The name Smyrl was already familiar to me…long before the infamous athlete of that name became a student at Memorial High. In fact, his family lived on the same southeast street (Vinton) that I grew up on.
He was big, he was fast, he was tough, and he was good, REALLY good…And his name was one of the most mentioned during his playing days at Memorial.
He was even good enough to wear the uniform of a profession football team, the Cleveland Browns. And signed a contract with them, played five pre-season games, then was released.
That’s when my dilemma began.
I say “my” because since the creation of the Memorial High School Hall of Fame by the MHS Assembly Committee (its Advisor) back in 1994, I have also served as the Hall’s chairperson.
As such, once an athlete reaches the top in his/her sport, one of my “jobs” is to:
- obtain a game worn jersey from the athlete
- have it matted and framed with his/her team’s colors in the background
- procure 2 sports cards, one depicting his/her rookie year and the other depicting his/her last
- obtain a picture of the player in action while playing the sport
There are five graduates of Memorial that have achieved that goal.
Mike Flanagan, Steve Balboni, Don Florence, and Chris Lambert in Pro baseball, and Hubie McDonough III in Pro hockey.
Had it not been for a decision made by the NFL, I sincerely believe there would be a sixth.
It’s been 17 years since the original story was written and I’ve been haunted by some of its content ever since.
A lot of people thought that he’d made it to the top…that he was now a professional football player.
Some even asked why he didn’t have a shadow box on the wall with his #90 Browns game worn jersey in it.
I did, too, but what I thought would happen never did.
As uncomfortable as I am submitting his story for publication in MIL I sincerely believe it should be told because people should know what happened.
He at least deserves that…
That the collateral damage caused by the NFL cost him not just a shadow box on a wall, but much more than that.
Read on and you’ll hopefully understand.
“WHERE ARE THEY NOW?”
~~~ CHUCK SMYRL ~~~
Part 1
Like the sport he loves, football, the story about the subject of this week’s MIL Sports feature, Chuck Smyrl, will be covered in “quarters”.
FIRST QUARTER – THE CHILDHOOD YEARS
(CHRISTMAS & FOOTBALL)
Chuck Smyrl’s interest in football began when he was about five years old after receiving a very important “future-shaping” present from his grandmother…a set of shoulder pads.
“She gave me that gift for Christmas and I guess I’ve wanted to play football ever since.”
His “career” started as a member of the South Rebels of the Pop Warner Football League under the guidance of coach Bob Underwood and his assistant Ron Dumont.
9½ – 11½
When he was just 11 years old he broke his right leg while snow skiing and a year later, broke his left leg doing the same thing. While the second injury was the result of impacting a tree approximately 12 feet above the ground, it was the first one that did the most damage. It was so extreme that it caused his right foot to be stunted in its growth. As unbelievable as this will sound, he ended up needing two different football shoes while playing at Syracuse wearing a size 9 ½ on his right foot and an 11 ½ on his left! “No one ever knew about the discrepancy during my high school years because I always wore the same size shoes on both feet, but my left leg has always been the stronger of the two.”
SECOND QUARTER – THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS
From there he moved on to become a member of the Crusaders of Manchester Memorial playing at both the quarterback and safety positions. His performances were so outstanding that by his senior year he was being recruited by top name D1 football programs including Boston College, the University of Michigan, and his eventual choice, Syracuse University, among others.
THREE SPORT ATHLETE
He was not a one-sport athlete while at Memorial, excelling in both basketball and track as well. In fact, it was during his senior year as a member of the track team that he experienced his most embarrassing moment in sports during a city track meet.
While waiting for others to complete their involvement in the high jump competition, he kept his sweatpants on, choosing to remove them only when it was his turn to go. When his time came he put his thumbs into the waistband and started to pull off his sweatpants only to realize that along with them he had also removed his shorts, leaving him standing covered only by his jock…thereby causing those around him to see that he was a true “athletic supporter“!
Though he liked the others, football was his sport of choice. As mentioned by Mike Bradley in a previous issue of GMS, Chuck was part of the crew that showed up at Memorial’s athletic field to start working out before the season started. One memory, in particular, stood out. “We’d all drive over to the field except for Jack Gati from Bradley. He ran. Jack was trying to get in shape so he ran just about everywhere. Then, if I remember correctly, he broke his leg in their first game. I really felt bad for him.”
FACING SOME BIG GUNS
Though Haverhill and Nashua were formidable opponents, he most enjoyed the rivalry with Manchester Central, particularly Steve Schubert. He also looked forward to “knocking heads” with quarterback Steve Stetson of Laconia High.
As for his most impacting coach, he had two…Bob Chabot and Hubie McDonough Jr. (both legends themselves). “Bob would always come up with a great game plan and Hubie would give the pre-game/halftime speeches. He used to get 110% out of us. He wouldn’t scream or yell. He’d just single guys out and talk to us in that voice of his. Together they’d bring you up to the level they wanted you to play at by the time you hit the field. They were really good together, really complimented each other.” The name of Memorial’s football field is a testament to that.
He chose his high school years as his most enjoyable time in sports, stating…“High school was fun; emotions were a series of highs and lows – mostly highs because we had winning teams, and winning will do that – but I hated to lose. In fact, if we did, unless I was forced to, I wouldn’t talk to anybody!”
THIRD QUARTER – THE COLLEGE/PRO YEARS
After graduating from Memorial, it was off to Syracuse University to continue his pursuit of a career in pro football.
“The transition to playing at the college level was really difficult. Though I still had a good time, I quickly realized that it wasn’t just for fun anymore…It was now a business. At Memorial, Harry Lazos was probably our biggest lineman at 225 lbs. At Syracuse, the line averaged 300 lbs. with most players standing at 6’ 5” or better. In fact, three of our five starting linemen went on to play pro ball, Dave Lapham (Bengals), Stan Walters (Eagles), and Dave Yokem (Canadian Football League).”
Lapham and Chuck were “roomies” during their time at Syracuse and Dave still remains a close friend. “Though I haven’t seen him for awhile, if he was to call me today to do something, I’d be there in a heartbeat. He‘s like a brother…we‘re real close.”
HE HIT HARD…VERY HARD
It was while playing for the Orangemen that Chuck experienced the most injuries.
“As a freshman, I broke my hand which was followed a while later by a broken nose (he still can’t breathe out of his left nostril). I tore the deltoid muscle in both shoulders and once hit an opposing quarterback so hard that it knocked the guy out. Problem was that while making the hit, I pinched a nerve in my neck. The trainer came running out while I was still on the ground and I told him that I couldn’t feel my left arm then said ‘Wait! I can’t feel my left leg!’ He responded with ‘Well, which is it?’ to which I answered ‘Both! In fact, I can’t feel my entire left side!’ It was paralyzed, but thankfully, the feeling returned a short time later. I wore a neck brace after that. I loved it because it would keep my neck in one place and I could hit people head on even harder…and I did.”
It was also at Syracuse that Chuck was also introduced to the world of drug usage by athletes to enhance their sports performance. “Players were using, but it wasn’t rampant. Nobody did it openly, but you knew some guys were. When a guy’s personality suddenly changes and he’s almost out-of-control on the field, just screaming and yelling play after play, you’ve got a pretty good idea as to why.“
I was somewhat hesitant to ask him about his possible usage, but was relieved when he answered “I never took any because I didn’t want to screw myself up for the rest of my life. When somebody would say that it was only a problem if you took too much, well, who knows how much is too much? It‘s obviously screwed a lot of guys up!“ It remains a “pet peeve” for him even today.
TOUGH!
Speaking of drugs, it should be emphasized that Chuck didn‘t even take any as an eleven year old with a broken leg or the following year when he broke the other one. “I can remember the doctor standing with his hands around my foot pulling my leg straight back…slowly…while an assistant held me from behind. He offered no pain killers, just told me to grip the ‘helper’s’ hand as hard as I wanted. There was no jerking it quickly into place. Just slow constant pain until it was set.”
Remember, readers…this was the procedure used on both legs. Think Chuck thought about the “procedure” used on the first while he was waiting for the second leg to be properly set? Any wonder where Chuck got his “toughness”?
TIGHT END?!
He wasn’t drafted by the NFL after completing college. He got a call from the New York Jets asking him to attend a try-out session. “The day it took place I was real sick. After it was over they just said ‘thanks’ and I figured that was it. Then I got a call from the Cleveland Browns and they wanted to know if I would sign a free agent contract with them…as a tight end (a position that I never had played) with no try-out session necessary. I thought it was a joke and asked if they had the right guy. They answered ’We’ve seen you at QB, so we know you’re agile. We’ve seen you at defensive end, so we know that you’re tough. We’ve seen you at outside linebacker, so we know that you’re quick. We think you‘d be perfect as a tight end.’…I signed.”
“I remember my first game. I started against the 49’ers. As they announced my name and the college that I graduated from I started to run out onto the field. I couldn’t even feel my legs. 22 years old having always dreamed of playing in the pros and there I was. I had made it! Then, a game later against the Washington Redskins, as I looked across the line of scrimmage and saw Deacon Jones, all I could think was ‘What am I doing here?!“
A DREAM FULFILLED (BUT DURING THE WRONG YEAR)
Though his time as a pro was brief, he still had accomplished his dream of making it to the top. “I signed in March and was released in September. Head coach Nick Skorich said that while I was good enough to play in the NFL, there wasn’t going to be enough room. The league was going from 47 players per team down to 42, with five players on the “cab” squad. Those players would practice with the team, but would not suit up for games. They went back to 47 players the following year because the move to a lower number didn’t work. Unfortunately, I guess I picked the wrong year to go pro.”
FOURTH QUARTER – THE PRESENT
When he was 16, Chuck was also a water ski racer who could be found skimming across the surface of Lake Winnipesaukee at breakneck speeds of up to 65 miles per hour (he obviously didn’t learn his lesson from skiing)! Not that the speed wasn’t extreme enough, he did it for a distance of 32 miles. That’s not a miss-print…you read it correctly…32 miles!
Today, the 56 year-old has finally slowed down. The speed he moves at now is dictated to by how fast their pet black lab, Jake, pulls him as he “walks” him down Darby lane.
Though Chuck graduated from Syracuse with a dual major (English and Physical Education/Health), he is the New Hampshire sales representative for R. C. Hazelton Company and has been with them for over 22 years. He’s been married for 25 years to wife, Wendy, a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company, and they’re the proud parents of son, Derek, a 23 year-old UNH Whittemore School of Business grad who’s working in Boston and daughter, Allison, a 20 year old junior at James Madison University (Va.).
Chuck has coached Pop Warner football for West Manchester, Merrimack, and has “helped out” with Bedford. He was the tight end coach for four years at St. Anselm when they re-started their football program and would have remained with them had his schedule not been so complex. “It was too time-consuming. Five days a week it was work (his job at Hazelton) then practice. Saturdays and Sundays were for games and reviewing film. My summer vacations were used for double sessions. It left me no time for home or family.”
He still has his first football jersey from his playing days in Pop Warner as well as his game shirt from Syracuse. Wendy had both framed and they hang proudly in the family room of the Smyrl home.
Ted Menswar Jr. is a life-long resident of the Queen City and a retired member of the English Department of Memorial High School who has been involved in local sports for 70 years as a player, a coach, a mentor and a fan. He can be reached at tedmenswar@outlook.com