Samuel Charles Havrilak (born December 13, 1947) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who played in 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) from 1969 to 1974. He attended

Monessen High School Monessen High School is a high school located in Monessen, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Monessen City School District and is the only high school within the city of Monessen. The school colors are black and white. The official high school masco ...

near

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Havrilak earned a

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

in January 1971 at

Super Bowl V Super Bowl V was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to determine the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. Havrilak owns the distinction of being the first player in NFL history to complete a pass, catch a pass and take a handoff in a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

College career

Havrilak played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

, where he was named to the All-Pennsylvania Team and MVP of the

Middle Atlantic Conference The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) is an umbrella organization of three athletic conferences that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The 18 member colleges are in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The organization is divided into two main con ...

as a senior. He was also a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

fraternity. Havrilak holds the Bucknell University record for total offense with 397 yards against Colgate in 1968. He was elected to the Bucknell Hall of Fame, Class of 1981.

Professional career

His professional career was spent with both the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

, where he was drafted in the 8th round and played for 5 years. He was traded to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in 1974, where he finished his career. Sam Havrilak was inducted into the Pennsylvania State Sports Hall of Fame in November 2012.

Personal life

Havrilak was a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

who practiced in

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

. Sam and his wife Terry have one son, Michael and one granddaughter Ana Sofía. Sam is uncle to former Maryland State Delegate Eric Bromwell.

References

External links

Link to Practice
1947 births Living people People from Monessen, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania American football defensive backs American football running backs American football wide receivers Bucknell Bison football players Baltimore Colts players New Orleans Saints players {{runningback-1940s-stub