GRANITE CITY – Tributes and memories of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kevin Greene continue to pour in after reports that the former great at Granite City South high school died on Monday, aged 58.
Stan Wojcik, who served as Greene’s and the Warriors’ head football coach at South from 1973-1979, and is now a volunteer assistant coach at Edwardsville High, remembered Greene very fondly as a player who worked hard to achieve his goals, and as he gained stardom in the NFL, never forgot where he came from.
“For three years or so, Kevin’s sophomore year, he got to play, but his junior and senior years, he started,” Wojcik said in an interview on the Granite City School District’s YouTube channel, “and in his senior year, he kind of outdid himself. He developed, but he didn’t have the size. He was the type of individual where if you told him to do something, he’d do it, no matter what. And he was a very dedicated, very conscientious, and he’s always concerned about other people as well as a player.”
Greene went on to become a walk-on player at Auburn University in Alabama, where he became Defensive Player of the Year in 1984. And at first, Wojcik tried to persuade Greene to go to a smaller school in-state.
“I tried a couple of Illinois schools, like Eastern, Western, what have you,” Wojcik said. “And he had his mind made up that he was going to Auburn. And I kind of said ‘think about it a little bit,'” he said with a laugh, “because of his build and everything.”
Wojcik also remembered a visit from Greene while he was playing for Auburn.
“And then, after about two years, he came to the house one day, knocked on the door, and I didn’t know who it was,” Wojcik said, “because he had developed so much from weightlifting, and I mean, it was altogether like a different person.”
Wojcik knew that Greene was a very good player who dominated on defense, constantly attacking.
“He was a good player,’ Wojcik said, “and on defense, he was vicious. I mean, he attacked, let’s put it that way. And he was a very good linebacker, and he just went after you. And he wasn’t a bad offensive end either, in which he was able to catch a ball quite frequently.”
Wojcik recalled the now-famous incident when Green dunked the ball over the crossbar after scoring a key touchdown against crosstown rival Granite City North in 1979. It’s still one of the most talked-about moments in Warrior football history.
“I was on the sideline after we scored,” Wojcik recalled, we were on the sideline. We threw the pass twice. The first time, the quarterback missed it, but the defense didn’t cover it. And coach (Leroy) Beck called down and said “run it again, it’s there.’ So we called it again, he got it, and went all the way down the field, scored. And I turned around and got the kickoff team ready, and all that. And all of a sudden, I’m looking around, and I said ‘what are we doing back here/'” Wojcik said with a big laugh. “We got a penalty for it, and the only thing that saved him was that he was on the field all the time. And he didn’t come off the field.”
Wojcik enjoyed a hearty laugh as he recalled the incident, and later, spoke of Greene in very glowing terms when he recalled his frequent visits to the school and to Granite City while playing in the NFL.
“The thing about Kevin was, he never forgot where he came from,” Wojcik said. “And he had some very good friends, and as far as Kevin was concerned, I think, always his hometown. And he gave back to the high school, and he gave back to the community. And he always represented the community very, very well.”
Another great quality about Greene was that he thought of and cared about others before himself.
“Kevin was always conscientious about other people,” Wojcik said, “and he was always concerned, I mean, a lot of times, he would go beyond, forget himself, and go and help the other person, and then, he’d worry about himself. And he was just a very good person that way.”
