Category: Athlete | Alma Mater: Mt. Lebanon, 1982 | Sport: Football
A 1982 graduate of Mt. Lebanon, Robert Schilken was the force in the middle of the Blue Devils’ back-to-back WPIAL championship-winning football team. Schilken was a three-year starter, leading Mt. Lebanon to title game triumphs of 30-14 over Bethel Park in 1980, and 34-6 against North Hills in 1981. He garnered numerous state and national accolades following his senior season, including All-State honors from the
Associated Press and
United Press International, and All-America plaudits from
Parade Magazine and
Adidas. Additionally, Schilken also received
Prep Football Academic All-America honors. On the local front, he was a Dapper Dan Football Most Valuable Player, made the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fab 22, and garnered an Allegheny County certificate of achievement. Schilken went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh and was a three-year letterwinner for the football team. He was a part of the defensive line rotation for a Panthers side that obtained two Top 20 end-of-season national rankings and competed in the 1983 Cotton Bowl and 1984 Fiesta Bowl. Following his senior season with the Panthers, Schilken received the Blue-Gold Award for Academic Achievement, as well as an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, joining Jeff Delaney and Mark Stepnoski as the only Pitt football players to be recognized through that program. After graduating from medical school, he had a fellowship at Milton Hershey Medical Center and residencies at Allegheny General Hospital and the University of Missouri. Schilken was honored in 2010 with the Mt. Lebanon High School Great Alumni Award, and he currently serves as an orthopedic surgeon for Allegheny Health Network, as well as a team doctor for Bethel Park, Bishop Canevin, Seton LaSalle, and the Pittsburgh Pirates.