William H. Hollinger Hall of Fame
Carmine Montana piled up the accolades during his four years at Hiram College from 1976 to 1980, a span that saw him earn four letters in football and two letters in basketball. As a defensive lineman, Montana was a three-time All-PAC First Team Selection over his final three seasons with the program. He was a two-time team captain of the football team and landed Defensive MVP honors for the program in 1978. His consistency on the gridiron also earned him PAC Player of the Week honors on four different occasions. As a basketball player, Montana started at forward in 1978 and logged another full season the year after.
Hiram’s best season with Montana on the roster came in 1978, when the football team went 6-2 and outscored its opposition by over 30 points. That fall included tight victories over Carnegie Mellon, Allegheny and Washington & Jefferson, plus a shutout win over Thiel. The team only lost one home game that season with Joe Malmisur at the helm.
During his undergraduate studies, Montana traveled to England and Italy in his junior year as part of the extramural program at Hiram College. He worked at the Hiram Dining Hall and remembers the winter of 1977, when the students were snowed in for 10 days.
After his time at Hiram, Montana taught middle school students and served as a high school basketball coach and defensive coordinator. He worked 38 years with the USPS as a letter carrier, supervisor, new hire trainee and safety specialist. His favorite hobbies include traveling throughout Europe, Alaska and Hawaii, in addition to hiking and visiting national parks out west.
