McDonald's game an appropriate sendoff for Stem

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Bob Stem insists he's not coming back.

"I'm done," he said emphatically. "I've been in this game since I began playing midget football in 1950. Sixty-two seasons is enough."

So, if that's the case, and it's really the end of an iconic Lehigh Valley coaching career, it's fitting that his final time coaching on an area sideline will be in Thursday's McDonald's Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic in Nazareth.

* Topics
* McDonald's
* Multi-Sport Events

That's because Stem and his entire family were involved in running the charity game for many years, and perhaps no other event best typifies how much football has meant to the Stem family and how much the Stem family has meant to the game.
» LET'S GO FIGHTINS!! Click here to get the Philadelphia Phillies Gear

Stem was among a handful of people who helped save this game when it was in trouble in the 1980s and LARC, the Lehigh Valley Association of Rehabilitation Centers (now VIA), the original sponsor, no longer wanted involvement.

Nazareth attorney Preston Moritz was the primary galvanizing force and someone went to Chuck McIntyre, a local McDonald's franchise holder, asking him for an advertisement in the game program. McIntyre learned that the game was in financial trouble, got McDonald's involved and the rest is history.

But McIntyre has always been quick to credit Stem as being one of the key figures in maintaining the game and helping it raise in excess of $700,000 over the past 24 years for McDonald's charities and kids and families in need.

Not only did Bob Stem come back to help with the football end of things, but his wife, Janice, came aboard to help with the cheerleaders as did their daughters — Tammy, Trisha and Terri. Their specialty was choreographing the halftime dance each year.

With the Stems and other volunteers like Cindy Adams and Pat Whirl involved, the McDonald's game became a family reunion of sorts every June in Nazareth.

"We had a great group of people who loved being involved," Janice Stem said. "It took a little while to get established, but once we got it going, everybody just did their jobs and everything ran smoothly. We had a good thing going and it was a lot of fun. We looked forward to it each year."

Their favorite part of the week was the final night of practice when both teams got together along with the cheerleaders and organizers for a pizza party.

"Lots of friendships were always made that night, friendships that often lasted for years," Janice Stem said. "It was nice to get everybody together."

Now, they have a Hall of Fame banquet the night before the game and some of the camaraderie of previous years seems to be lost.

Just 10 girls — Maggie Albanese, Kaylie Corallo, Dana Flavellle and Katie Wagner (Easton); Emily Bender, Carrie Senior (Nazareth); Heidi Cacciola (Northampton); Lyndsay Gruver (Palisades); Kristen Dziedzic and Sienna Williams (Wilson) — have volunteered to serve as cheerleaders this year

Bob Stem coached in the first all-star game under the McDonald's sponsorship in 1988, and also served as a head coach three previous years under the LARC label.

Even when he hasn't coached over the years, Stem has been involved on the committee.

He admits times have changed, and not always for the better, but he still believes the game is worthwhile.

"It's for a good cause and the kids can go out and display themselves for a big crowd one last time," Bob said. "For a lot of these kids, this is it. Many of them will not go on to play college football, so it's one final moment for them in front of their family and friends. So, it's a good thing all the way around."

And that's why he's happy to be involved as a head coach again, happy to give back to a game that has meant so much to him and his family.

His record speaks for itself — 112-43-4 in two stints at P'burg, 173-55-2 at Bethlehem Catholic for an overall career mark of 285-98-6.

Stem's contributions to the game can't accurately be reflected in just raw numbers, however.

It's in the lives he's touched and the careers he's shaped — in and out of football.

In this final game, he's surrounded by family and former players — including his son, Bob, and his son-in-law Matt Brady. Mike Palos, Richie Guman, Jason Roeder and John Mattes — all former players who went into the coaching profession.

"It has been fun to be back with these guys," he said. "They know what I want to do. They know the plays we run. I don't have to explain everything to them."

What's he looking for in the game Thursday night?

Well, Stem is one of the fiercest competitors in the history of Lehigh Valley athletics, and is only half-kidding when he says, "If it's tiddly-winks, I'll cut off your fingers if I think I can win."

So, even though it's an all-star game, the expectations remain the same.

"I told the kids that," Stem said. "I told them that this is for a good cause and we want them to have a good time. However, when the whistle blows, we expect them to go out and get the job done. Any time you play, you want to win. This game is no different."