ESPN.com will catch up with a notable sports figure from yesteryear each Thursday in its "Where Are They Now?" series.
Claim to fame: A two-way football standout as a running back and cornerback for the Holy Cross Crusaders, Gordie Lockbaum placed fifth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1986 and third in 1987.
Lockbaum earned national publicity for the small college in Worcester, Massachusetts, as his ironman story splashed across television screens and the pages of magazines such as Sports Illustrated and People. During his junior and senior seasons, he totaled 44 touchdowns and 4,214 all-purpose yards as a running back who returned kicks and punts. He also led the Crusaders with four interceptions as a sophomore. He was the Division I-AA Player of the Year in 1987 and a two-time All-America selection.
In his final game, he caught 15 passes -- still a school record -- to help lift Holy Cross past Villanova and improve to 11-0 in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
How important is Lockbaum to the athletic identity of his alma mater? The Holy Cross football media guide lists his name 108 times. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Catching up: Lockbaum was selected in the ninth round of the 1988 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went to training camp with the Steelers that year and with the Buffalo Bills in 1989, but didn't crack the 53-man roster at either spot. Soon after, he decided to settle in Worcester and put his economics degree to use with the Sullivan Group insurance firm. Today, he's a vice president with the same company with deep roots in the community that will never forget his accomplishments in football.
He began coaching youth football, baseball and wrestling as his son was growing up and currently coaches the middle and high school wrestling teams at Worcester Academy. Gordie Jr. follow took his own star turn on ESPN, playing for the Worcester team that reached the U.S. final of the Little League World Series in 2002. The younger Lockbaum went on to play football at Amherst College and coached wrestling alongside his father for three years after graduation.
Quotable: "You've got to be willing to work hard, pay the price and take your lumps." -- Gordie Lockbaum, on the life lessons of coaching wrestling.
What's next? More of the same, hopefully. The business world has treated him well, and he's not likely to be cured of the coaching bug anytime soon. "I'm certain I'll continue to be involved in coaching," Lockbaum said. "I want to be a mentor."
Read more about Gordie Lockbaum in this 2011 article from ESPN Boston.
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