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Before he left his apartment Friday, Cal Adomitis took a selfie of his long, blonde hair. It was his last look at something that had defined him since his days at Central Catholic.
“Wow!” he exclaimed to himself. “The next time I’m back here, I’m going to be bald.”
At the Champion’s Club inside Heinz Field, Pitt’s senior long-snapper made good on his promise to allow five cancer patients from Children’s Hospital to cut his hair if he reached the goal of raising $94,000 to aid cancer programs at the hospital. Adomitis, who wears No. 94, said there was no plateau in the fund-raising effort, and the final tally turned out to be more than $115,000.
“I’m not surprised, just excited, just exhilarated,” he said. “I knew the city of Pittsburgh would step up. I knew the city of Pittsburgh had it in them to step up to the plate. The city just crushed the goal out of the water.”
Ranging in age from 6 to 10, young barbers Zoey Ward (Big Beaver Falls Elementary School), Joey Byrnes (Pivik Elementary School, Plum), Mason Vannucci (Franklin Elementary School, Uniontown), Nora Misencik (Fairview Elementary School, Fox Chapel) and Elizabeth Loughren (Tenth Street Elementary School, Oakmont) took turns shearing away several locks of Adomitis’ hair. His mom, Katherine, and coach Pat Narduzzi also grabbed scissors.
Finally, some professionals stepped in and cut it all off. Yes, Cal Adomitis, who once had the finest head of hair on the Pitt football team, is bald.
Several of Adomitis’ teammates attended the cutting ceremony. Narduzzi said he left several recruits on campus before he traveled to Baltimore to watch Kenny Pickett receive the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award on Friday night. He’ll be off to New York City on Saturday for the Heisman.
“But this is important,” Narduzzi said. “It’s the reason I’m here. It’s for these children.”
Narduzzi said the idea to raise the money, with the blessing of new NCAA name, image and likeness legislation, was solely that of Adomitis.
“It’s not like we had a conversation, ‘Cal, you should do this.’ It was all by himself and him thinking about how he can impact the community,” the coach said. “It’s a lesson for all the rest of our guys.”
Adomitis’ father, Andy, said, “It’s something that comes natural to him. When he puts his mind to something, he gets it done.”
Next up for Adomitis, 23, is a trip Saturday to Chicago where he is a finalist for the Patrick Mannelly award given to the nation’s best long-snapper. He also has been invited to the Senior Bowl, where he’ll put his name on the NFL’s radar.
“I know I can play at the next level,” he said. “I’ll get my chance, and I just have to make the most of it.”
No matter where his travels take him, he knows he won’t have to wash or comb his hair for a while. Eventually, but perhaps not immediately, he’ll let it grow back.
“I haven’t decided whether immediately I’ll go back to the long hair,” he said. “I do like having a little hair on my head.”
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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