Hall of Fame Profile: Vic Obeck
Vic Obeck, a 2009 inductee to the McGill Sports Hall of
Fame, is today's featured profile.
Victor Francis Joseph Obeck was born on Mar. 28, 1917 in Audubon, N.J. He was educated at Audubon high school and then earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Massachusetts' Springfield College in 1940, where he competed in football, track, lacrosse, wrestling and boxing. During the war, he served for 3.5 years in the U.S. Navy.
After playing stints with the National Football League's Chicago Cardinals (1945) and the American Atlantic Football Conference's Brooklyn Dodgers (1946), the 6-foot, 225-pound guard was appointed head football coach at McGill in 1947 with much fanfare. He coached the Redmen from 1947 to 1953, posted a 23-22-2 record and introduced the concept of an open huddle to football in Canada.
Obeck also developed a cheerleading team and pep rallies on campus and was appointed as McGill's director of athletics in 1950. He led an initiative to build the Molson Stadium south-side stands, expanded the north-side section and initiated the Churchill trophy game for charity, which later became the Churchill Bowl national semifinal. He encouraged development of the Martlet Foundation to support athletics at the University, raised awareness of McGill football with a weekly radio program "The Touchdown Club" and in 1954, initiated the Vic Obeck's Parade of Sports, a CBC production which aired directly from the Currie Gym and was one of the first sports television shows in Canada.
Obeck convinced the Montreal Alouettes to move to Molson Stadium and in 1954, was appointed general manager of the Alouettes, which posted a 20-6-0 regular-season record and two Grey Cup appearances over his two-year term. He then served as general manager of the Westchester Bulls, a minor league football team. From 1957 to 1967, he coached and served as director of athletics at New York University and pioneered a revolutionary form of training in the U.S., resulting in his 1965 book: "How to Exercise Without Moving a Muscle, Isometrics for Everyone".
Employed as a publicist during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Obeck had been considering an offer to work in a similar capacity at the 1980 Los Angeles Olympics when he suffered a heart attack and died in New York at the age of 62 on April 21, 1979.
During the 1960s, he had a weekly high school game of the week broadcast on WPIX television with sportscaster Marty Glickman. "His life was sports," said Glickman to the New York Times. "Either he played it, supported it or promoted it. He will always be best known for developing the athletic program at NYU."
The Obeck trophy has been presented annually since 1949 to the most improved player on the McGill football team.
The induction luncheon, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, officially kicks off the University's Homecoming Week celebrations. Tickets for the event are $65 and can be reserved by contacting Kathryn Weaver at kathryn.weaver [at] mcgill.ca or 514-398-7002.
NEXT INDUCTEE PROFILE: Eric Walter, will be featured on July 9.