At 50 years old, Dr Jack Farls
must have felt ancient. He was a former football star who played both ways
as an end during his successful career at Penn State from 1954 to
1957. Today’s ‘stars’ often head for the bench after only a few
plays. Known as the Iron Man of Penn State’s 1957 teams, Jack
earned All American honorable mention two years running. After a
successful freshman season, he became a starter as a sophomore in
1955. The highlight of that season was the game in which
the Nittany Lions pulled a 21-20 upset win over a powerful Syracuse
team headed by Jim Brown. The key to that upset was a blocked extra
point by Jack that gave Penn State the victory. Jack played 56
minutes in that game. In 1956 he duplicated the feat by blocking an
extra point against Ohio State to beat the No 1 ranked Buckeyes,
7-6. Jack played in the 1957 North-South game and was drafted by
the Washington Redskins. Opting for the Marine Corps, he played
three years for the San Diego Leathernecks and was named to the All
Service team. Following Marine duty, he entered dental school at
Northwestern University. Jack starred at both football and
basketball at Freedom High, graduating in 1954. He received the
school’s 1983-1984 Alumni Award for outstanding achievement in high
school, college, and subsequent athletic activities. Jack was named to
the WPIAL All Star football team as a high school senior. One of his
best games was in 1953 when he blocked six kicks against Beaver, two
of them extra points.
At 50 years old, Dr Jack Farls
must have felt ancient. He was a former football star who played both ways
as an end during his successful career at Penn State from 1954 to
1957. Today’s ‘stars’ often head for the bench after only a few
plays. Known as the Iron Man of Penn State’s 1957 teams, Jack
earned All American honorable mention two years running. After a
successful freshman season, he became a starter as a sophomore in
1955. The highlight of that season was the game in which
the Nittany Lions pulled a 21-20 upset win over a powerful Syracuse
team headed by Jim Brown. The key to that upset was a blocked extra
point by Jack that gave Penn State the victory. Jack played 56
minutes in that game. In 1956 he duplicated the feat by blocking an
extra point against Ohio State to beat the No 1 ranked Buckeyes,
7-6. Jack played in the 1957 North-South game and was drafted by
the Washington Redskins. Opting for the Marine Corps, he played
three years for the San Diego Leathernecks and was named to the All
Service team. Following Marine duty, he entered dental school at
Northwestern University. Jack starred at both football and
basketball at Freedom High, graduating in 1954. He received the
school’s 1983-1984 Alumni Award for outstanding achievement in high
school, college, and subsequent athletic activities. Jack was named to
the WPIAL All Star football team as a high school senior. One of his
best games was in 1953 when he blocked six kicks against Beaver, two
of them extra points.