Rockford East High School Will Help Celebrate 50th Anniversary of the Super Bowl

Ira Matthews, a '75 East High graduate and member of the Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XV Championship Team, will present East with a gold football on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

High schools that have graduated a Super Bowl participant in the last 50 years will receive a gold-color leather football from the NFL. Ira Matthews will present the football to former E-Rab coaches Jerry Stalcup and Gary Giardini as part of day of special events in Rockford.

The team was in the inaugural Rockford Public Schools Hall of Fame class in February of 2013, and that's where I had the chance to meet the man I first noticed at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. What you'll see in the video below, I had to do. It was the first thing my dad told me when I said I was moving to Rockford to work at 97ZOK. He said, "that's where Ira Matthews is from."

In 1978 I was 9-years-old and going to UW Badger football game with my dad were the highlight of my weekend. In 1978, Ira Matthews was the talk of the town as one of the best tailbacks (and kick/punt returners) in school history. When he got drafted by the Oakland Raiders, for a couple years, I ditched my Green Bay Packer-colored room for nothing but black and silver. Meeting Ira the night he and his East High teammates were inducted into the Hall of Fame is one of my life's highlights.

Students at East High School, on November 10th will here Ira speak at an assembly in the auditorium at 3 p.m.. Also invited are 1975 East alumni and former NFL players Jerry Holloway, formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals; Russell Pope, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions; and Stuart Walker, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons. They were all members of East High School’s undefeated state championship football team in 1974.

The former players are invited to talk with students about experiences at East, success after graduation and the NFL. They will also attend a meet-and-greet from 5:30-7 p.m. at Lino’s restaurant, 5611 E. State St. in Rockford, for pictures and autographs.

For more info, click HERE

BONUS VIDEO