Football helped Spenik to college education
Submitted Photo
German Township grad Ed Spenik is shown catching a pass for Eastern Kentucky against Tennessee Tech.
Ed Spenik is shown during his playing days at Eastern Kentucky.
Former German Township High School football standout Ed Spenik, like many players from his era, did not envision going to college, but athletics provided him with a means to a college education.
鈥淣obody was ever talking about going to college,鈥� Spenik remembers. 鈥淚t was a big step, there were a couple of guys ahead of me that played on teams with Claude Parnell and went to Auburn. I was the son of a coal miner and we didn鈥檛 have any money. All the guys wanted to do was buy a car, so as soon as you graduated, you went to Cleveland and got a job.鈥�
Spenik was a part of some very talented teams at German that featured great players like Claude Parnell, Sam Sims, Bill Rutland and Murnis Banner.
鈥淲e had a real good team,鈥� Spenik said. 鈥淚 followed Bernie Magerko as quarterback and I played my last two years on the first team. I played quarterback, and on defense, I was a cornerback.鈥�
In 1956, German posted a record of 7-3, and in 1957 with Spenik at the controls, the Uhlans were 7-2, with losses to Uniontown and Scott Township.
鈥淲e did very good,鈥� Spenik offered, 鈥淚 was Honorable Mention All-Fayette County in 1957 and I played in the Fayette-Washington County All-Star game at Connellsville my senior year. We didn鈥檛 win the game. There was a coach from Hempfield at the game and he was scouting some players. He was at Eastern Kentucky and I got a letter from them and they wanted to know if I was interested. I was talking with Maryland, West Virginia, New Mexico Highlands and Arizona.
鈥淭here was a guy from Masontown, Foster Vittone, who played with my brother Bob at Morris Harvey, his wife was the head of the narcotics center at Lexington, and he was a federal attorney and he talked me into going down to Eastern Kentucky.鈥�
鈥淚 was on the track team at German,鈥� Spenik stated. 鈥淚 was a pole vaulter and I threw the javelin, I also ran the 440 and the quarter mile. When I went to college, I did the same thing and got five letters. We had a fantastic track team in high school.鈥�
Spenik played football for Lou Rozzi at German.
鈥淗e was a soft guy, he was happy go lucky, but he had firm control,鈥� Spenik recalled. 鈥淗e had Ray Rifenberg and Adam Donnelly as his architects. Donnelly was his offensive coach and Rifenberg was the line coach and they produced. They had hard practices and it was to win. They treated everybody right. I didn鈥檛 learn about being biased until I went to college. I never looked at a different color, we didn鈥檛 have that at German. It was like a brotherhood at German, but it was an eye opener when I left and went to college.鈥�
When Spenik graduated from German, he went on to play at Eastern Kentucky and became a three-year starter. He played on teams that went 3-6-1 in 1960, 4-5 in 1961 and 6-3 in 1962, when they tied for the Ohio Valley Conference title.
鈥淲e had some interesting guys on those teams at Eastern Kentucky,鈥� Spenik said. 鈥淥ne was Harvey Lee Yeary, who played on one end, and I was the other end. He suffered a severe back injury which left him paralyzed for two weeks, and ended his college football career. He turned to acting and changed his name to Lee Majors. We were loaded, there a whole group of guys on that team that went on to have fantastic careers. Another was our quarterback Larry Marmie, who later served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1988 to 1991, compiling a record of 22-21-1. He is now a senior defensive assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.鈥�
Spenik played offensive and defensive end at Eastern Kentucky. He had three receptions for 56 yards and three kickoff returns for 23 yards in 1960. In 1961, he caught nine passes for 124 yards and one touchdown. During his senior season in 1962, he snared 13 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown. He was named Eastern Kentucky鈥檚 top defensive player in 1962 and was an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection his junior and senior seasons.
鈥淢y head coach at Eastern Kentucky was quite a guy, his name was Glenn Presnell,鈥� Spenik explained. 鈥淲hen the 鈥楩our Horseman鈥� made All-American, he was a halfback at Nebraska and selected as a first-team player on the 1927 College Football All-America Team. He also set an NFL record when he was with the Detroit Lions with a 54-yard field goal in 1934, a record which was not broken for 19 years.鈥�
Spenik wanted to play pro football in Canada.
鈥淭he Winnipeg Blue Bombers wanted me to play,鈥� Spenik recalled. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have $400 to make the trip up there, so I had to take a coaching job in Lancaster, Ohio.鈥�
Spenik coached at Lancaster, Ohio for one year as an assistant. One of his ninth-grade players was Rex Kern. He then moved to Michigan where he went into school administration at Richmond for seven years. He then got into politics and became city manager and township in Clay Township. He then moved to Harrison Township for four or five years.
He then moved South to Florida and became an administrator in public works in Hollywood, Florida for eight years. He then became public works director in North Miami Beach for five years. From there, Spenik went to Cape Canaveral as city manager. He retired in 2000.
Spenik, 75, resides in Haines City Florida with his wife of 53 years, Sharon. They have no children.
鈥淎thletics was the key to my success,鈥� Spenik offered. 鈥淚鈥檝e been very successful. It is something that I never could have done if I went to Cleveland early on working in the factories. Athletics made it possible for me to go to college.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.