Spring 2009 - St. Vincent-St. Mary High School

2009 Fr. Thomas F. Mahar Outstanding Alumni Award
continued from previous page
Thomas Coyne Award recipient for Academics and Athletics,
inducted in the DERU Honorary Society of Northwestern for
Academics, and All-Big Ten in baseball. In a book, “50 years
of College Football” – a modern history of America’s most
colorful sport – Mike was listed as one of Northwestern’s 54
greatest players since 1963.
Upon completing his studies and earning a Bachelor of Science
Degree in 1961, Mike played in two All-Star games and moved
on to Canada to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the
CFL. A knee injury in the pre-season ended those dreams.
Mike returned to N.U. to help coach the freshman team. Soon
after the end of that season, he was summoned by Uncle Sam
to enter the service. With his knee healed, he passed their
physical. Eventually he applied for and was accepted into
Officer Candidate School at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He graduated
as a Second Lieutenant in the Artillery and was promptly
sent to Orleans, France where he served for two years. It was
there that Mike met Peggy Marie Rawlins. Peggy’s father was
a career man stationed in Orleans. She had accompanied her
parents to Europe and was employed as an accountant. Mike
and Peggy met in church at a noon Mass one glorious Sunday
afternoon.
When they returned to the States in 1965, Mike and Peggy
were married at St. Phillip’s Church in Crafton, PA. New goals
and aspirations were formulated as Mike began a coaching
and teaching career at Akron South High School. After one
year, Mike and Peggy moved to the University of Buffalo.
They spent two years there and were blessed with the birth
of Michael William in 1967. Moving on after one year at the
U.S. Naval Academy, the Stock family landed in South Bend,
Indiana at The University of Notre Dame where Mike was
reunited with Coach Parseghian. During those six years at the
Golden Dome, Patrick and Cynthia were added to the Stock
family. Notre Dame won lots of football games, played in and
won big bowl games and won a National Championship.
When Coach Parseghian retired, the Stock family moved on
and spent three years at the University of Wisconsin and five
years at Eastern Michigan where Mike was the Head Football
Coach. Subsequently, Mike became the backfield coach with
the New Jersey Generals of the new professional United
States Football League. He was hired by Chuck Fairbanks to
coach the running backs and had the good fortune to work
with Herschel Walker and Maurice Carthon.
Returning to Notre Dame for the next four years, Mike
worked for Gerry Faust and Lou Holtz before moving on to
the Cincinnati Bengals in 1987. He was hired by Paul Brown
and San Wyche to coach the Special Teams. Their 1988
team finished with a 14-4 record and played against the San
Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl XXIII. The Bengals lost in
the last 34 seconds of the game, 20-16. The Cincinnati Special
Teams scored all the points in that game with three field goals,
a kick-off return for a TD and an extra point.
After five years with the Bengals, Mike returned to college to
coach the Receivers at Ohio State University for Coach John
Cooper. While there, he was fortunate to coach some very
gifted players – Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, Chris Sanders
and Brian Stablein.
Mike went back to the NFL in 1995 to work for Marty
Schottenheimer as the Special Teams coach with the Kansas
City Chiefs. In 1977 he was voted Special Teams Coach of the
Year by his peers. Stops at the Washington Redskins (2001-
2003) and St. Louis Rams (2004) were next on the coaching
carousel. Those would be followed by the extraordinary
experience of coaching three years for the storied franchise
Green Bay Packers. In 2007 Mike was voted 1st Runner Up
Special Teams Coach of the Year by his peers.
There have been successes and failures, good times and bad
and lots of sacrifices. But through it all, the most rewarding
times have been spent with his family. During the last 45 years
those occasions have been few and far between. His decision
to retire will finally give Mike some time to catch up with
his wife, grown children and five grandchildren- Madeline,
Christopher, Brendan, Ryan and Abigail. So with every end,
there’s a beginning. St. Augustine, St. Mary and Northwestern
were great institutions of learning for Mike but it was family,
classmates, teammates and coaches alike who helped him
become the man he is. He has been blessed by these many
associations and opportunities God has given him.
About Fr. Mahar
In 1887, Reverend Dr. Thomas F. Mahar was commissioned by the Cleveland Diocese to establish a Mission in South Akron to be
known as St. Mary Church. The parish was formally established in 1896 and in the fall of 1897, the first Catholic high school opened its
doors to students. The first class to graduate from St. Mary High School was in 1901.
St. Vincent High School opened in September of 1907 and was also founded by Reverend Dr. Thomas F. Mahar who had been the
pastor of St. Vincent Church since 1880. The first class to graduate from St. Vincent High School was in 1910.
35 Alumni Connection | Spring 2009