The Pennsylvania Sensation

There is never a more uplifting football tale as the one I am about to tell you. Please enjoy the video presentation!

Our story starts in a blue collar hard working area near South Philly.  Our Inspiration Sensation subject was a star athlete on his high school’s track, basketball and football teams. He loved hoops and football but his prowess in pole vaulting propelled him to take a scholarship offer from nearby St. Joseph’s College. Though they had a track team, the university did not have a football squad much to the chagrin of this young student athlete so he placed all of his training efforts into track over the next four years.

He experienced success at it too, even getting the opportunity to try out for the U.S. Olympic team in the Decathlon. The trials disappointingly did not have the outcome he would have liked, as he did not get to wear the colors of his country in Olympic competition.

To soothe the pains of not aspiring to Olympic glory, the sensation dabbled playing on local semi-pro football teams. The work was hard, the pay was very little and the recognition was even far less. It was not quite the type of pro football he had always dreamed of playing but he was playing, and in these rough minor leagues of pro football it sharpened his determination and grit.

Just as it started to look like this was the pinnacle of his paid gridiron career, the World Football League organized and so did the opportunity to play football once again. The sensation tried out and made his local Philadelphia Bell team, no small feat for a kid that had not played any college ball. Our man was not the largest player but he was athletic, quick and had a lot of heart to play the game. The sensation made the WFL team and played in the league for a little more than a season. In almost the blink of an eye the new league was folding almost just as fast as it had formed. The NFL’s strong support across the nation was no match for the upstart football league. The sensation’s dreams once again had what appeared to be an unconquerable obstacle in his path once more.

The stars seemed to line up for our subject, as a new young coach took over the NFL’s then dismal Philadelphia Eagles and he was not afraid of looking high and low for players that could fit the new mold he was placing in the organization. And this is where our subject’s story turns!

That young coach was named Dick Vermeil and our hopeful tryout player, this article’s sensation, was none other than a guy named Vince Papale. Vince’s story was dramatized and it inspired the 2006 hit movie, Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear and Elizabeth Banks.

Mr. Papale’s high motor and grit with the WFL did not go unnoticed. Dick Vermeil and Eagle’s General Manager Jim Murray sent the aspiring player an invitation to a private workout for the team. The now 30 year old Papale made every drill in the tryout count and he made the team, making him probably one of the oldest rookies in the modern day NFL.

Vince was on the Eagle’s roster from 1976 through the 1978 season as a wide receiver and also taking the field on the special teams units. Special teams was his niche, and he soon was voted as a team captain by his teammates and coaches in recognition of his kick coverage skills.

In 1978 the man from local Interboro was elected as the Philadelphia Eagles Man of the Year recognized for his exploits not only on the field but for his many charitable activities off of the field towards the community as well.

It is for these many reasons that we salute Vince Papale as a true Inspiration Sensation! Well done sir, well done!