Blue White Illustrated

October 2017

Penn State Sports Magazine

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/877736

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 49 of 67

bers Alabama's goal-line stand in the cli- matic fourth quarter that clinched the game. However, Penn State seemed out of sync all night with penalties, missed op- portunities and breaks that never went their way – like the dropped pass by Ala- bama that was ruled a touchdown, the 81- yard punt return that set up a Crimson Tide touchdown, an obvious instance of pass interference by the Tide at the goal line late in the game that was not called and, perhaps worst of all, a 12-men-on- the-field penalty late in the fourth quar- ter after Alabama had shanked a punt out of bounds at its own 20-yard line. "I've never watched [tapes of ] the game," Fusina said in 2005 and repeated recently without any trace of bitterness or indifference in his voice. "It's over. It's just that I've moved on." 'A unique experience' What he moved on to was a workmanlike pro football career in the NFL and USFL, marriage to his high school sweet- heart, Jackie, and a suc- cessful career in medical sales for more than 20 years before becoming a partner in a manu- facturing and dis- tributing business, A.D. Starr, that in- volves baseball and softball equipment and merchandise. Chuck and Jackie met in the blue-collar Pitts- burgh suburb of McKees Rocks. She had graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and after getting his marketing de- gree from Penn State, Fusina earned an MBA from LaSalle while leading the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars to three USFL championships (1983-85). The Fusinas live in Franklin Park north of Pittsburgh, but their two children are now working in the Wash- ington, D.C., area, liv- ing on Capitol Hill. Their oldest child, Matt, 33, is an attorney and married, while their daughter, Shannon, 28, is a chemistry teacher and track coach. Sometimes when they are reminiscing about Chuck's Penn State days, he and Jackie tell family and friends about the night they had dinner at Bob Hope's mansion in Los Angeles. It all came about because Fusina was from Penn State. He had been selected to the Associated Press All-America team, and in those days Hope always introduced the members of the AP team – individually and in their school uniform – on one of his television specials. "It was a unique experience," Fusina said. "For some reason, Mr. Hope came over to me [at the TV studio] and said he liked Penn State. He said, 'Hey, I enjoy MAN OF THE HOUR Fusina's great senior sea- son led to ap- pearances on the cover of Sports Illus- trated and a Bob Hope Christmas special. BWI file photos

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Blue White Illustrated - October 2017