Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/983252
No. 91 in Lou Prato's book Autographed copies available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171 Price: $14.95 plus shipping, handling and tax where applicable Also available with autograph: Lou's book We Are Penn State: The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions Price: $19.95 plus shipping and tax where applicable that fall, he was traded to San Diego and then moved on to St. Louis. He was now 27 years old and he figured he had proved his point. So he retired from baseball, too. "Every time I walked onto the baseball field I could have kissed the grass," Dozier said. "That was the gift, just being able to participate. I had already won from a mental and spiritual point and every aspect by just being there, to participate at the beginning at a minor league level and eventually have an op- portunity to spend a little time in the big leagues and understand what it takes to be a major league baseball player. At that level it is incredible. The difference be- tween college football and the NFL is certainly a jump. The difference between high school and the minor leagues and major leagues is out of this world. It is night and day. "I walked away from baseball to spend more time in ministry and helping peo- ple," he continued. "I would have liked to have played longer. I think over time I would have spent more time in the big leagues, but it was time to do something else." In his first few years out of pro sports, Dozier concentrated on ministry work, traveling the world at times. He is not a formal minster in the theological sense but assists various organizations and in- dividuals in spiritual endeavors. He started using his Penn State education to consult corporations on business devel- opment and now works with smaller companies, based out of Chesapeake, Va., not far from his Virginia Beach hometown. Dozier and his wife, Mindy, whom he met at Penn State, have four children. The oldest, Nadja, 20, is a stu- dent at the University of Mary Washing- ton in Fredericksburg, Va. The others are Gabriella, 14, William Elisha, 12, and Abriah, 11. Dozier still gets back to Penn State once in a while, most recently with his son at the Nittany Lions' Pro Day in March. "I love Penn State," he said, "and it helped mold me into the man I am today." Maybe Barkley will say something sim- ilar 30 years from now. ■