Jack Scarbath
Encyclopedia
John Carl "Jack" Scarbath (born August 12, 1930 in Baltimore
, Maryland
) is a former professional American football
quarterback
in the National Football League
for the Washington Redskins
and Pittsburgh Steelers
. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1983.
, Maryland
on August 12, 1930 and attended high school at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
. He played football as a quarterback
and basketball as a guard. At Poly, Scarbath came to the attention of former Maryland
coach and then university president Harry C. Byrd
, who offered him a full athletic scholarship
.
, Scarbath poured cement as a construction worker in the building of the school's Byrd Stadium
. He later worked at a foundry
, which also helped to keep him in shape for football.
In 1952, he was unanimously selected to the All-America
first team and finished as the runner-up in votes for the Heisman Trophy
. Scarbath was also Southern Conference
Player of the Year and the South's Most Valuable Player
in the North-South Game. He played lacrosse
for Maryland during the 1952 season. Scarbath graduated from Maryland in 1954 with an industrial engineering
degree.
selected Scarbath in the first round of the 1953 NFL Draft
as the third overall pick. He played with Washington from 1953
to 1954
. In 1955, Scarbath played in the Canadian Football League
for the Ottawa Rough Riders
. He returned to the NFL to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers
in 1956
.
Scarbath served as an assistant coach for the University of South Carolina
. He later founded and served as the chief executive officer
of his own business, John C. Scarbath and Sons abrasives company, which he sold in 1995. He then worked with the Maryland Education Foundation to provide college scholarships to prospective scholar-athletes. Scarbath is married to wife Marilyn, a former Maryland cheerleader.
The College Football Hall of Fame
inducted Scarbath in 1983, and the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame
inducted him in 1984.
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
) is a former professional American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1983.
Early life
Scarbath was born in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
on August 12, 1930 and attended high school at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute is a US public high school founded in 1883. Though established as an all-male trade school,it now is a institution that emphasizes mathematics, the sciences, and engineering. It is located on a tract of land in North Baltimore at Falls Road and Cold Spring Lane,...
. He played football as a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and basketball as a guard. At Poly, Scarbath came to the attention of former Maryland
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
coach and then university president Harry C. Byrd
Curley Byrd
Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd was an American university administrator, educator, athlete, coach, and politician...
, who offered him a full athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
.
College career
As a freshman at the University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, Scarbath poured cement as a construction worker in the building of the school's Byrd Stadium
Byrd Stadium
Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium , is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of the Maryland Terrapins football and lacrosse teams, which compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference...
. He later worked at a foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, which also helped to keep him in shape for football.
In 1952, he was unanimously selected to the All-America
1952 College Football All-America Team
The 1952 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1952 college football season...
first team and finished as the runner-up in votes for the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
. Scarbath was also Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
Player of the Year and the South's Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
in the North-South Game. He played lacrosse
Field lacrosse
Field lacrosse, sometimes referred to as the "fastest sport on two feet," is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867....
for Maryland during the 1952 season. Scarbath graduated from Maryland in 1954 with an industrial engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
degree.
Professional career
The Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
selected Scarbath in the first round of the 1953 NFL Draft
1953 NFL Draft
The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...
as the third overall pick. He played with Washington from 1953
1953 NFL season
The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National conferences were changed to the Eastern and Western conferences....
to 1954
1954 NFL season
The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game.-Major rule changes:...
. In 1955, Scarbath played in the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
for the Ottawa Rough Riders
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
. He returned to the NFL to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
in 1956
1956 NFL season
The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. CBS became the first network to televise some regular season games across the nation...
.
Scarbath served as an assistant coach for the University of South Carolina
South Carolina Gamecocks football
The South Carolina Gamecocks football team represents the University of South Carolina in NCAA Division I college football. The Gamecocks have been a member of the Southeastern Conference since 1992. Steve Spurrier is the current head coach, and the team plays its home games at Williams-Brice...
. He later founded and served as the chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of his own business, John C. Scarbath and Sons abrasives company, which he sold in 1995. He then worked with the Maryland Education Foundation to provide college scholarships to prospective scholar-athletes. Scarbath is married to wife Marilyn, a former Maryland cheerleader.
The College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
inducted Scarbath in 1983, and the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame
University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame
The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland...
inducted him in 1984.