Grid or Bust
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It took a bit of sneaking around, but Rick Hasley got his wish.
The 1962 graduate of Mars High School earned six letters with the Planets — three for football and three for basketball — but his varsity career began without his parents’ approval.
“I wanted to play football, but needed my mom or dad to sign a consent form. Neither one wanted me to play, so I signed it myself,” Hasley said. “I went to our first practice and when I got home, my dad asked where I had been. I told him ”football practice“ and he said I wasn’t allowed to play. I told him: ”But I really had fun.“
So began Hasley’s days of starring for the Planets. He was the football team’s starting quarterback for three years, earning All-Conference honors as a senior, and was a point guard in basketball.
Hasley was part of the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 and was able to attend the banquet and induction ceremony.
“I was able to read about what the other inductees had done, was very impressed with their achievements,” he said. “I was flattered to be mentioned with them. It was a real tribute.”
On the gridiron, Hasley played for Mars head coach Gene Danser and once attended the same football camp as Joe Namath, who at the time was starring for Beaver Falls High School.
Most of the big plays Hasley made came on the ground and he was credited with a lot of them in 1961 when the Planets won their final three games against Zelienople, Moniteau and Richland to finish with a record of 6-3.
“We ran a lot of running plays that were either dives or bootlegs. Gene had been a lineman at Penn State and we were a run-heavy team,” Hasley said. “When I got to Waynesburg (College), I started out as a quarterback and the coach told me I had to step up in the pocket. I had no idea what he was talking about. That’s how little we passed the ball at Mars.”
Hasley ended up playing flanker and cornerback at Waynesburg, but his most important work was yet to come. Following graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and flew supplies such as food and ammunition to Green Berets during the Vietnam War. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Force Air Medal. Following his military service, he was a commercial airline cargo pilot and retired in 2015.
Hasley has a number of grandchildren living in the Pittsburgh area and travels from Tennessee several times every year to watch them compete in various sports in both college and high school.
“Kids playing today are very fortunate,” he said. “I have a lot of great memories from my high school days, but schools now have so many (athletic programs) and so much support from the community and school.”
Rick Hasley enjoys working out and gardening. He has seven children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He and his wife, Rhonda, have been married for 28 years.
