Stephen John Pisarkiewicz ( ; born November 10, 1953) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

and was selected by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in the first round of the

1977 NFL draft The 1977 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

with the 19th overall pick. In addition to the NFL, Pisarkiewicz played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL),

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL),

BAFA National Leagues The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) is the primary American football domestic league competition in Great Britain. Originally formed in 1983, the league is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate American football, contact ...

in Britain and Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano in Spain during his career.

College career

After graduating from McCluer High School in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle-class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population ...

, Pisarkiewicz was recruited by

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

but joined the

; he was considered the best passer at Missouri since Paul Christman and drew attention from NFL scouts. In 1975, Pisarkiewicz led the Big 8 in passing yards, and was second in passing touchdowns.

Professional career

NFL

Pisarkiewicz was drafted 19th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the

, apparently at the insistence of owner Bill Bidwill. Expected to take over the starting job from the aging Jim Hart, he failed to impress head coach Bud Wilkinson and started just four games in his time in St. Louis. After leaving St. Louis, Pisarkiewicz played in one game in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

for the Green Bay Packers.

CFL

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, Pisarkiewicz was picked up by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. However, his opportunities there proved limited and he soon moved back to the US.

USFL

Pisarkiewicz spent

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

with the Philadelphia Stars but again found playing time limited. He was given two years probation in the same year after pleading guilty to an incident of indecent exposure in

Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the county seat of St. Louis County, Missouri, and borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, a citizen who donated ...

. He spent time in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

with the

Orlando Renegades The Orlando Renegades were a professional American football team that played in Orlando, Florida, Orlando, Florida, in the United States Football League (USFL) for a single season in 1985. Before its season in Orlando, the franchise played in Wa ...

Europe

Cardiff Tigers 1986-1988

In 1986, Pisarkiewicz moved to the United Kingdom and played for the Cardiff Tigers in the Welsh capital. The then-33 year old served as the starting quarterback and a coach. In 1987, the Tigers finished 7–5, while in 1988, Pisarkiewicz threw 44 passing touchdowns.

Birmingham Bulls

In 1989, following the dissolution of the Cardiff Tigers, Pisarkiewicz joined the Birmingham Bulls. Due to the absence of starting quarterback Russ Jensen. Pisarkiewicz salary was the highest in British American football. Pisarkiewicz played in one game for the Bulls, against the Dublin Celts before resigning due to internal strife.

Dublin Celts

Pisarkiewicz joined the Dublin Celts as their head coach and general manager. He coached the Celts to the playoffs, before swiftly departing for the United States where he presented the Celts with an ultimatum.

Barcelona Boxers

In 1990, after leaving the Celts, Pisarkiewicz became quarterback for the Barcelona Boxers in Spain.''God Save The Quarterback!'', Michael Globetti, 1991 Pg. 274

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pisarkiewicz, Steve 1953 births Living people American football quarterbacks Missouri Tigers football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Green Bay Packers players Sportspeople from Florissant, Missouri American expatriate players of American football BAFA National Leagues players