Nearly four decades ago, Chuck Fusina played in one of the more memorable football games in Penn State history. As quarterback and hoping to lead the Nittany Lions to an undefeated season and a national championship, the Sto-Rox High School graduate looked on as running back Mike Guman was stopped inches shy of a touchdown late in a 14-7 loss to Alabama in the 1979 Sugar Bowl.
Fusina finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting that season and went on to play in both the NFL and USFL.
These days, he is a partner with A.B. Starr, a baseball and softball manufacturer and distributor on the South Side. He is also spearheading a fundraising campaign to build an artificial turf field at Sto-Rox High School.
A Franklin Park resident, Fusina recently discussed topics ranging from the Pitt-Penn State rivalry to nearly winning the Heisman to a meeting with Donald Trump before the latter became our president.
Q. Let's start with your encounter with President Trump. The two of you met through the USFL. He owned the New Jersey Generals while you were starring for two-time league champion Philadelphia/Baltimore. What was your impression of our future Commander in Chief?
A. At the time, I didn't really know much about him. But looking back, he was a person who was willing to take on a leadership role. He jump-started our lawsuit against the NFL. Our league had a lot of powerful people with deep pockets, but he got right in there, even though he was pretty young at the time. I didn't realize that he'd become the president one day, but ...
Q. Interesting fact: Although you finished second to Billy Simms in the 1978 Heisman race, you received more first-place votes than the Oklahoma running back. What was it like to be so close?
A. It was very different back then. There were no ESPN cameras around, so I didn't have to go through what these players go through today. I didn't even find out the result until I got a phone call a day later. It was simple, and I liked it that way. These kids today have microphones and cameras and phones in their faces all the time. I think they get robbed a little because they're constantly in the limelight. So, I wouldn't trade the experience I had for anything.
Q. You were part of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry in its heyday. What were those games like? Also, can that magic return?
A. It was so much fun because it was such a big event. We were lucky to win three of four against them. Of course, the year they beat us (1976), they went on to win the national championship. Being a hometown kid, I took a lot of ribbing from Pitt fans, which was done in fun. I wish it could get back to that, but it's just unfortunate that they cannot and will not be playing every year (after the four-year series ends in 2019).
Q. When you watch the NFL these days, which quarterbacks are must-see TV for you?
A. I'd have to say the guy in New Orleans (Drew Brees). I can relate to him because he's not a tall quarterback. And being here in Pittsburgh, to watch someone like Ben Roethlisberger play the position is amazing. I can't even imagine myself playing at that level. He has such great physical ability. There are so many gifted quarterbacks in the league today. I'm not saying there weren't great ones when I played, but these guys are pretty special.
Q. Best player you've played with or against?
A. There were two of them. Lee Roy Selmon in Tampa Bay and Sam Mills in Philadelphia. (Fusina played with Selmon in the NFL and Mills in the USFL). Lee Roy was a No. 1 overall pick, and if he had played in a market like New York or in Pittsburgh, everyone would have known who he was. He could do everything as a defensive lineman. And with Sam, he got cut in Canada, but went to the USFL and became a star. Then, he ended up being a Pro Bowl (linebacker) in the NFL. There might have been better players than Sam, but what he brought to a team as a leader and as a person made him one of the greatest I've seen.
First Published: June 29, 2017, 2:36 p.m.
