Clinton County: Home of Penn State Captains (Video Report)
UNIVERSITY PARK—Penn State University has a football tradition dating back well over a century and a part of that history is the number of Nittany Lion captains with a Clinton County connection.
With the selection by his teammates earlier this year, Von Walker of Mill Hall became the fourth county resident to be recognized with a captaincy in the storied Nittany Lion program. He joins retired Lock Haven High School coach Don Malinak (captain in 1953), retired New Hampshire head coach Bill Bowes (captain in 1964) and Dr. Steve Geise (captain 1977).
Malinak, Bowes and Walker gathered recently at the Nittany Lion shrine outside Rec Hall for a video interview which can be seen on therecord-online. Geise’s schedule prevented his attending.
All the past and current captains talked of what that honor has meant to them.
Malinak shared his captaincy duties with fellow Steelton High School product and quarterback Tony Rados. A two-way end (there was no offensive/defensive platooning in 1953) at Penn State, Malinak said it was his role to keep the team working together. He noted he came to Penn State in 1950, the same year new head coach Rip Engle and then assistant Joe Paterno arrived from Brown University.
Bowes was the head coach at New Hampshire from 1972 to 1999 and was recently selected for the National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame. He played for Malinak at Lock Haven High School from 1958 to 1960.
He talked of the great responsibility that came with being captain at Penn State. He was the only captain on the 1964 team. He said playing football at Penn State was rewarding, given the school’s academic reputation. Bowes said the experience there earned him “immediate respect” with others.
Walker is in his third year at Penn State and was selected by team members as one of the captains before this year’s season began; earlier this year the former walk-on was rewarded for his efforts with a scholarship.
A Central Mountain High School graduate who played his high school ball on the turf at Don Malinak Stadium, Walker talked of Penn State football’s “unbelievable tradition” and said being a part of the program holds participants to a higher standard, and even higher as a team captain.
Malinak and Bowes played while Joe Paterno was an assistant coach at PSU, but Geise was the only one to play during Paterno’s storied career as head coach; he called it “a privilege” to be chosen by his teammates to be a captain. Other captains that year were Randy Sidler, John Dunn and Ron Hostetler.
Geise said his participation in Nittany Lion football “opened doors” for him in later life. He emphasized what he said was what the late coach Paterno emphasized to his players, to get a good education so as to “mature into young adults, to be better people in the community.”
Video Report
