Walter John Dubzinski, Sr. (October 26, 1919 – April 26, 2013) was an

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 ...

center and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

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) for 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 Boston Yanks.

Career

Born to Felix and Anna Lauciniunas, Dubzinski graduated from

Gardner High School Gardner High School is a public high school in Gardner, Massachusetts. History Gardner High School was established in 1872, with the first graduating class being the Class of 1876. In 1897, a school building was designed by the architecture firm ...

in 1937, where he played football and was a co-captain. He went on to attend

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

and played football as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, and center there under

Gil Dobie Robert Gilmour "Gloomy Gil" Dobie (January 21, 1878 – December 23, 1948) was an American football player and coach. Over a period of 33 years, he served as the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College (now North Dakota State ...

and Frank Leahy from 1938 to 1940. Dubzinski was the starting center in the 1940 season, when the team went undefeated with an 11–0 record and defeated the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

in the

1941 Sugar Bowl The 1941 Sugar Bowl featured the fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and the fifth-ranked Boston College Eagles, both with records of 10–0 and high-scoring It was played on Wednesday, January 1, 1941, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, In the ...

. After graduating from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science in education in 1941, Dubzinski went on to play professional football in local independent leagues for the Golden Bears of

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

and

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

, respectively. That year, he was also hired as the football coach of Rockland High School, and then coached at

Fitchburg High School Fitchburg High School is a public high school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The school is part of the Fitchburg Public Schools district. History Fitchburg High School has existed in some capacity since 1830, when its fir ...

. In 1943, Dubzinski signed for the

of the

(NFL). He played five games during the season, which included an interception, under Steve Owen. The team also claimed the division title. In the following year, he moved on to the Boston Yanks, playing in three games, while starting two of them, under

Herb Kopf Herbert M. Kopf (June 25, 1901 – March 22, 1996) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Manhattan College from 1938 to 1942 and as the head coach for the Boston Yanks of the National Football League ...

. In 1945, Dubzinski served in 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 ...

, stationed at

Naval Air Station Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jack ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In the following year, Dubzinski returned to coaching. This time, he was hired as the head coach of his alma mater, Gardner High, where he stayed on for twenty seasons and compiled a 130-41-6 record. In 1952, he completed a Master of Education degree from

Fitchburg State University Fitchburg State University (Fitchburg State) is a public university in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It has 3,421 undergraduate and 1,238 graduate/continuing education students, for a total student body enrollment of 4,659. The university offers und ...

. After retiring from coaching in 1966, he was named Assistant Principal at Gardner, and was promoted to Principal in 1978, a post he held until 1983. In 1994, Dubzinski was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Both Dubzinski's brother, John E., and son, Walter Jr., played football for Boston College. John overlapped with his brother's final season, and continued on to play for the team (1940-1942). Unlike his father, the younger was a

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 ...

(1962-1963). Dubzinski was married to Ruth A. O'Hearn, with whom he had four children: Walter Jr., Pamela, John, and Anne.

References

External links

Pro Football Archives bio
1919 births 2013 deaths American school principals American football centers American football guards Boston College Eagles football players Boston Yanks players New York Giants players Jacksonville Naval Air Station Fliers football players High school football coaches in Massachusetts Fitchburg State University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Gardner, Massachusetts Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Players of American football from Worcester County, Massachusetts Catholics from Massachusetts {{offensive-lineman-1910s-stub