Palmerton High School 1952 yearbook
Way back in 1979, Rudy Bednar (1927-2009), a long-time sports columnist for The Morning Call, wrote:
"Doug Shiner still remembers the two touchdowns he scored in less than a minute in the first quarter of Palmerton High's 25-0 victory over archrival Slatington in their traditional Thanksgiving Day battle of 1948."
"He was only a freshman then but [he] was as quick as any running back ever to play football in the Zinc City." (The Morning Call, 13 November 1979)
That 1949 season was a good one for the Palmerton freshman running back. Going into the Thanksgiving showdown against Slatington, Shiner had scored only once. That had been in the game against Lehighton in early November, but his workload had been increasing over the course of the season. Then came the Thanksgiving game at Slatington when he scored on runs of 12 and 15 yards in the first quarter.
Doug was the son of Edward Shiner (1911-1989) and Lucille née Scheffer (1913-2000). There were three boys in the family, living on Lafayette Avenue in Palmerton.
Shiner attended Palmerton High school from the fall of 1948 through the spring of 1952, graduating with the class of 1952.
At Palmerton, Shiner burst onto the track and field scene as an outstanding runner in his freshman year, spring 1949.
Palmerton High School 1952 yearbook
At the Coaldale invitational track meet, held on Saturday, 7 May 1949, at Coaldale High School in Carbon County (Coaldale H.S. no longer exists, having been merged into Panther Valley High School in 1973.) "the most captivating race of the entire meet was the 440-yard event which was seized by a virtual unknown, Doug Shiner, freshman performer for Coach Bill Wilhelm's Palmerton high school team. The youthful sprinter turned the trick in a remarkable time of 55.6 seconds." (The Morning Call, 8 May 1949)
Rudy Bednar, the sports columnist for The Morning Call, in writing about the 1951 Coaldale Invitational meet, later recounted how Shiner had "shocked everyone by winning the 440 as a freshman in 1949." In 1951, Shiner finished second. (The Morning Call, 2 May 1991)
In most track meets that spring, Shiner was also the anchor on Palmerton's mile relay team.
At the Lehigh Valley league meet held at Palmerton on Saturday, 14 May 1949, he finished second in the 440, third in the 880, and then ran the relay. "Freshman sprinter Doug Shiner who anchored the Blue and White relay forces, proved the winning factor in the race as he forged into the lead around the third turn. With a final burst of speed, he never relinquished his front position although closely pursued," setting a league record at 3.46.2. (The Morning Call, 15 and 21 May 1949)
In his sophomore season, spring 1950, Shiner most often ran the 100, 220, 440 or even the 880 races and the mile relay in league meets. During the year, he set a new school record in the 440 of 53.9 seconds. At the District XI meet on Saturday, 20 May 1950, he won the 440 and placed 3rd in the 220. He then ran in the Pennsylvania state meet at Penn State on Saturday, May 27th but did not place in either event.
In spring 1951, Shiner's junior year, he continued to run the 100, 220, 440 races and the mile relay for Palmerton. In the meet with Lehighton in April 1951, Shiner won 100, 220 and 440 races, and in the league championship meet, on Saturday, 12 May, he won the 220 in 24.5, and finished 2nd in the 440 and 3rd with the mile relay team. At the district XI meet on Saturday, 19 May, he won 440 in 54.1.
Shiner also had an outstanding senior year, 1952, for Palmerton's track team. At the Lehigh Valley League championships, at Palmerton on Saturday, 11 May, he finished 2nd in the 100 and 220, and he won the 440 at 54.5 seconds. Then at the District XI meet, held on Saturday, 17 May at Allentown, he finished 2nd in the 220, 440 and mile relay races. At the Pennsylvania state meet, held on Saturday, 24 May 1952 – Shiner's fourth appearance at the state meet at Penn state – he did not medal in the three events.
Shiner also played a bit of basketball for Palmerton.
His freshman year, 1948-49, he was on the JV basketball. Then in his sophomore year, he was a reserve forward on a team that finished 13-9. He scored 29 points in league play. In both his junior and senior years, I was unable to determine how many points he scored. The 1950-51 team won the Lehigh Valley League championship and then lost in the District XL tournament. The 1951-52 team finished 12-8.
Finally, Doug Shiner starred on the Palmerton football team.
In his freshman year, fall 1948, Shiner came into his own towards the end of the season. In the second-to-last game of the season against Lehighton on 13 November 1948, "the secret weapon of Palmerton's scoring attack in the third and fourth periods, which provided the winning punch, was Freshman Doug Shiner, who scored once and set the stage for the other two tallies with sizable gains both in the air and on the ground." (The Morning Call, 14 November 1948)
He followed that performance with the two-touchdown performance in the Thanksgiving Day game against Slatington on Thursday, 25 November 1948. (I began this article with the comments about those touchdowns that were made by Morning Call columnist Rudy Bednar in 1979.) "Shiner scored both Bomber first period tallies. He scored on runs of 12 and 15 yards to cap Palmerton marches." (The Morning Call, 26 November 1948)
Palmerton's football team in 1949, Shiner's sophomore year, did not have a great season, finishing 1-8-1 and being outscored 47 to 139. Shiner scored in losses to Stroudsburg and Northampton, and then again in Palmerton's sole win of the year in the game against Lehighton. "Shifty Doug Shiner of Johnny Young's Blue Bombers was the outstanding offensive star on the field. The speedy youngster tallied two touchdowns for his team and passed for one extra point to score 13 points." (The Morning Call, 13 November 1949) That gave Shiner 25 of Palmerton's 47 points that year.
In Shiner's junior year, fall 1950, Palmerton finished the season with a 4-6 record but did win three of the last four games. Again, the team was greatly outscored by its opponents; this time 66 to 113. Shiner scored three touchdowns that year, with his best game against Lehighton in early November. The Morning Call headline read, "Brothers Star in Palmerton Win." The game was scoreless through three quarters, and "the game seemed destined for a scoreless outcome until brothers Doug and Ed Shiner teamed up in the Blue and White backfield and gave the visitors the necessary punch to register their third successive win of the 1950 campaign." (The Morning Call, 12 November 1950) A twenty-yard pass from Ed Shiner to Doug Shiner was followed by another score four minutes later when "Doug Shiner took a handoff from his brother Ed and raced 20 yards for a second counter."
Palmerton finally had a great year in 1951, Shiner's senior year, as the football team finished 8-0 and was crowned champions of the Lehigh Valley League. Shiner was a big part of the team's success.
That year, Joe Foran, Palmerton's coach brought in a new offensive formation. The Morning Call, "Nucleus of 7 Senior Lettermen Key to Palmerton Grid Fortunes," wrote about Palmerton's prospects before the season began.
"The big task ahead for Coach Foran and his two capable assistants, Oscar Blynn and Clete Hollywood, is reconverting the Blue Bombers into the T formation, the modern system being employed for the first time in Palmerton. For many years, with Coach Johnny Young as the pilot, the long punt formation was used." (The Morning Call, 31 August 1951)
The season opened in spectacular fashion with Palmerton's convincing 36-12 win over Whitehall in a game played at Palmerton. Both Doug and his brother Ed scored in the game. "A thrilling finish to Palmerton's amazing triumph was furnished near the close of the contest when Doug Shiner, now engaged in his fourth season as a varsity back, returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown." (The Morning Call, 23 September 1951)
The team followed that with a convincing 13-0 win over Stroudsburg at Palmerton. "The Shiner brothers, Doug and Ed, combined their grid talents yesterday afternoon in leading Palmerton High School to their second straight Lehigh Valley League triumph with a 13-0 decision over Stroudsburg High before a small crowd at Palmerton." (The Morning Call, 30 September 1951)
Palmerton's roll continued in the next five games.
In the come-from-behind victory at Catasauqua, 18-13, Shiner scored a touchdown on a pick six.
In the 27-6 win over Bangor on a Friday night in Bangor, Shiner scored on a seven-yard pass from his brother, Ed.
Next, Palmerton crushed Northampton 32-0 in a game in which Shiner recovered two fumbles and then scored on a 48-yard pass play.
Then, both Emmaus, 41-7, and Lehighton, 33-0, fell at the hands of the Palmerton juggernaut.
Going into the annual Thanksgiving Day showdown with Slatington, both Doug and Ed Shiner had each scored four touchdowns.
In the game played before a record crowd in Palmerton, the Bombers steamrolled Slatington 25-0 to finish undefeated. It did not help the Slaters cause that they committed six turnovers in the game. Shiner scored on "an unusual play," as reported by The Morning Call.
"An unusual play provided the Blue and white with its third tally … Eddie Shiner … took to the airlines, passing to end Joe Smida who juggled the ball high in the air only to have alert Doug Shiner snatch it from out of reach of his teammate and would-be interceptors and scamper 26 yards for a touchdown." (The Morning Call, 23 November 1951)
The photo shows action from the 1951 Thanksgiving Day football game against Slatington that took place on Palmerton’s Delaware Avenue field. The New Jersey Zinc Company, east plant, can be seen in the background. Andy Wasilkowski, #30, the Palmerton fullback who scored three times in the game, has the ball, while Doug Shiner, #18, trailed the play. photo credit: Palmerton High School 1952 yearbook
After graduating from Palmerton High School in 1952, Shiner entered Moravian University, initially playing on the freshman football team. By the end of the season, he was starting in the backfield for the varsity team.
From 1953 to 1956, he served in the US marines, battery C, 1st battalion,10th marine regiment, 2nd marine division, eventually reaching the rank of sergeant.
In May 1956, he married Judy Lentz (1935-2025) of Walnutport. There were two boys and two girls in their family.
In the years that followed, he settled in Walnutport working for Colonial Life and later Erie insurance companies. He was active in local recreational issues and coached little league baseball and booster club football for twenty-five years. He was also a PIAA track official.
In 1977, Palmerton and Slatington rekindled the Thanksgiving Day football rivalry with an alumni game. The alumni series lasted four games before it ended because of mounting costs. Shiner successfully coached the Slatington teams for the 1978, 1979 and 1980 games.
In 1996, Shiner was inducted into the Carbon County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in its sixth annual class. The citation read:
"Regardless of the sport, Douglas C. Shiner found a way to excel at every level.
"A four-year letterman in both football and track, and a two-year letter winner in basketball, Shiner earned 10 varsity letters and achieved numerous records at Palmerton High School.
"On the track, Shiner set records in the 440 and 880 runs, and captured district titles in the 440 as a sophomore and junior. Switching to the short sprints as a senior, he captured the Lehigh Valley league 100 and 220 dashes in respective times of 10.4 and 23.4. He advanced to the state track meet four times, the first three visits in the 440 and the final one in the 220.
"Shiner's achievements didn't end on the track surface, however. As a football player, he was an honorable mention All-Lehigh Valley League running back in his senior season, sparking the Blue Bombers to an 8-0 record, outscoring the opposition 225-38.
"He went on to letter in varsity football at Moravian College, and played two years of football in the Marine Corps.
" Shiner later coached 10 years in the Slatington Booster Club football program, and served three years as Northern Lehigh freshman football coach. He also was a PIAA track and field official for 21 years, and started the Walnutport Playground, where he coached playground baseball for some 23 years.