Peter Victor Turnois

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“Nothing comes easy! Have faith! Success is the end result of hard work and determination!” This is a motto that Peter Victor Turonis not only used many times but was the motto by which he and his family lived, worked, and played. Peter Turonis was a graduate of St. Rose High School in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and was a key player on the 1955 P.C.I.A.A. Class A State Championship Team. After graduating high school, Pete went to the University of Miami on a basketball scholarship. He held the record for the most points scored in a single game (57) until it was broken by All-Pro Forward Rick Barry during his college career. Upon completing two years at Miami, Pete then transferred to William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he held at least four school records at one time or another. These were: most fouls attempted in a game; most fouls made in a game; most points scored in a game (47); most rebounds in a game (29). Pete’s coaching career began in 1964 and lasted until his untimely death in 1986. During this twenty-three year span, he coached both at Carbondale Benjamin Franklin High School and at Carbondale Area, a jointure made up of Fell Township and Carbondale Area High Schools. During this time, his won-lost record was 302 wins and 178 losses. His 1970-1971 team was 21-1 and his 1980-1981 team won a record-setting 35 games with only three losses. This team was defeated in the Eastern Semi-finals of the P.I.A.A. State Playoffs. Pete’s team won four Division Titles in the Lackawanna League, one League Title, and one District #2 Championship. He coached a number of outstanding athletes throughout his career, many of whom went on to further their basketball careers at major four-year colleges. Although basketball was his first love, Pete also performed duties as an Assistant Football Coach for one year, and Assistant Baseball Coach for four years. Pete was the founder of the Upper Valley Seventh and Eighth Grade Basketball League, a member of the Lackawanna Coaches Association, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, Carbondale Area Teachers Association, and a former president of the Carbondale Lions Club. Peter Turonis was one of the ten individuals inducted into the “Wall of Honor” of the Hall of Fame Sports Complex at St. Rose/Sacred Heart High School in the fall of 1991. Peter Turonis was inducted into the Chic Feldman Foundation Hall of Fame in 1990. Pete was also inducted into the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in May, 1994. The Carbondale Area High School Gymnasium was dedicated as a tribute to Pete by naming it the “Peter Turonis Memorial Gymnasium” in December, 1986.