Victor Francis Joseph Obeck (March 28, 1917 – April 21, 1979) was an American gridiron football player, coach, and executive. Obeck played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Audubon High School ''For the high school in Iowa with the same name, see Audubon Community School District'' Audubon High School is a comprehensive six-year community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Audubon, in Camd ...

, where his team won the New Jersey state championship. He played tackle at Springfield College from 1938 to 1940. He served as an assistant football coach at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

for one season before joining the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Following his discharge, he played for 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 ...

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 ...

and Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-America Football Conference. In 1947, Obeck was named head football coach and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

. He stepped down as head football coach in 1953 and left the school entirely in 1955 to become the general manager of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (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 East Division of the Canad ...

. He posted a 23–22–2 record at McGill and a 20–6 record with the Alouettes. The Alouettes appeared in the Grey Cup during both of Obeck's seasons as GM. While in Montreal, Obeck hosted ''The Vic Obeck Show'' also known as ''Vic Obeck's Parade of Sports'', a television show dedicated to sports with an emphasis on football. Obeck returned to the United States in 1957 to become the athletic director at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. Obeck left NYU in 1966 and later that year became the Executive Vice President of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the Continental Football League. The team disbanded after one season and in 1968 he joined front office staff of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league paid ...

's Westchester Bulls. In 1964, he wrote and published a book on isometric exercise called ''How to Exercise Without Moving A Muscle''. While at NYU, Obeck served as a college and high school basketball color commentator for

WPIX WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of Th ...

; calling games alongside future Basketball Hall of Famer

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman w ...

. Obeck returned to Canada in 1969, working public relations for a security agency and establishing youth football camps. He also served as a member of the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ( ...

and was a publicist during the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

in Montreal. Obeck died on April 21, 1979, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 2009, he was inducted to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obeck, Vic 1917 births 1979 deaths Akron Zips football coaches Audubon High School (New Jersey) alumni Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) players Canadian television personalities Chicago Cardinals players McGill Redbirds football coaches Montreal Alouettes general managers New York University faculty Springfield Pride football players NYU Violets athletic directors United States Navy personnel of World War II Players of American football from Philadelphia Players of Canadian football from Philadelphia People from Audubon, New Jersey Sportspeople from Montreal Canadian football people from Montreal Sportspeople from Philadelphia Players of American football from New York City Sportspeople from the Delaware Valley