John Skorupan

At Beaver, John lettered in basketball and baseball.  He was a 3-year starter as tight end and defensive end and captain of the football team for his senior year.  He helped the team to an undefeated record in 1968 and a 3-year record of 27-2-1.  The team’s success included 3 Midwestern Conference Championships and a 21-game undefeated streak. 

He was named first team HS All American by Parade Magazine and second team All American by Scholastic Magazine.  He was All WPIAL, All State, Western PA Big 10 and Midwestern Conference MVP 2 straight years.  He capped his scholastic career playing in the Big 33 game in 1969. 

As a 3-year started and All American linebacker at Penn State, John played in 3 bowl games, including the Hula Bowl.  The highlight of his career came in 1970 when he intercepted a pass in a televised game against Army and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown!  That year, he tied for the team lead with 91 tackles and in 1972 was named first team All American by the Football Writers Association of America.  He amassed 274 career tackles at linebacker.

John was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1973 and started for 5 seasons.  He played in the College All Star Game against the Miami Dolphins.  In 1973 John became a fixture at linebacker for the Bills and was named to the NFL All Rookie team.   He was traded to the New York Giants in 1978 and played 3 more seasons. 

John was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Western Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.  He was honored with the Beaver Area HS #1 Jersey in 2008.