A Football Life Remembered
A Football Life Remembered
Celebrating Western New York native Chuck Crist’s life - with a powerful message about CTE.
Chuck Crist, 69, of Bemus Point, formerly of Ellicottville and Salamanca, died Oct. 28, 2020 at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, after a long illness.
That’s the heartbreaking part of this story. The beginning of an obituary. However, many who knew Southern Tier native Chuck Crist and his wife Patti, understood that memorializing him would be “different”. NOT traditional - in the best way possible.
Patti and her family arranged a celebration of Chuck’s life recently at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel, that brought back the very best memories of Chuck Crist - ending with a second line parade and dancing on the shore of Chautauqua Lake.
Patti Crist told ellicottvilleNOW, “He had an amazing life … this is the way Chuck wanted to be remembered. Full of life, sharing stories, wrapped around a party!”
Here’s a little bit about Chuck and his life.
Chuck was a graduate of Salamanca High School, Class of 1968, where he was a star athlete, playing football, basketball, baseball and track and field. He was named Most Valuable Player for all four sports. He attended Penn State University, where he played basketball with the Nittany Lions, and graduated in 1972.
He was an undrafted free agent into the National Football League by the New York Giants in 1972 as a defensive back, and went on to play for the New Orleans Saints, where he was the 1977 defensive MVP, and the San Francisco 49ers. After retirement from the NFL, Chuck worked as the assistant coach with the Cattaraugus Central School from 1983 to 1985 and the Alfred Saxons football team from 1985 to 1991. He then moved back to Salamanca and was employed with the Salamanca City Central School, serving as principal for Seneca Elementary until his retirement in 2015.
He was inducted into the Cattaraugus County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003, the Chautauqua County Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He also went on to win the Holiday Valley Golf Club Championship six times.
Now back to the celebration of Crist’s life …
Former NFL Quarterback Steve DeBerg, who played with Crist on the San Francisco 49’ers, was on-hand to celebrate Crist’s life. “He changed my life, he changed my career, he took the time to talk with me about the ways of the NFL every day for an entire season,” DeBerg said.
Steve Fitzgerald, childhood friend said, “I was fortunate to play one last round of golf with Chuck before his last treatment. He couldn’t play every hole but we laughed and hugged and told stories. He made some pars and it’s a memory I’ll always have in my mind.”
After the celebration, Patti Crist wanted a message delivered to every young athlete about concussions and CTE.
According to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Chuck Crist had Stage 4 CTE. Stage 4 is the most aggressive stage of the disease.
Crist had donated his brain for testing and research, knowing he had suffered many concussions across his playing career.
Patti Crist said it was too late for Chuck, but for others, “Don’t let your child play any contact sports under the age of 14. Your brain is so immature. Once you’re past 14, you stand a better chance,” she said. “Chuck started playing when he was 6 years old. It’s not how many concussions you have, and Chuck had many, we knew he (Chuck) had it, but we didn’t know the impact it had on children.”
His wife went on to say, “people need to protect their children and grandchildren, and I know it’s a message that none of us want to hear. We all think that we have the next Joe Montana coming up … but if they’re that gifted … it will be there after they are 14 years old.”
If you’d like to know more about CTE, concussions and prevention, visit www.concussionfoundation.org.
A Celebration of Life for Chuck Crist will be held this Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021 at the Ray Evans Seneca Theater from 4:00-6:00pm. The public is welcome to join his family and share some memories of Chuck. For further details visit the Salamanca City Central School District’s Facebook page.