Destroyers sign 76-year-old “rookie”
Tom Ando
Monday June 4, 2001
“It is my honor to present Mr. Stanley John Markiewicz with this honorary game ball signed by all of the 2001 Buffalo Destroyers and to “sign” Burgard High School star San Markiewicz to an honorary contract making him a lifelong part of the Destroyer family.” Those were the words of Destroyers owner Mark Hamister on Friday, May 18 during a ceremony held for the 76 year-youngster at Buffalo’s Burgard Vocational High School.
Markiewicz’s life story reads as poignantly as a Hollywood script. Markiewicz was an honor student, a two-time Jesse Ketchum Award winner and three sport letterman in basketball, track, and football. At the crescendo of his athletic career, he left high school, in March of 1943, to join the navy as a 17 year-old. After his tenure in the Navy was completed on May 18, 1946, he went on to other education and business, but never received his Burgard diploma. Mr. Markiewicz said as he was handed his diploma by Buffalo School Superintendent Marion Canedo in his typical humble fashion, “It’s my honor. Better late than never.”
As a running left halfback in the Wing-T formation, Markiewicz was an All-City running back in both the Courier-Express and Buffalo Evening News newspapers. The Buffalo News reported, “Though not listed at the top of the scoring statistics, a handoff to Markiewicz usually was a signal for opposing defenses to move back five yards.”
Markiewicz scored the tying touchdown in the 1942 Harvard Cup Championship Game, a staple of Thanksgiving Day in Buffalo for nearly 100 years, against McKinley High School. As a linebacker, he helped preserve the 6-6 tie by making a game-saving tackle in the fourth quarter as time expired. Unlike many of today’s athlete’s who are focused on self-gratification, Mr. Markiewicz chose, without hesitation, to forgo what could have been a stellar senior year to enlist in the United States Navy with the country then embroiled in World War II in both Europe and the Pacific.
Recognition of Mr. Markiewicz’s accomplishment went largely unnoticed until November of 2000 when Richard Kozak, Jr. play-by-play announcer of Buffalo Public High School Football on radio station 1440 WJJL-AM was researching the storied history of the Harvard Cup League for halftime reports during broadcasts. While pouring over microfilm records, Kozak came upon the story of Markiewicz scoring the touchdown, contacted Stan and started to explore, as Paul Harvey would say, “The rest of the story” -- a story that would begin a friendship and bridge a generation gap of over half a century.
Kozak almost single-handedly organized and emceed the ceremony that would become known as “Stan Markiewicz Day”. Some might be wondering why, after 59 years, would this be the time to recognize the forgotten accomplishments of this man? Kozak has a simple answer. “Sports is an incredible and tangible link to our past,” said Kozak. “It is a great common denominator. The more I got to know about Stan, the more I realized that this honor was long overdue.”
When asked why he would go through all this trouble for a man he didn’t know prior to last Thanksgiving, Kozak stated, “He’s my Moonlight Graham!” in reference to the character sought after by Kevin Costner during a cross-country and cross-generation pilgrimage in the classic movie Field of Dreams.
There can be comparisons drawn to the character of Moonlight Graham and Stan Markiewicz. In the movie, Moonlight Graham is magically transformed back into 19 year-old Archie Graham and gets one at bat on the “field of dreams.” With a man on third, Archie hits a fly to medium right field and the base runner scores from third. In baseball terms, that’s known as a “sacrifice fly.”
In the ensuing scene, while Costner’s character Ray Kinsella is watching the game with his family, his daughter falls off of the bleachers and begins to choke on a hot dog. Graham is faced with the choice of staying on the field and living a dream or stepping off of the field and becoming the doctor that he became after he retired from the game. He chooses to leave the field and save her. He now is old again and can’t go back to playing on the field. He just took a sacrifice in his “at bat” of life, similar to Markiewicz, who sacrificed academics and a football career to serve his country.
“If only we could turn back the hands of time,” said Hamister. “The Arena League is only 15 years old. A mere infant compared to the career of Stan Markiewicz.” Hamister was ecstatic to give Markiewicz his long overdue accolades. “(He is) a man, who is personally a part of a storied American naval tradition that the Destroyers are proud to be named after, “ explained Hamister. “He was an original Ironman playing linebacker on the defensive side of the ball.”
The ceremony also marked Markiewicz receiving his high school diploma 57 years late in the field of aviation, along with the presentation by Lt. Commander James Gerlach of the U.S. Navy of four medals that were never received from WWII. County Executive Joel Giambra proclaimed “Stan Markiewcz Day” for the County of Erie, while Hamister presented him with the game ball and announced his “signing” to a contract.
Perhaps the most surprising and touching moment of the ceremony occurred when current members of the Burgard Bulldogs football team retired his number 35 and presented him with the jersey. “You know, that probably means the most,” remarked Markiewicz. “I know this sounds crazy, but I felt a real kinship with those kids. I wish I could have spent more time with them.” A virile Markiewicz also added, “Just holding this ball makes me feel like playing.”
The day was a great example of how the Buffalo Destroyers reach out into the Western New York community. Markiewicz’s accomplishments culminated over 50 years prior to the founding of the Destroyer franchise, yet the organization found a fitting tribute to a member of Buffalo’s football past while continuing to be a solid anchor in the City’s football present and future.
"Touchdown" Tom Ando is a free lance writer from South Buffalo, NY and has been covering the Arena Football League in one capacity or another since the 2000 season, when he was 17 years old. Tom Currently writes for Sports & Leisure Magazine in Buffalo covering the NLL's Buffalo Bandits and NCAA Division I football. In 2001, Tom was the only writer in the country to cover the Houston "Travelin' " Thunderbears, where he befriended his mentor John F. "Hondo" Hahn.
