Presented by

Week 4
John-Paul
SLUPSKI

1971-1975

Where are living now?
Galena

What are you doing now?
Retired from Columbus Fire Department after 33 years of service! And doing some advising for a company my Dad and I built - Silver Rule Masonry - now being managed by a great friend Lonny Milks and one of our sons Zachary! Doing some traveling! Mostly we really enjoy hanging out in our family home in Montana! Also busy following our grandkids participating in various sports and activities!

Did you play collegiately?
University of Montana

Married?  Children?
Married Theresa, maiden name Cahill, Class of 74 ! And we had 4 children who also graduated from DeSales and 13 grandchildren.

What is the fondest memory from your playing career at DeSales?
Enjoyed the different coaches we had Mr Sharrock! Mr Triano! Mr Devine! Mr Stanley! Guido Ricevuto! and Izzy Volpe! 1973 was a really good team and the guys on the team were committed to winning and playing all out for each other every week! 1974, our senior year, we struggled with injuries but still played with the same commitment and passion!

What made playing for DeSales so special?
We were united as a team and as brothers! We were willing to go to battle for each other! I believe we loved each other as well!

What was your best game?
We had such a good team in ‘73, it was a blast to play that season! One game besides the Watterson game that we always wanted to win was the Northland game! Mostly because we all grew up knowing players on the other team and some us lived in the same neighborhoods, so that made it even more intense! So in that year in the Northland game a guy I went to grade school with John Giroux punted this monster kick over my head and to inside the 10 yard line! So I picked it up and dashed up the sideline and had such tremendous blocking it was just a sprint to the end zone! I believe some people my age may still remember that game !

What was it like playing for Coach Sharrock?
Treeze Sharrock, as some of us learned later was a WW2 veteran so major respect for that ! He expected us to give our best both in practice and on the field!

Do you still follow DeSales, if yes, how closely?
I do they have such a great coaching staff and Ryan Wiggins followed the path lead by others and the tradition continues!