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Wisniewski visits Summit CC

CRESSON — As a nose tackle with the National Football League’s Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts from 1982 to 1984, and a college player at Penn State from the 1978 through 1981 seasons, Leo Wisniewski experienced his share of thrills on the football field.

None, however, matched the satisfaction that he felt last Feb. 4, when he celebrated in the end zone at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis with members of his family — including his son, Stefen, a starting left guard with the Philadelphia Eagles — after the Eagles had upended the New England Patriots, 41-33 in Super Bowl LII.

“It was a tremendous year for us as a family,” said Leo Wisniewski, who was the celebrity guest at Mount Aloysius’ 21st Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament Friday at the Summit Country Club. “We were thrilled for Stefen. It was a great football game, and as we embraced each other in the end zone after the game and the confetti was coming down on us, it all was very surreal. It really was a thrill.”

The moment was even more satisfying for Stefen Wisniewski, who fought hard to secure a starting guard spot with the Eagles in his second season with the team last year. He had earlier played five years with the Oakland Raiders and one year with the Jacksonsville Jaguars.

“It was fulfilling for him on a lot of levels,” Leo said. “Obviously, to have the success that the Eagles did was very fulfilling. But also, because he had to compete for and earn that starting role at left guard last season after being in a back-up role in his (first) season with the team. That was a tremendous thing as well.”

The Wisniewski name carries with it a rich football pedigree. Along with Leo’s brief NFL career in the 1980s, his younger brother, Steve — Stefen’s uncle — was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection during his 13-year NFL career as an offensive guard with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders.

All three Wisniewskis were standouts for the legendary, late coach Joe Paterno at Penn State.

“I had a great experience playing for Coach Paterno at Penn State,” Leo Wisniewski said. “We won three of the four bowl games we went to, and we won the Fiesta Bowl twice.”

Stefen Wisniewski was weaned on the game of football at a very young age.

“Stefen loved football from an early age,” Leo Wisniewski, 58. said. “My younger brother, Steve, played 13 years for the Raiders, and whenever our kids were small, we would drive to the Raiders games that were close by whenever we could, and Stefen (developed) a great fondness for football because of that family experience.

“He was chomping at the bit to play youth football when he was very young,” Leo said. “He just loved the game.”

Leo’s own NFL career was short-circuited by knee problems after three seasons, two in Baltimore and one in Indianapolis, with the Colts.

He did manage to participate in 235 tackles (136 of them solo) while appearing in 36 NFL games, 35 in which he was a starter.

“My second and third seasons were very good seasons,” Leo Wisniewski said. “I had seven sacks one year, and was third on the team in tackles. I was playing very well, but knee injuries were kind of a continual setback in my career. I had to have an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction at the beginning of my fourth year.

“I rehabbed, I tried to come back from that, but I couldn’t pass the physical,” Leo said. “So that was the end of my football career. It got cut short, but that was the Lord’s plan.”

After his football days were over, Leo Wisniewski, a devout Christian, went full-throttle into youth ministry. He is now the executive director of a non-profit Christian men’s ministry organization called “Locking Arms” in the Pittsburgh area that, among its other services, helps the poor and provides mentoring to younger people in the inner-city.

Among Leo Wisniewski’s closest friends are two former Steelers, Jon Kolb and Tunch Ilkin, who are also both involved in Christian ministry in the Pittsburgh area.

“Jon Kolb and Tunch Ilkin are strong Christ followers,” said Leo, who went to Fox Chapel High School but now lives in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bridgeville. “I became friends with those guys in the 1980s, and I’m still walking closely with them today. We do all kinds of work together — mission work, mentoring work in the inner city. That’s been a real joy.”

It’s because of his devotion to such causes that the Mount Aloysius Golf Tournament — which helps to raise scholarship money for deserving young people — is one to which Leo Wisniewski can strongly relate.

“I love golf, so it’s really easy to twist my arm to come out to a golf tournament,” said Leo, who said he is “about a 16-handicap” in golf.

“I really like what Mount Aloysius is doing through this event, providing scholarships for young, deserving people,” Leo said. “And I really enjoy events like this.”

Leo Wisniewski file

Age: 58

Resides: Bridgeville, Pa.

Current occupation: Executive director of “Locking Arms,” a non-profit Christian men’s ministry organization in the Pittsburgh area that, among other services, helps the poor and provides inner-city mentoring.

NFL career: Played three seasons as a nose tackle with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts from 1982 to 1984. Appeared in 36 games, starting 35 of them, with 235 tackles (136 solo), 14.5 quarterback sacks, three fumble recoveries.

College career: Played four seasons (1978 through 1981) at Penn State under head coach Joe Paterno. Made 102 tackles, and had 11 sacks.

Family: Wife, Cindy. Adult daughter, Sarah. Adult son, Stefen, is a guard with the Philadelphia Eagles who helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LII last February. Both Stefan and Sarah are married, and Sarah is the mother of Leo and Cindy’s first grandchild.

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