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Clarion Sports Zone: Legendary Coach Larry Wiser Retires

CLARION, Pa. – An era has come to an end, as legendary football Coach Larry Wiser has decided to hang up the cleats, clipboard, and practice whistle.

(Photo by Mike Schnelle.)

And, oh, the victories, 238 of them, against just 105 losses, with a tie thrown in, in Coach Wiser’s Hall of Fame Career, that spanned thirty-two seasons (1988-2009, 2011-2020), thirty with the Clarion Area Bobcats and another with the newly formed Central Clarion Wildcats. (His total time as an assistant and Head Coach spanned forty-seven years.)

Coach Wiser had 217 wins with the Bobcats, while they were in the Little 7-12/KSAC, most of any coach in that Conference’s history, which began in 1951. His 233 wins with the Bobcats program, which dates back to 1927, are the most in school history. Coach Wiser’s 238 total career wins are number two all-time in District Nine, trailing only Clearfield’s Tim Janocko.

With 200-plus wins with the same school, as Clarion Area athletes are part of the Wildcats, Coach Wiser is part of a very rare fraternity among Pennsylvania scholastic football coaches who have achieved that milestone with the same school. He is a member of both the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches (PSFCA) and the Central Pennsylvania Football (CPFCA) Coaches Halls of Fame, in which he was inducted the same year (2011).

But those who know Coach Wiser know his philosophy, “It’s about we, not me.” He believes that you can’t just come in and do it yourself, its about those people around you.

In announcing his retirement, in a letter to Clarion Area Superintendent Joe Carrico and the School Board, Coach Wiser said in part, “I have been blessed over the past 47 years to be part of the Clarion Area School District as a teacher, assistant and Head Football Coach, wrestling coach, Athletic Director, and a Class Advisor. I tell my friends that I never had a job because I had a career that I had a passion for! The exciting part of my career was not only what I taught our students and athletes, but also what I learned and benefited from our students and athletes! As I taught them not only academics and sports but also life-time lessons. In turn, they also taught me some lifetime lessons. I am thankful and appreciative of these special 47 years of my life and my family.”

More on the story can be found here.