John Spagnola - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

John Stephen Spagnola 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...

tight end

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

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 Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

, and the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

Early life

Spagnola played tight end

Tight end

at Bethlehem Catholic High School (Class of 1975) in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

and went to Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

(Class of 1979).

He left Yale University as the all-time leading receiver in receptions (88) and yards (1554). He was an honorable mention All-American tight end at Yale in '79.

He was a high school classmate of running back

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

Mike Guman

Michael Donald Guman is a former professional football player with the Los Angeles Rams...

, who later starred at Penn State, and played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams.

Professional career

Spagnola was drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

in the ninth round of the 1979 NFL Draft

1979 NFL Draft

The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979...

by the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

.

He played in eleven NFL seasons from 1979

1979 NFL season

The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams...

to 1987

1982 NFL season

The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...

for the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

, 1988

1988 NFL season

The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division....

for the Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

, and in 1989

1989 NFL season

The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...

for the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

.

Spagnola was voted the Eagles' MVP (offensive) in 1984.

His best year in the NFL came during the 1985

1985 NFL season

The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...

season for the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

when he caught 65 receptions

Reception (American football)

In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...

for 701 yards and five touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

s.

In 1985, Spagnola and Mike Quick

Mike Quick

Michael Anthony Quick is a former American football wide receiver who played his entire career with the Philadelphia Eagles .-Playing career:...

combined to set two club records; most receptions by two players (135) and most combined receiving yards (2,019), breaking a record previously shared by Hall of Famer Tommy McDonald and Timmy Brown.

He was a pro-bowl alternative in 1985 and 1984.

He caught the most passes (129) than any other tight end in the National Conference in 1985 and 1984.

He also appeared in Super Bowl XV

Super Bowl XV

Super Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1980 regular season...

for the Eagles versus the Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, catching one reception for 22 yards.

Spagnola ranks 14th on the Eagle's all-time reception list with 256 catches for 2,833 yards. His 12 catches in one game against New Orleans in 1985 were just two short of the club record shared by Brian Westbrook

Brian Westbrook

Brian Collins Westbrook is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football at Villanova...

and Don Looney

Don Looney

John Don Looney is a former professional American football end in the National Football League. He was born in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He played three seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers...

(1940).

Spagnola served as a player representative of the National Football League Players Association. During the labor strike in 1982, Spagnola's Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

were the only team in the NFL whose players did not cross the picket line.

Spagnola was the first executive vice president of the National Football League Players Association.

In 2008-2009 Spagnola was sought by the National Football League Players Association's executive search firm, Reilly Partners (Chicago, IL), to succeed Gene Upshaw

Gene Upshaw

Eugene Thurman Upshaw, Jr. was an American football player for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League and later the NFL, later the executive director of the National Football League Players' Association...

as executive director. Spagnola remained in the running after the union paired its list of finalists to five.

Broadcasting career

Spagnola began broadcasting for ABC Sports television in 1992. He covered college football

College Football on ABC

ESPN College Football on ABC presented by Kay Jewelers is a presentation of the American Broadcasting Company's regular season American college football television package...

for the network as a color analyst, sideline reporter

Sideline reporter

A sideline reporter, also known as a field reporter, courtside reporter , clubhouse reporter or dugout reporter , rinkside reporter or inside-the-glass reporter , on-court reporter , hole reporter , or boundary rider , is a member of the...

, and studio analyst through the 1998 season.

Financial services career

In 1984 he began his career in the financial services industry working for the First Boston Corporation in New York and Philadelphia. During this time, Mr. Spagnola worked in institutional sales and trading where he developed an in-depth knowledge of the capital markets, proprietary trading and corporate underwriting.

In 1992, with Michael Cosack, he co-founded Spagnola-Cosack, Inc., an independent investment consulting firm that serviced Public, Taft-Hartley, Corporate, Hospital, Endowment, and Foundation Funds. Over a ten year period the assets under advisement grew to over $3.5 billion. In 2003 Spagnola-Cosack, Inc. was acquired by PFM, a financial advisory firm located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. He brings over twenty-three years of investment experience to PFM Advisors.

As the Managing Director of PFM Advisors, Spagnola's duties include serving on the investment committee, overseeing marketing and client service and consulting with Public, Hospital, Endowment, and Taft-Hartley Fund clients who use the investment consulting and discretionary management services of PFM Advisors.

Academia career

Spagnola has taught a course on managing public funds for the Fels Institute of Government

Fels Institute of Government

The Fels Institute of Government is the University of Pennsylvania’s graduate program in public policy and public management. Its practical approach to public management education, its Ivy League pedigree and its relatively small size make it one of the nation's leading boutique programs in public...

, University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

Personal

Spagnola currently resides in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Bryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...

with his wife, Kathleen, and three daughters, Nicole, Megan and Kelly.

External links

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