Sponsky remembered as ‘a football guy’
Ex-Carroll coach, AD dies of coronavirus
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One of the area's most respected football coaches and administrators has passed away.
Chuck Sponsky, who coached both Forest Hills and Bishop Carroll but may have made his greatest contribution with the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association, died Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He was 80.
Sponsky was stricken with the coronavirus and had been hospitalized since July 19, according to his son, Craig.
His death was "stunning," Craig Sponsky said Monday night.
"He had no pre-existing conditions," Craig said. "That's what the doctors are telling me. And he was extra precautious. He'd walk the dog with a mask on. We have no clue how he got it."
Chuck Sponsky guided Bishop Carroll for 13 seasons, posting a record of 90-45-6, after an eight-year stint with the Rangers. His career record was 125-79-8.
He also served as Carroll's athletic director for 26 years and was inducted into the BC Hall of Fame in 2014.
Sponsky served as the PSFCA president in 1994 and was inducted into the PSFCA Hall of Fame in 1999. He chaired the PSCFA Hall of Fame for many years.
"That was a passion of his," Craig Sponsky said.
"Chuck was a very good coach, but I think (his) greater contribution came when he became part of the PSFCA," retired Bellwood-Antis football coach and athletic director John Hayes (also a PSFCA hall of famer) said. "He was in charge of the hall of fame selection and not only did a great job every year, but he handled all the little things that sometimes don't get noticed."
Sponsky and Hayes were among the District 6 coaches who successfully pushed for District 6 football championships and eventually state playoffs in the 1980s.
"Chuck was a football guy, and he really put a lot of his efforts into promoting the game and a lot of the things we enjoy now -- like the playoffs," Hayes said. "He was a great guy -- a good friend -- and I'm saddened by his passing."
Craig Sponsky played for his dad as a linebacker at Carroll from 1985-87.
"He was very clear I had to be twice as good as somebody to be in front of them," Craig said. "And he stuck to that. But that made me work harder, and I understood later why he was doing what he was doing. Those are good times I'll cherish forever."
Craig followed in his father's footsteps, coaching Bishop Carroll before moving to Florida to become an athletic director at Oxbridge Academy.
"He had a ton of passion for coaching, and those are the traits I believe I got from my father," Craig said. "The knowledge he could share was priceless."
After relocating to Florida in 2012, Chuck was a volunteer coach on the Oxbridge staff and coached another couple of years as a consultant at Keiser University, an NAIA school in Florida.
"Coaching was his outlet to be a positive impact on others," Craig Sponsky said. "That's what I really believe I learned through him."
Carolina Panthers first-year head coach Matt Rhule is Chuck Sponsky's nephew (and Craig's cousin). The Rhules and the Sponskys would travel together, especially to bowl games, when Rhule coached at Temple and then Baylor.
Craig said his dad treated Rhule, "like his own son," and Rhule spoke with his uncle shortly before he died.
"My dad was at Baylor a lot, and every assistant coach knew his name," Craig said. "When I got back from the hospital, there were two Baylor shirts and one Oxbridge shirt in his bag."
Sponsky's wife, Carole, survives. There will be a viewing at the Askew Houser Funeral Home in Ebensburg on Friday, Sept. 18 from 4 to 8 p.m. The funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at Holy Name Church in Ebensburg.