Edward 'Coach' J. Mazurek (December 21, 1938 – October 4, 2017) was an American schoolteacher and politician from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Mazurek served as a Democratic

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from

's 22nd District, representing much of Knox County, including Thomaston and his residence in

Rockland Rockland may refer to: People *Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape") Places ;In Canada *Rockland, Greater Victoria *Rockland, Nova Scotia *Rockland, Ontario ;In the Uni ...

Sports

Mazurek was born and raised in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. At the age of 13, Mazurek won the 1951 Little League World Series with his fellow Stamford residents over

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. Mazurek attended

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he played with the Musketeers football team and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. A

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

, Mazurek was drafted by three teams in 1960: the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL), the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) and the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He signed with Chicago, which shortly thereafter moved and became the St. Louis Cardinals. He was traded midseason to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and retired following the season.

Education

Mazurek returned to school and earned a Master's in Education from

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time ...

in 1968 so that he could coach and teach. His first job was at Central Catholic High School, where he coached 4 different sports. He later taught in

Barrington, Rhode Island Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island located approximately southeast of Providence. It was founded by Congregationalist separatists from Swansea, Massachusetts and incorporated in 1717. Barrington was ceded ...

and at Triton Regional High School in Newbury, Massachusetts before being hired at

Rockland District High School Rockland District High School (other common names are RDHS and RD) is a public intermediate and secondary school in Clarence-Rockland, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Upper Canada District School Board. The school has offered secondary grades ...

in 1975. He taught and coached football in Rockland for 35 years until he retired in 2010.

Politics

He was first elected to office in November 2001, when he won a seat on the Rockland City Council as the top vote getter. He served a single 3-year term on the council and was twice elected Mayor of Rockland, a largely ceremonial title. He was elected to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

in 2004 and was unable to run for re-election in 2012 due to term-limits. In 2012, he was elected to the Maine Senate, replacing Republican Chris Rector. In February 2014, Mazurek announced he would not seek re-election. Mazurek died at the age of 78 on October 4, 2017.

References

1938 births 2017 deaths American football defensive tackles New York Giants players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Xavier Musketeers football players Schoolteachers from Maine Fairfield University alumni High school football coaches in Connecticut High school football coaches in Maine Maine city council members Democratic Party Maine state senators Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives People from Rockland, Maine Players of American football from Connecticut Politicians from Stamford, Connecticut {{Maine-politician-stub