Images(4)

Trophy

Object number2025.16.1

Manufacturer Jostens, Inc.

Date1942

OriginOwatonna, MN

MediumWood; Brass; Metal

Credit LineGift of Mark Fallon

DescriptionPIAA Rifle Team Championship trophy. Tall trapezoidal wooden base with rectangular bottom that tapers to a narrower top. Brass plate on front of base has engraved award information. Mounted atop base are three standing rifles that sit on a circular base and meet at the tips of their barrels. Underside has bolt at center with maker's metal plate surrounding.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 12.688 x 3.75 x 3.25 in. (32.2 x 9.5 x 8.3 cm)
InscriptionsPlate on front of base has circular seal with perimeter text "PENNSYLVANIA INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION" and text at top center "PIAA".

Plate on front of base has engraved text below the seal "P.I.A.A. / RIFLE TEAM / CHAMPIONSHIPS / THE PENNSYLVANIA / STATE COLLEGE / APRIL 11, 1942".
MarksUnderside has metal plate surrounding central bolt with gold text "JOSTEN'S TROPHIES / DESIGNERS-MANUFACTURERS / SINCE 1897 / 1740 / OWATONNA / MINNESOTA".
Historical NotesPIAA Rifle Team Championship trophy awarded to Munhall High School on April 11, 1942. Label TextMunhall captured their first PIAA championship in 1942, scoring a near-perfect 999 out of 1,000 points. Between 1942 and 1969 they won 20 state titles. This team went on to win the national championship, with eight girls placing in the top eight spots. The 1960 team, made up of 10 girls and two boys, won the WPIAL championship for the 14th time in 1960 with a perfect score of 1,000. Seven girls from the team, Dottie Darsie, Trilby Busch, Nancy Wilson, Mary Ann Gruen, Barbara Cerra, Christie Harman, and Bronwyn Evans, shot perfect scores at states to defeat Doylestown for the team’s 14th PIAA title. Courtesy of Mark Fallon and Steel Valley High School General label for both 2025.16 trophies: The sport of rifle does not require athletes to have great physical size or strength. Instead, they need to be focused, precise, accurate, and have breath control to succeed. This makes rifle a sport where girls can compete both with and against boys. Thirty years before the passage of Title IX, in 1942, high school girls in the region first contended for a WPIAL championship in rifle. No team was better than Munhall High School. Founded in 1935, the team captured 23 WPIAL wins between 1942 and 1969. Girls often formed the core of this team, and three of them shot perfect scores in 1936 when Munhall bested 112 teams from 26 states to win its first national junior championship.

Related institution Pennsylvania State University

Related institution Munhall High School

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