Past glory the talk of annual event

Jeff Rice

UNIVERSITY PARK — Some of them carried a few more pounds or wore a few more gray hairs than their old teammates remembered. Others carried less weight and had less hair.

“It’s fun to guess who’s who, given the aging process,” a grinning Matt Suhey said.

But for the former Nittany Lions who played in the Penn State Football Lettermen’s golf outing Saturday at the Penn State Blue Course, the afternoon was all about the memories anyway.

For the third straight year, about 10 dozen members of the school’s most famous fraternity — now more than 1,000 strong — swatted away at the golf ball, caught up with each other and shared stories of seasons gone by.

“(Penn State athletic director) Tim (Curley) and I are always looking for ways and things we can do to keep these guys involved and give them an opportunity to come back,” said Penn State associate athletic director (and former player and assistant coach) Fran Ganter, who runs the Letterman’s Club. “This is a big vacation time for a lot of guys. There’s maybe about 50 guys that have come to all three and the other guys come every other year.”

Saturday’s group included representatives from several eras of Penn State football, from Sam Sobczak (Class of 1961) to Ganter’s youngest son, Jason (Class of 2008). The veterans outnumbered the recent alumni (Ganter holds the event in early August, which is the first week of NFL training camp, so that head coach Joe Paterno will be in town and able to make an appearance), but lettermen of various ages took the chance to get to know other generations of players.

“The longer you’re away, the more you get to see guys that were older than you and the guys that come after them,” said Dave Costlow, an offensive lineman who played his senior season in 2003. “You can laugh and share a lot of the same stories.

“When you’re playing, you only appreciate the guys a few years older and a few years younger than you, and then you get out and you realize there’s 50 years of guys who came before you and the older you get, there’s a class every year that comes behind. So it’s fun to talk to those guys.”

Suhey, whose family has produced four generations of Nittany Lions (his son Joe is currently a sophomore running back), won a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears but was still a little bit in awe of some of his fellow golfers Saturday.

“I was born and raised in State College,” said Suhey, who led Penn State in rushing in 1977, ’78 and ’79. “So to see a lot of these guys I grew up idolizing, who were heroes of mine ... it’s fun to get a chance to talk to them.”

Several lettermen made it a point before their round started to stop by Greg Buttle’s table. The All-American linebacker serves as master of ceremonies for the event each year, announcing the individual and team award winners.

“It’s interesting that every year his foursome has taken first place,” Ganter said with a wry smile.

“They bribed me into it because I have to pay them back for my college scholarship,” Buttle deadpanned. “Franny wants to make sure that if anyone gets in trouble it’s me and no one else.”

Buttle, who played Saturday with Lance Mehl, Jim Rosencrans and Tom Donchez, made frequent return trips to State College the past few years to watch his daughter Christina play on the school’s lacrosse team. But she graduated in 2008, and Buttle’s schedule since hasn’t allowed for many stops at his alma mater.

“It’s not just like I’m going to be able to come back for any reason other than a good excuse,” Buttle said. “Which is the lettermen’s golf tournament.”

Just being around their old teammates, on the golf course or in Beaver Stadium, makes the trip worth it for the former Nittany Lions.

“You appreciate it more,” said Matt Kranchick, a tight end who recently retired from a brief pro career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Living out in Columbus now, I’ve gotten a pretty good dose of Ohio State football. They don’t let the football players come back and stand on the sideline. They don’t have alumni outings. (Here), it’s a better fan base, a better feel. And it’s really nice to come back and see the guys again. It makes me want to put the pads on again.”