Indiana University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Both a paragon of his time and ahead of his time - that's Norm Lewandowski, as fine an example of the classic two-way football player that one could name, and the setter of more than one standard that has not been bettered to this day.

"Luke," who says no one would know him if called by any other name, started at both quarterback and defensive safety for four years for coach Sam Smith, also played fullback or halfback at times and, occasionally, linebacker. He excelled at them all. So well that his five interceptions in a single game, versus Clarion in 1956, still stand as not only an IUP team high but the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference record. That day accounted for fully half of Lewandowski's 10 that year; no IUP player has ever picked off more opponent passes in a season.

In an era not known for high scoring games, he passed for 16 career touchdowns, eight his senior season, ran 10 TDs in himself, and kicked 19 extra points. In a 32-7 win at Slippery Rock in 1954, he uncorked a 90-yard TD pass to Ray Malcolm; there has never been a longer one in team history.

Add to this some outstanding kickoff and punt returning for which, regrettably, complete statistics were not kept in that era and so cannot be enumerated.

It only took him until his sophomore year to be voted in a poll conducted by the campus newspaper The Penn as Indiana State Teachers College's best athlete in all sports.

By the close of his senior year, Lewandowski had become the first player ever to make the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference all-star team three straight seasons, after having been the first sophomore ever picked all-conference. He was also both a Little All-American and all-state (including all colleges and universities) honorable mention.

After graduating from ISTC as a geography major in 1957, Lewandowski became head football coach and basketball assistant to Herm Sledzik at Indiana County's Elders Ridge High School. Later, he assisted IUP grid coach Chuck Mills in 1962 and '63.

When Sledzik became IUP's basketball coach in 1963, Lewandowski moved up at Elders Ridge for four years, until his team won its WPIAL section title in 1966-67, after which the school became part of Apollo-Ridge. He then devoted fulltime to guidance counseling (for which he completed a master's degree at IUP in 1968) at A-R before retiring in 1993.

He married the former Patricia Ewing in 1960. They have two sons, Scott and Brian, and two daughters, Laurie Morocco and Karen Stevenson. Scott teaches and coaches football at Laurel Valley. Brian is an International Paper plant manager in Memphis, Tennessee, Laurie a marketing vice president for Union Fidelity near Philadelphia, and Karen a teacher in Bowie, Maryland. All are IUP graduates.