Steven Joseph Suhey (January 8, 1922 – January 8, 1977) was an American 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

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for two seasons with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of 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 was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

playing

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

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

. Suhey was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 1985. His son Matt Suhey also played at Penn State and in the NFL.

Penn State

Suhey's college career was interrupted by three years of service in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Suhey was the

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of the 1948

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

. It has been suggested Penn State's now-famous "We Are Penn State!" stadium cheer has its origins in a statement made by

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Suhey prior to that game. Suhey is said to have declared, “We are Penn State. There will be no meetings,” in response to SMU's request for a meeting to protest the participation of Penn State's two black players ( Wallace Triplett and Dennie Hoggard). While at Penn State, Suhey became a member of

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fraternity.

Personal life

After playing two seasons in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

with the

, Suhey coached high school football before joining the L.G. Balfour Company.

"First family of Nittany Lion football"

Suhey married Virginia "Ginger" Higgins, a daughter of Bob Higgins, a former All-American at Penn State and Suhey's college coach. Three of their sons, Larry, Paul, and

Matt Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

, were lettermen at Penn State from 1975 to 1979. Matt would go on to play 10 seasons in the NFL with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. One grandson, Kevin Suhey, 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 ...

and special teams player for the Nittany Lions from 2005 to 2007 and another grandson, Joe Suhey, 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)#Offense ...

for Penn State from 2007 to 2010. The Higgins-Suhey family has been called the "first family of Nittany Lion football", with 90 years of involvement with the Penn State football program.

References

1922 births 1977 deaths People from State College, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Centre County, Pennsylvania United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American football offensive linemen Penn State Nittany Lions football players Pittsburgh Steelers players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from DeWitt, New York Players of American football from Onondaga County, New York 20th-century American sportsmen Sigma Pi members {{Offensive-lineman-1920s-stub