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Have things changed for the pro athlete? Just ask Jack Squirek, an
obscure Los Angeles Raiders linebacker who returned an
interception for a touchdown in L.A.'s 38-9 victory over
the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII and wound up
frozen in time on SI's
cover. These days, out-of-the-blue Super Bowl heroes—see current
Oakland Raiders Desmond Howard and Larry Brown—go on to
big cars and big bucks, whether they've earned them or not.
Squirek? "Gosh, I'm sort of embarrassed to say,"
he says. "I only got one
deal, and it was $1,000 to sign autographs outside a
store."
That was it? "Well, I was
happy."
In truth, Squirek, now 38 and owner of a Cleveland-area
janitorial service, received a lot more. Until that Super
Bowl he was one of the NFL's faceless masses, a
hard-working, soft-spoken kid in his second year out of
Illinois who had spent most of his
time backing up Matt Millen at
inside linebacker.
Then, with five seconds left in the first half and the
Redskins deep in their own territory, Raiders linebacker
coach Charlie
Sumner sent Squirek in to shadow running back Joe
Washington.
Skins quarterback Joe Theismann tossed a soft screen in
Washington's
direction. Squirek nonchalantly stepped in, grabbed the
ball, strolled five yards to the end zone and held it high
in the air—giving Los Angeles a 21-3 lead and SI a
memorable image.
"If I was an All-Pro, I would've made more money and
probably would have played longer," he says, "but
if you ask me what I'd rather have, an average career for a
long time or a chance to make a play in the Super Bowl, I'd
take the Super Bowl every
time."
Longevity wasn't in the cards for Squirek. Seven months
later, in a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, his
jaw was broken when Dolphins wideout Fernanza Burgess threw
a vicious block on him. Squirek played the next two years
despite severe
headaches, an
aftereffect of the hit. The Raiders cut him in 1986, and he
retired soon
after.
These days the ball he intercepted is on display in the
family living room. So is a framed
SI cover. "We'll watch a tape of the game about
once a year," says Squirek, who, with his wife, Penny,
has a son Jacob, 6,
and a daughter Cassandra, 2. "My son is finally
starting to
understand football a bit. My having played is kind of
thrilling to him. But it's weird—he probably thinks
everyone's dad played
football."
Precious few dads, though, have had that
moment.
—by Jeff PearlmanCover photograph by Andy Hayt
Issue date: February 2, 1998
Past Editions of Catching Up With...
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