You probably know the names, maybe even their stories.
Ron Jaworski and Dave Dravecky.
The connection?
Youngstown State. (Penn State's Saturday opponent)
The NFL quarterback and the Major League Baseball pitcher.
Jaworski was drafted out of high school to play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, but his father pushed for college. Ron agreed to go to Youngstown State, where he caught football scouts’ attention in the Senior Bowl and the Ohio Shrine Bowl games.
The Los Angeles Rams picked him in the second round of the 1973 draft. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977, where he earned a Super Bowl appearance and his fame.
Dravecky graduated from YSU in 1978 and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round. He made it to the majors four years later with the San Diego Padres and pitched in the 1984 World Series.
His fame, though, came from his comeback from a cancerous tumor in his pitching arm — only to have the arm break twice shortly after a triumphant return to the mound, once while pitching.
The cancer returned, and his left arm, his pitching arm, was amputated in 1991. He now spends his time as a motivational speaker.
-- Staff report
Leave a comment