Paul "Red" Uram, 1926-2017
Paul “Red” Uram was all about dedication.
The former Butler High School football and gymnastics coach, who went on to win four Super Bowl rings as a conditioning coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, died Friday morning.
He was 91.
“Paul Uram was small, soft-spoken, so quiet, but a mountain of a man,” former Butler gymnast Steve Heasley said.
“He was someone who made you go above and beyond what you ever thought you could do,” said Chuck Rock, another former Golden Tornado gymnast.
When Uram took his first teaching job at Millvale High School in 1949, he didn’t have a car. He hitchhiked to work.
He recalled he had a quarter to spend for lunch back in those days.
But Uram gave and gave. He started gymnastics and track and field at Millvale, co-founded youth baseball, football and basketball programs there.
And he turned Butler gymnastics into a legend.
Uram won 108 consecutive dual meets as coach of the Golden Tornado, including multiple state championships.
He was also an assistant football coach at Butler for 18 years.
For more about the life and legacy of "Red" Uram, read Sunday's Butler Eagle.