My story and what Shadyside football means to me
I'm Mark Buzek, number 39 in your program. I played noseguard for the '77 Tigers. And the first couple games at tight end. I guess my stone hands in practice didn't fill our quarterback, Gregg Bonar, with confidence as he never saw fit to throw a pass my way (I'll never forgive you for that, Bones). Before the third game, I was politely asked to focus solely on defense for the rest of the season. But the truth is, I don't think I ever lived up to Coach 'Whitey' Magyar's expectations of me as a blocker. The shoes I had to fill were far too big. You see, my father Steve Buzek, was a two-way guard on Coach Magyar's undefeated 1954 Tiger team. Even when I was very young, older varsity players would tell me of how Coach Magyar would tell tales about my father.
Of how he was so tough that he ate Cramergesic before the games. 'Whitey' had nicknamed him ol' 'Blood & Guts' Buzek. His story was one of many that Coach Magyar told about that '54 team – considered by many, to this day, to be the greatest Tiger team of all-time. As any Tiger fan knows, Don Fleming played on that team. And he only went on to play for the Cleveland Browns. I never called my father 'Dad' from the time I was about 13. He was always known to me, affectionately, as 'Guts'. I feel particularly blessed to have played for the same legendary coach as my father did. I played the same position and wore the same number. We played on the only two undefeated/untied teams in the school's history. That's pretty special.
'Guts' passed away on Dec. 15, 2005.
There were a few other Buzeks that tore up the grass at Fleming Field. 'Guts' had a couple brothers that some of you may remember. Eddie Buzek played fullback for the '56 Shadeans. And their younger brother Jack was a halfback for the '63 Tigers. My brother, Todd, played offensive guard and linebacker for the 1981 Tigers.
I wanted to give a shout-out to two other coaches that I had the extreme honor to play for in that 1977 season – Terry Snively and John Krupa. Coach Snively was an absolutely brilliant defensive coordinator, and a personal inspiration throughout that season. And as for John Krupa. Well, if you knew him, you loved him.
I settled in Florida after graduating from Kent State in 1982 and have been working in the newspaper business for almost 30 years now. I coached a couple years of youth football when my son was younger. But he fell in love with hockey and broke my heart. Just kidding. I've actually learned to love the game. And thankfully, he's carried on the number 39 for a third generation. But I always daydream about how great it would have been to have watched him play football on Fleming field.