Chuck Fusina
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S. | May 31, 1957||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 197 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Sto-Rox (McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||
College: | Penn State(1975–1978) | ||||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1979/ round: 5 / pick: 133 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Charles Anthony Fusina(born May 31, 1957) is an American formerfootballquarterbackwho played for seven seasons in theNational Football League(NFL) andUnited States Football League(USFL) from 1979 to 1986. He playedcollege footballfor thePenn State Nittany Lions,and was recognized as anAll-American.Fusina played for theTampa Bay Buccaneersand theGreen Bay Packersof the NFL, and thePhiladelphia / Baltimore Starsof the USFL.
Early life
[edit]Fusina was born inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.He played quarterback for the Pittsburgh areaSto-Rox High SchoolinMcKees Rocks, Pennsylvania,where his old football jersey is on display outside of the gymnasium.
College career
[edit]Fusina capped an outstanding career atPenn Stateby winning the1978Maxwell Award,All-Americahonors, and was the runner-up in theHeisman Trophyballoting.He led theNittany Lionsto a 29–3 (.906) mark as a starter, including an 11–0 regular season in1978.[1]He passed for 1,859 yards and 11touchdowns.
Fusina earned aBachelor of ScienceinMarketingfromPenn Statein 1979. He also earned anMBAfromLa Salle Universityin 1988.
College statistics
[edit]Legend | |
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Led Independents | |
NCAA record | |
Led the NCAA | |
Bold | Career high |
Penn State Nittany Lions | |||||||||||||
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Season | Team | GP | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||
Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
1975 | Penn State | 3 | 4 | 9 | 44.4 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 61.4 | 8 | 37 | 4.6 | 0 |
1976 | Penn State | 11 | 88 | 167 | 52.7 | 1,260 | 11 | 10 | 125.8 | 31 | -88 | -2.8 | 3 |
1977 | Penn State | 11 | 142 | 246 | 57.7 | 2,221 | 15 | 9 | 146.4 | 29 | -53 | -1.8 | 1 |
1978 | Penn State | 11 | 137 | 242 | 56.6 | 1,859 | 11 | 12 | 126.2 | 51 | -116 | -2.3 | 2 |
Career[2] | 36 | 371 | 664 | 55.9 | 5,382 | 37 | 32 | 132.7 | 119 | -220 | -1.8 | 6 |
* Includes bowl games.
Professional career
[edit]At 6'1 "195-lb., Fusina was a 5th rounddraftpick (#133 overall) of theTampa Bay Buccaneersin the1979 NFL draft.He spent his first three professional seasons as back-up toDoug Williams.In 1983, he left for the fledglingUSFL.Fusina signed with thePhiladelphia/Baltimore Starswhere he blossomed undercoachJim Mora.In his three seasons with the team, he passed for over 10,000 yards and led all USFLquarterbackswith 66touchdownsand aQB ratingof 88.6 and led theStarsto back-to-back USFL titles in 1984 and 1985. He was namedMVPof the 1984USFLChampionship Game. When the league folded in August 1986, Fusina returned to the NFL for one season with theGreen Bay Packers.
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | Games | Passing | ||||||||
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GP | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | ||
1983 | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars | 18 | 15–3 | 238 | 421 | 56.5 | 2,718 | 6.5 | 15 | 10 | 78.1 |
1984 | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars | 18 | 16–2 | 302 | 465 | 64.9 | 3,837 | 8.3 | 31 | 9 | 104.7 |
1985 | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars | 18 | 10–7-1 | 303 | 496 | 61.1 | 3,496 | 7.0 | 20 | 14 | 84.0 |
Career | 54 | 41-12-1 | 843 | 1,382 | 61.0 | 10,051 | 7.3 | 66 | 33 |
Postseason
[edit]Year | Team | Games | Passing | |||||||
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GP | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | ||
1983 | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars | 2 | 1–1 | 47 | 80 | 58.75 | 446 | 5.6 | 5 | 4 |
1984 | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars | 3 | 3-0 | 36 | 58 | 6.1 | 414 | 7.1 | 1 | 1 |
1985 | Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars | 3 | 3–0 | 35 | 62 | 56.5 | 463 | 7.5 | 4 | 4 |
Career | 8 | 7–1 | 118 | 200 | 59.0 | 1323 | 6.6 | 10 | 9 |
Personal life
[edit]Fusina has been an instructor at theGus Purcell Quarterback SchoolinCharlotte, North Carolina.He and his wife, Jacquelyn live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and his children Matt and Shannon currently live inWashington, DC.
Hall of Fame
[edit]In 2015 Fusina was elected to thePennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame(PSHF) along with his head coachJoe Paternoand teammate, kickerMatt Bahr.
References
[edit]- ^Underwood, John (November 13, 1978)."A Lionized Defense".Sports Illustrated.p. 18.
- ^"Chuck Fusina college statistics".College Football at Sports-Reference.RetrievedJuly 14,2019.
- ^"Chuck Fusina - USFL (United States Football League)".
- ^Chicago 38 at Philadelphia 44 OT Playoffhttps:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=109
- ^Michigan 24 at Philadelphia 22 Championship (Denver, CO) https:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=111
- ^New Jersey 7 at Philadelphia 28 Playoff https:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=298
- ^Birmingham 10 at Philadelphia 20 Playoffhttps:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=302
- ^Arizona 3 at Philadelphia 23 Championship (Tampa, FL)https:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=303
- ^Baltimore 20 at New Jersey 17 Playoff https:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=452
- ^Baltimore 28 at Birmingham 14 Playoffhttps:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=454
- ^Baltimore 28 at Oakland 24 Championship (East Rutherford, NJ)https:// usflsite /usflgame.php?game_id=455
External links
[edit]- All-Time USFL Team
- "Packers Sign Fusina"The New York Times,October 2, 1986.
- 1957 births
- Living people
- All-American college football players
- American football quarterbacks
- American people of Italian descent
- Green Bay Packers players
- Maxwell Award winners
- Penn State Nittany Lions football players
- People from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
- Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars players
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers players