National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
« back to 2007 | Back to NCAA News Archive Index
A Pigskin Classic
At 46, Kutztown University’s Chuck Roseberry became oldest person to play NCAA football
At 46, Kutztown University’s Chuck Roseberry became oldest person to play NCAA football
|
By Leilana McKindra
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
Part of what defines the NCAA is the diversity of its student-athletes, not only in gender, race and sport, but sometimes even in age.
To wit, when 46-year-old Chuck Roseberry decided to speak to Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s head football coach about trying out for the team, he figured the worst Al Leonzi could say was no.
But Roseberry’s desire to play college football overshadowed the possibility of being turned down or laughed out of the coach’s office.
“I thought he would give me something about how I could get hurt,” said Roseberry. “But he didn’t. He listened to what I had to say.”
Leonzi did more than listen. By agreeing to give Roseberry a shot, he provided the former military man with an opportunity to fulfill a long held dream and set the stage for a defining moment in NCAA history. In October 1994, Roseberry became the oldest person to play NCAA football.
Not unfamiliar with the gridiron, Roseberry played football in high school and had hopes of perhaps earning a chance to star at a high-profile Division I program. But his grades — in part due to his struggles with dyslexia — weren’t strong enough to carry the day. Instead, he enlisted in the Navy. When the Vietnam veteran returned to U.S. soil after the Gulf War, he took advantage of an opportunity to go back to school.
What he found was a head coach who was receptive to his out-of-the-box request.
A longtime football guy, Leonzi was a Pennsylvania State University graduate who joined the Kutztown coaching staff in 1968 and worked his way to head coach before retiring in 2000. He also was a professor in and chair of the department through which Roseberry was obtaining his secondary education degree. He believed if Roseberry was willing to make the commitment, then the coach would honor it.
“Was he going to be the guy to win the game? Was he going to be the guy to make the super play? Probably not,” Leonzi said. “But was he going to maybe be a guy who could not only reach a goal he wanted to achieve but maybe there were some lessons he could teach some of our kids or assistant coaches? With that thought I said I was going to do it.”
Leonzi admitted the decision caused more than a few raised eyebrows, but he stood by it.
“He said you passed the physical. You’re in,” recalled Roseberry. “At the end of spring football, I thought that was going to be my last game. Leonzi came to me and said I made the team and that I was coming back for fall camp.”
Roseberry brought far more than himself to campus that fall, however. A large media contingent interested in chronicling his story followed. He fielded interviews with outlets ranging from the local paper to national heavyweights such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and ESPN. CBS, CNN and other networks also were on hand. He was even featured on a segment of “Good Morning America.”
Meanwhile, there was no deference given to his age and the defensive tackle worked hard to meet all the benchmarks put in place for the team. “I had to do everything everyone else did. I had to go to the weight room. I had to run the steps, I had to do the running program and the offseason program. I had to do everything while still going to college, just like all the rest of the student-athletes.”
Throughout there were supporters — friends and family who had every confidence in his ability as well as former professional football players who applauded what he was able to do given his age. There were critics, too. Some claimed he should act his age. Others believed his presence on the field was some kind of joke or part of an elaborate publicity stunt.
Practices, Roseberry insisted, were where anyone watching got the truest gauge of the sincerity of his effort and skill. Hitting and full-contact drills three times a week left his body battered. When he would finally step onto the field for the Golden Bears, he would be nursing a torn rotator cuff and ruptured ligaments in his shoulder.
“It was something I had to prove that I could do what I said I could do,” he said.
Roseberry finally got the opportunity to do just that during Kutztown’s final home game of the 1994 season. Roseberry’s appearance in the first half of the October 29 contest against Shippensburg generated a standing ovation from the crowd of 4,000. He played just three downs in an eventual 18-14 loss. But the impressions he left lasted much longer.
If the interest and media frenzy that ensued during his quest surprised Roseberry, he certainly couldn’t have guessed what doors the experience would open or the kinds of people who would walk through them. One of Roseberry’s boyhood heroes, football legend Alex Karras, telephoned support and encouragement. His story was the basis for an episode the television comedy “Coach.” While on the set of the show, actor and comedian Jerry Stiller of Seinfeld fame recognized Roseberry and paused long enough to share a kind word and a thumbs up. And in January after the 1994 season, President Bill Clinton asked to meet him while Clinton was visiting the Kutztown campus. The two had a 20-minute conversation.
Roseberry has since returned to his traditional life. He had aspirations of teaching and coaching football after graduation, and he eventually got a chance to start a new program at a high school in Pennsylvania. Roseberry chose that over an offer to become a scout for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, and he led the team to a winning record in its first season before resigning after a year, citing a lack of support from the administration.
His military service eventually took its toll on Roseberry’s body. He currently is disabled and under consistent medical care. Those physical limitations have done nothing to dull his love of football, though, or his desire to return to the sidelines to coach. Reflecting on his experience, Roseberry said it emphasized that life sometimes isn’t fair and that listening to his heart and having confidence in his abilities was key. In the end, he came away from that season at Kutztown emotionally healed
“If I listened to other people and didn’t listen to God and myself, they could have run me off and I wouldn’t have had that experience,” he said. “Football is a lot like life. If something puts you down or you make a bad play, you have to forget about that and move on because the next play is the one where you could make a sack or recover a fumble or make a big hit. It’s the same way in life. All things are possible with God. Do the footwork and He’ll do the rest.”
To wit, when 46-year-old Chuck Roseberry decided to speak to Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s head football coach about trying out for the team, he figured the worst Al Leonzi could say was no.
But Roseberry’s desire to play college football overshadowed the possibility of being turned down or laughed out of the coach’s office.
“I thought he would give me something about how I could get hurt,” said Roseberry. “But he didn’t. He listened to what I had to say.”
Leonzi did more than listen. By agreeing to give Roseberry a shot, he provided the former military man with an opportunity to fulfill a long held dream and set the stage for a defining moment in NCAA history. In October 1994, Roseberry became the oldest person to play NCAA football.
Not unfamiliar with the gridiron, Roseberry played football in high school and had hopes of perhaps earning a chance to star at a high-profile Division I program. But his grades — in part due to his struggles with dyslexia — weren’t strong enough to carry the day. Instead, he enlisted in the Navy. When the Vietnam veteran returned to U.S. soil after the Gulf War, he took advantage of an opportunity to go back to school.
What he found was a head coach who was receptive to his out-of-the-box request.
A longtime football guy, Leonzi was a Pennsylvania State University graduate who joined the Kutztown coaching staff in 1968 and worked his way to head coach before retiring in 2000. He also was a professor in and chair of the department through which Roseberry was obtaining his secondary education degree. He believed if Roseberry was willing to make the commitment, then the coach would honor it.
“Was he going to be the guy to win the game? Was he going to be the guy to make the super play? Probably not,” Leonzi said. “But was he going to maybe be a guy who could not only reach a goal he wanted to achieve but maybe there were some lessons he could teach some of our kids or assistant coaches? With that thought I said I was going to do it.”
Leonzi admitted the decision caused more than a few raised eyebrows, but he stood by it.
“He said you passed the physical. You’re in,” recalled Roseberry. “At the end of spring football, I thought that was going to be my last game. Leonzi came to me and said I made the team and that I was coming back for fall camp.”
Roseberry brought far more than himself to campus that fall, however. A large media contingent interested in chronicling his story followed. He fielded interviews with outlets ranging from the local paper to national heavyweights such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and ESPN. CBS, CNN and other networks also were on hand. He was even featured on a segment of “Good Morning America.”
Meanwhile, there was no deference given to his age and the defensive tackle worked hard to meet all the benchmarks put in place for the team. “I had to do everything everyone else did. I had to go to the weight room. I had to run the steps, I had to do the running program and the offseason program. I had to do everything while still going to college, just like all the rest of the student-athletes.”
Throughout there were supporters — friends and family who had every confidence in his ability as well as former professional football players who applauded what he was able to do given his age. There were critics, too. Some claimed he should act his age. Others believed his presence on the field was some kind of joke or part of an elaborate publicity stunt.
Practices, Roseberry insisted, were where anyone watching got the truest gauge of the sincerity of his effort and skill. Hitting and full-contact drills three times a week left his body battered. When he would finally step onto the field for the Golden Bears, he would be nursing a torn rotator cuff and ruptured ligaments in his shoulder.
“It was something I had to prove that I could do what I said I could do,” he said.
Roseberry finally got the opportunity to do just that during Kutztown’s final home game of the 1994 season. Roseberry’s appearance in the first half of the October 29 contest against Shippensburg generated a standing ovation from the crowd of 4,000. He played just three downs in an eventual 18-14 loss. But the impressions he left lasted much longer.
If the interest and media frenzy that ensued during his quest surprised Roseberry, he certainly couldn’t have guessed what doors the experience would open or the kinds of people who would walk through them. One of Roseberry’s boyhood heroes, football legend Alex Karras, telephoned support and encouragement. His story was the basis for an episode the television comedy “Coach.” While on the set of the show, actor and comedian Jerry Stiller of Seinfeld fame recognized Roseberry and paused long enough to share a kind word and a thumbs up. And in January after the 1994 season, President Bill Clinton asked to meet him while Clinton was visiting the Kutztown campus. The two had a 20-minute conversation.
Roseberry has since returned to his traditional life. He had aspirations of teaching and coaching football after graduation, and he eventually got a chance to start a new program at a high school in Pennsylvania. Roseberry chose that over an offer to become a scout for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, and he led the team to a winning record in its first season before resigning after a year, citing a lack of support from the administration.
His military service eventually took its toll on Roseberry’s body. He currently is disabled and under consistent medical care. Those physical limitations have done nothing to dull his love of football, though, or his desire to return to the sidelines to coach. Reflecting on his experience, Roseberry said it emphasized that life sometimes isn’t fair and that listening to his heart and having confidence in his abilities was key. In the end, he came away from that season at Kutztown emotionally healed
“If I listened to other people and didn’t listen to God and myself, they could have run me off and I wouldn’t have had that experience,” he said. “Football is a lot like life. If something puts you down or you make a bad play, you have to forget about that and move on because the next play is the one where you could make a sack or recover a fumble or make a big hit. It’s the same way in life. All things are possible with God. Do the footwork and He’ll do the rest.”
© 2010 The National Collegiate Athletic Association
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy