, he had one made up for Pittman, with "Ding" written on it.

Heckman said, "He just loved that jacket - I couldn't guess how many times he wore it. It was really special to him. He did not have an easy life and this was one time he felt he was a part of something. He was looking for acceptance and the JB athletic department kind of adopted him."

Fast forward to the present time.

In his last couple of years, Pittman resided at Luther Ridge. According to Henry and Heckman, Ding had his jacket with him and every morning after he got up, he would take the jacket out of his closet and lay it carefully on the bed. And every day at some point, one of the nurses would pick it up and hang it back in the closet. It became a ritual.

That jacket may someday reside at JB to keep his legacy alive.

Henry said when he met Pittman, he already had his nickname of "Ding-Dong" and apparently had a thing for nicknames.

"He always called me 'The White-Haired Goat' and he called all my kids and grandkids 'Wayne,'" Henry said. "He was one of the most unforgettable characters I've ever met and I was proud to be called his friend."

Larry Strawoet, the current AD at Buchanan, said, "He was a part of the JB family like no other. He was one of those guys you'll really miss having around ... a very special person."

"We probably had over 200 people come to the viewing," Heckman said, "and that's a lot for an 85-year-old man. One thing we all agreed on was that he was the No. 1 JB fan of all-time."

He simply had his seat moved from beside the court to looking down from above.

Ed Gotwals can be reached at egotwals@publicopinionnews.com or @EdGotwalsPO.