Ron Jaworski
Encyclopedia
Ronald Vincent "Ron" Jaworski (born March 23, 1951, in Lackawanna
Lackawanna, New York
Lackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, U.S., located just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 18,141 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna Steel Company...

, New York) is a former 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...

 and currently an NFL
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...

 analyst on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

. He is also CEO
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 Ron Jaworski Golf Management, Inc., based out of Blackwood, New Jersey
Blackwood, New Jersey
Blackwood is a census-designated place located within Gloucester Township, in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2000 United States Census, the section population was 4,692...

, and manages golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

s in southern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, northeast 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 West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. He also owns part interest in the Philadelphia Soul
Philadelphia Soul
The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...

 of the Arena Football League. Jaworski was nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

d "Jaws" by Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...

 player (and now coach) Doug Collins
Doug Collins
Paul Douglas "Doug" Collins is a retired American basketball player, a former four-time NBA All-Star and currently the head coach of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.-High school and college:...

 prior to the 1981 Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

.

Early years

Jaworski was raised in the steel town of Lackawanna, New York
Lackawanna, New York
Lackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, U.S., located just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 18,141 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna Steel Company...

. A three-sport star in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, Jaworski turned down a professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 offer from the St Louis Cardinals to attend college at Youngstown State. Nicknamed "The Polish Rifle", or the "Polish Cannon", Jaworski was able to showcase his skills as a quarterback for the pass-oriented offense of the Penguins, earning a selection in the Senior Bowl
Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...

.

Professional career

Drafted in the second round of the 1973 NFL Draft
1973 NFL Draft
The 1973 National Football League Draft was held on January 30–31, 1973.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

 by the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

, Jaworski was originally an overlooked 3rd string quarterback. Thanks to injuries to John Hadl
John Hadl
John Willard Hadl is a former collegiate and professional football player.Hadl was born in Lawrence, Kansas. After playing halfback on both offense and defense at the University of Kansas as a sophomore, Hadl played quarterback for his last two years at Kansas, and was selected as the school's...

 and James Harris, Jaworski saw considerable playing time in 1975, leading the Rams to a playoff win. In 1976, he lost the starting quarterback job to Pat Haden
Pat Haden
Patrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...

.

1977 season

In the spring of 1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....

, Jaworski was traded by the Rams to 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...

 for former All-Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...

 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...

 Charle Young
Charle Young
Charle Edward Young is a former American football tight end who played for 13 seasons in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1973–1976, the Los Angeles Rams from 1977–1979, the San Francisco 49ers from 1980–1982, and the Seattle Seahawks from...

; the trade was technically illegal under NFL by-laws since both Jaworski and Young had completed their contracts, but no one raised any objection to the deal so it was permitted to stand.

With a young Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...

 as his coach, he was given the opportunity to start for the up-and-coming Eagles. Things were not easy for the young quarterback, but Vermeil stood by his developing signal caller, and soon the Eagles became a playoff team.

1980 season

The Eagles made the playoffs in 1978 and 1979, but lost in the early rounds. Slowly, Vermeil built the Eagles into a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

 team, and Jaworski was its leader on offense
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...

. In 1980
1980 Philadelphia Eagles season
The 1980 Philadelphia Eagles season resulted in an appearance in the Super Bowl.-Offseason:After going 11–5 in the 1979 season and making the playoffs again as a wildcard team, the Eagles found themselves looking to improve through the NFL Draft again....

, the Eagles started out 11-1 in the regular season, (including defeating the eventual Super Bowl champions 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...

), and won the NFC Eastern Division for the first time. Jaworski had a stellar season. In 1980
1980 NFL season
The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...

, Jaworski was named the UPI
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...

 "NFL Player of the Year", and also in that same year he received the Bert Bell Award
Bert Bell Award
The Bert Bell Award for the Professional American football Player of the Year is presented by the Maxwell Football Club. This award is named in honor of Bert Bell , Commissioner of the National Football League and founder of the Maxwell Club...

, The Maxwell Football Club
Maxwell Football Club
The Maxwell Football Club was established in 1935 to promote safety in the game of American football. Named in honor of the late Robert W...

's Professional Player of the Year award, and the Professional Athlete of the Year award sponsored by Dunlop Rubber
Dunlop Rubber
Dunlop Rubber was a company based in the United Kingdom which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century. It was acquired by BTR plc in 1985. Since then, ownership of the Dunlop trade-names has been fragmented.-Early history:...

.

Jaworski led the Eagles past the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs (31-16), and then defeated the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

 in the NFC Championship Game
NFC Championship Game
The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the...

 (20-7) to reach the franchise's first Super Bowl. Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...

's Cowboys had previously dominated the Eagles, a divisional rival, since the formation of the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

 in 1970. The Eagles lost 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...

 to 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...

.

End of Eagles career

Despite several strong statistical seasons between 1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....

 and 1986
1986 NFL season
The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...

, Jaworski was never able to win a Super Bowl during his tenure with the Eagles under head coach Marion Campbell
Marion Campbell
Francis Marion Campbell is a former American football defensive lineman and head coach. Campbell played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1949 until 1951, where he was appropriately nicknamed "Swamp Fox"...

 ( a.k.a. the "Swamp Fox"). Following a shaky performance in 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-opener, he was benched and replaced by rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

 Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham
Randall W. Cunningham is a former American football quarterback.After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season...

 in Week 2; Jaworski subsequently regained the starter's
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 role and performed well, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 7. He also tied an NFL record with a 99-yard overtime
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...

 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:...

 pass to 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:...

 in 1985 against the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. After Jaworski suffered another injury the next season
1986 NFL season
The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...

, new Eagles coach Buddy Ryan made Randall Cunningham his starting QB for the rest of the season. The team did not re-sign Jaworski at the end of the season and he was subsequently released. He finished with 69 wins, 67 losses and 1 tie as the Eagles starting quarterback.

Miami Dolphins

In the spring of 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...

, he signed with the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 as a backup to their quarterback Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...

. Jaworski never took the field in 1987, and he saw limited action in 1988.

Kansas City Chiefs

He moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

 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...

, starting a pair of games in a QB rotation that included Steve DeBerg
Steve DeBerg
Steven Leroy DeBerg had a long career as an American Football quarterback. His career spanned 21 years over 3 decades. Despite the fact that large portions of his career were spent as a backup, DeBerg ultimately accumulated some impressive NFL statistics, particularly during the early 1990s, when...

 and Steve Pelluer
Steve Pelluer
Steven Carl Pelluer is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 5th round of the 1984 NFL Draft. A 6'4", 209-lb...

. At one point, he and center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 Mike Webster formed the oldest starting QB-center combo in NFL history. Following that season, he retired as an NFL player. Jaworski turned down appeals to return to the Eagles in 1991
1991 NFL season
The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....

, when Cunningham was lost for the season due to an injury in Week 1.

Career statistics

Jaworski finished his 17-season career with 2,187 completions
Completion (American football)
A completion is a term used in American football when a receiver successfully catches a pass. The three possible outcomes of a pass thrown are completion, incompletion, and interception, respectively....

 on 4,117 attempts for 28,190 yards, 179 touchdowns, and 164 interceptions. He also rushed for 859 yards and 16 touchdowns. He previously held the record for most consecutive starts by a quarterback
Most consecutive starts by a quarterback (NFL)
This is a list of the most consecutive starts by a quarterback in the NFL. Only six quarterbacks in NFL history have been able to achieve regular season streaks of at least 100 games, with only two of those with a regular season streak of at least 200 games....

 with 116 having since been surpassed by Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...

 and Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...

. His 170 regular season touchdowns with the Philadelphia Eagles were the most in franchise history until he was surpassed by Donovan McNabb
Donovan McNabb
Donovan Jamal McNabb is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback from 1999 to 2009 and spent the 2010 season with the Washington Redskins and a portion of the 2011 season with the Minnesota Vikings. In college, McNabb played...

 on September 21, 2008, 22 years after Jaworski left Philadelphia.

Awards

In 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...

, he and Joe Pisarcik
Joe Pisarcik
Joseph Anthony Pisarcik is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eight seasons, from 1977 through 1984 after playing college football at New Mexico State University. His first professional team was the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football...

 received medals from Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 on the occasion of his visit to Philadelphia. Like the Pope, both men are of Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

 ancestry, with Jaworski being nicknamed "The Polish Rifle."

He was voted by his teammates as the Ed Block Courage Award
Ed Block Courage Award
The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to selected players in the National Football League , who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a well-liked humanitarian and trainer for the Baltimore Colts, the...

 recipient in 1985 for the Philadelphia Eagles.

While still playing for the Eagles in 1986, Jaworski was inducted into the YSU Sports
Youngstown State Penguins
Youngstown State University is in NCAA Division I. Nicknamed the Penguins, they play in the Horizon League and Missouri Valley Football Conference, and compete in the following sports:*Baseball *Basketball *Cross Country...

 Hall of Fame at his collegiate alma-mater, Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University, founded in 1908, is an urban research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. It is recognized as being one of the premier schools in the country, comparable to Ivy League...

. Along with former 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...

 quarterback Cliff Stoudt
Cliff Stoudt
Clifford Lewis Stoudt is a former American football quarterback for Youngstown State University and the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers...

 (inducted 1987 & Jaworski's successor on the football team, though playing for the Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 at this point) and recently-retired St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

 kicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

 Jeff Wilkins
Jeff Wilkins
For the American basketball player, see Jeff Wilkins .Jeffrey Allen Wilkins nicknamed "Money" is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and St Louis Rams. He played college football at Youngstown State University...

 (inducted in 2003), Jaworski is one of only three former YSU football players to be inducted while still active in the NFL.

In 1991, Jaworski was inducted into the National Polish-American Hall of Fame
National Polish-American Hall of Fame
The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded February 30, 1973 to honor and recognize outstanding American athletes, both amateur and professional, of Polish descent....

.

In 1992
1992 NFL season
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...

, Jaworski was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll
Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll
Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll & year inducted:Chuck Bednarik 1987Bert Bell 1987Harold Carmichael 1987Bill Hewitt 1987Ollie Matson 1987Norm Van Brocklin 1987Steve Van Buren 1987Sonny Jurgenson 1987Wilbert Montgomery 1987...

, and in 1994
1994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...

 he was nominated for admission to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

 in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 (his first year of eligibility for this as he had retired five years earlier, 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...

).

In 1997, he received the Pinnacle Award from the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce for his outstanding volunteer work and longtime service to the South Jersey Chamber as well as the business community.

In 1997, Jaworski received the Bert Bell Man of the Year from the Eagles Fly for Leukemia, which is given to the person who had contributed significantly to the NFL.

In 1998, The United Way honored Ron with their Volunteer Leadership Award, which is the highest award given by the United Way.

In 2007, the Father's Day Council of the Greater Philadelphia chapter of the American Diabetes Association
American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is a United States-based association working to fight the consequences of diabetes, and to help those affected by diabetes...

 selected Ron to receive one of their "Father of the Year" awards.

Post-NFL career

Jaworski, team president of the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...

, an NFL analyst on ESPN, and owner/operator of Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood, New Jersey and Running Deer Golf Club in Pittsgrove, New Jersey. In addition, Ron Jaworski Golf Management manages RiverWinds Golf & Tennis Club, West Deptford, New Jersey and Edgewood in the Pines Golf Club in Drums, Pennsylvania
Drums, Pennsylvania
Drums, Pennsylvania is a village in Butler Township, Luzerne County located east of Interstate 81 in the Sugarloaf Valley. The Nescopeck Creek forms its natural southern boundary and flows west to the Susquehanna River. Its zip code is 18222....

. His first on air broadcast experience came in 1976 as the sports director on the Bob Shannon morning show in Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

 while Ron was with the Rams. He also worked as a sports commentator for WIP-AM
WIP-AM
WIP is a Philadelphia radio station with an all-sports format. Located at 610 AM, the station adopted its current all-sports format in 1986, making it the first all-sports radio station in the United States...

 (Ron Jaworski Show, 1988), co-host Celebrity Sports Talk and Eagles wrap-around shows, 1990, and the Eagles post-game show WYSP, 1992. He was part of ESPN's broadcasting team for the second half of its opening-night Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

doubleheader on September 11, 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...

, with Brad Nessler
Brad Nessler
Bradley "Brad" Nessler is an American sportscaster, who currently calls college basketball and college football games for ESPN with occasional appearances on ESPN on ABC. He will also call Thursday Night Football on NFL Network beginning in 2011, and appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports'...

 and Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...

. Jaworski was also the color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...

 for Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

 preseason games on WFLA-TV
WFLA-TV
WFLA-TV, virtual channel 8, is the NBC-affiliated television station in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida. The station is the flagship station of its owner and operator, Media General. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida. WFLA is the only station in the market to be...

 from 2003 to 2006. In 2007
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....

, he replaced Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert "Joe" Theismann is a former quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League . He achieved his most enduring fame in his 12 seasons playing for the Washington Redskins, where he was a two-time Pro Bowler and quarterback of the winning team in Super Bowl XVII...

 as color commentator for ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcasts, where he currently partners with Mike Tirico
Mike Tirico
Michael Todd Tirico is an announcer for ESPN's presentation of Monday Night Football, and second lead broadcaster for ESPN's presentation of the NBA. In addition, Tirico hosts a multitude of programming on ESPN/ABC. He was the host of ABC's golf coverage from 1996 to 2007, and continues in that...

 and Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden
Jon David Gruden is an American football analyst and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven seasons and prior to that the Oakland Raiders for four seasons. In his first year as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, defeating the Raiders whom he had...

. In 2010 Jaworski's first book, The Games That Changed the Game, was published. The book highlights seven games in NFL history which greatly changed the strategies and schemes used in NFL football.

In August 2011, officials from the fledgling Elite Football League of India
Elite Football League of India
The Elite Football League of India is a proposed men's professional American football league in India. When play begins in late 2012, there will be ten teams, located in various cities across India...

 announced that Jaworski would be among the primary investors and advisers for the league. Other prominent American backers include former Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 head coach Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...

, former Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

 wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 Michael Irvin
Michael Irvin
Michael Jerome Irvin is a former American football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and actor. He is also a former broadcaster for ESPN's NFL Countdown and currently an analyst for NFL Network. Irvin was self-nicknamed "The Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his...

, and NFL linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 Brandon Chillar
Brandon Chillar
-St. Louis Rams:Chillar joined the St. Louis Rams as a fourth-round draft pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. On July 26, 2004, Chillar signed a four-year $2.1 million contract with the Rams. Having a father, Ram Chillar, of East Indian descent, Chillar became one of the handful of Indian Americans in the...

.

Personal

Jaworski and his wife, Liz, live in Voorhees Township, New Jersey
Voorhees Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 28,126 people, 10,489 households, and 7,069 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,424.0 people per square mile . There were 11,084 housing units at an average density of 955.2 per square mile...

. They have three children, Joleen, Jessica, and William.

See also

  • "Ron(ald) (Vincent) Jaworski." Almanac of Famous People, 9th ed. Thomson Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC. Document Number: K1601045895. Fee. Accessed 2009-12-21 via Fairfax County Public Library.
  • Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 12: September, 1979-August, 1982. New York
    New York
    New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

    : H. W. Wilson Co., 1983.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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