| Date of birth: | July 1, 1949 |
| Place of birth: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Linebacker |
| College: | Penn State University |
| NFL Draft: | 1972 / Round: 4 / Pick: 93 |
| Drafted by: | Dallas Cowboys |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1972-1973 1974-1978 |
Ottawa Rough Riders[1] Montreal Alouettes |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| CFL All-Star: | 1977, 1978 |
| CFL East All-Star: | 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978 |
Chuck Zapiec (born July 1, 1949) is a former All-American Linebacker at Penn State[2][3] and Defensive Captain of the Cotton Bowl Champion Nittany Lions. He graduated with the best record of any Penn State Player ever, 34 and 1, winning two Orange Bowls and one Cotton Bowl,
He started as an Offensive Guard his Sophomore and Junior Years when the Lions went undefeated in 1968 and 1969. Zapiec was named to the All-America Blocking Team selected by Wirt Gammon of the Chattanooga Times in 1969. As an Offensive Guard he earned All-East Honors each Year and was a Second All American Selection in 1969.
Switching to Defense for the 1970 Season, Big Z was moved to middle linebacker. After only playing one game as a middle linebacker that year against Navy in 1970, Charlie suffered an appendectomy on the plane flying out to Colorado to play the Buffalos who went on the next day to defeat the Lions and bring to halt their 31 game winning streak. The next year Charlie returned to defense side, moving to outside linebacker, captaining the Team and earning First Team All- American Honors. Additionally, he was awarded the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Game Award (1971 was the first year that Chevrolet gave the game award) against Iowa.
Following his career at Penn State, Chuck was chosen in the Fourth Round Draft by Dallas Cowboys in 1972.[4] Picked up by the Miami Dolphins later that year he chose not to play the Dolphins "Taxi Squad" and elected to gain playing time as a Starter in the CFL.
Chuck went on to play linebacker for the Ottawa Rough Riders and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from 1972-1978.[5] He was a CFL All-Star two times and was a part of two Grey Cup victories for the Alouettes.[6][7]
Chuck played for the winningest coach in College Football, Joe Paterno, and the winningest coach in Professional Football, Don Shula. Chuck also played for two other Pro Football Hall of Fame Coaches, Tom Landry and Marv Levy. Zapiec is currently an estate planner and lives in New Hope, Pennsylvania.[8]
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