Dick Allen, considered by many baseball historians to be the greatest player yet to be inducted in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, was born in Wampum, Pennsylvania in 1942. Allen, son of Coy and Era Allen, grew up in neighboring Chewton across from the baseball field. Allen was a phenomenal player on the baseball field and the basketball court for Wampum High School. He was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960 following graduation. After three seasons of minor league baseball, Allen advanced to the major leagues. In his first season with the Philadelphia he was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1964. In 1972, as a member of the Chicago White Sox, Allen was named the American League Most Valuable Player. Allen was a seven-time All-Star selection and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated twice. Allen retired from major league baseball in 1977. Allen is rated 19th in major league baseball history in OPS Plus-(On-Base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage adjusted.) OPS Plus adjusts statistics to account for the era in which comprised the player's participation. Major league baseball analytics experts regard OPS Plus as the most important statistic in determining a batter's offensive worth. Allen's OPS Plus is the fifth highest of any righthanded batter since 1900. Allen's number 15 was retired by the Phillies in 2020. Allen died in 2020 and is buried in Clinton Cemetery in Wampum. Two biographies on Allen are "Dick Allen: The Life and Times of a Baseball Immortal" by William Kashutas and "God Almighty Hisself: The Life and Legacy of Dick Allen by Mitchell Nathanson. Both books chronicle Allen's life from his youthful days in Wampum to his rise to the pinnacle of major league baseball. Bill Jenkinson, the world's top home run expert,  wrote the definitive book on tape-measure home runs, "Baseball's Ultimate Power." In his book, Jenkinson rates Dick Allen as one of the top five sluggers in the history of the game. "Chili Dog MVP" by John Owens and David Fletcher gives an extensive look at Dick Allen's incredible 1972 season with the Chicago White Sox. Allen led the American League in home runs, runs batted in and was third in batting average on his way to the Most Valuable Player award.

Bill Spellman, one of the greatest coaches in the history of Pennsylvania, compiled a 320-87 record for the Ellwood City Wolverines between 1954-1971 and 1979. He led the Wolverines to eleven section titles and two Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League championships. He also piloted Ellwood City to the WPIAL Final Four six times. At the time the WPIAL, with over 130 schools in their district, contained more schools than 29 states. Spellman's teams often competed with schools with twice the enrollment of  the Ellwood City High School. Reverend John Zingaro, a former writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Ellwood City Ledger, authored the book," Spellman: The Influence of A Legendary High School Baseball Coach." 

Former Ellwood City baseball standout, Jeff Potter, is the author of two books , "Whatever Happened to Baseball" and "Saving Baseball." Potter reflects in both books on the lessons learned participating in the Ellwood City area baseball programs and the lasting influence of legendary Ellwood City coach Bill Spellman had on his life. Jeff contrasts playing youth baseball in Ellwood City with amateur baseball as it is played today. Potter provides  guidebooks for parents and coaches explaining that "building character and teaching life lessons are much more important than throwing a fastball." Potter helped lead Ellwood City to  the 1971 WPIAL Championship game-the first high school game ever played at Three Rivers Stadium. After a stellar high school and American Legion career, Potter was drafted in the sixth round of the 1972 Major League Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Potter was managed in the minor leagues by future Pittsburgh Pirates' manager Jim Leyland.  

Ed Prence, a former star shortstop for the Ellwood City Wolverines, is the author of the nostalgic recollection of growing up in Koppel, "The Last Perfect Summer." The novel is a trip through time back to Western Pennsylvania in the 1960's in the fictional town of Rockland. The novel is the story of little league all-star players Harry Kirkland and Ted Tresh and the memorable summer of 1964. Later in life, Harry is stricken with viral encephalitis and sent to live in a mental institution. Ted makes a visit to the institution and helps Harry remember their youthful days when baseball dominated their lives. Prence was a stellar shortstop and leading hitter for the Ellwood City Wolverines in 1971 and 1972. Prence helped lead Ellwood City to the championship game at Three Rivers Stadium. Prence continued his baseball career at Duquesne University.