Mark Palyo: Lifelong Love of a Game
One memorable fall afternoon during his seventh grade year, Mark Palyo and his Glassport Junior High teammates packed into the yellow school bus that would rumble through the streets of McKeesport, PA, and deliver them to football practice several blocks away. Growing up in western Pennsylvania, Palyo had always been a serious fan of the sport, but now, suiting up for the first time in a real uniform on an organized team, he was finding that he relished the experience more than he ever imagined he would.
During the five-minute ride to the dusty training site, he usually sat next to his good friend Dave Lingsch, who shared his passion for the game. On this day, as they talked excitedly about the upcoming practice, they made a serious decision about their future.
“We said that we’d play high school football, earn college scholarships, and then play in the pros,” recalled Palyo. “Looking back, how can you think about that at such a young age?”
During the five-minute ride to the dusty training site, he usually sat next to his good friend Dave Lingsch, who shared his passion for the game. On this day, as they talked excitedly about the upcoming practice, they made a serious decision about their future.
“We said that we’d play high school football, earn college scholarships, and then play in the pros,” recalled Palyo. “Looking back, how can you think about that at such a young age?”
Good question, but Palyo, now the offensive coordinator for Collegiate’s two-time state championship football team, kept his promise. At South Allegheny High, he earned all-state honors as an offensive tackle and was a Centenary Prep and National High School Football Coaches Association All-American. A four-year starter at left offensive tackle for the University of Richmond, he was an integral part of the squad that finished 8-4 and reached the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinals in 1984, his senior season.
Then, he signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles (now Oakland) Raiders, and so began an adventure that remains as fresh in his mind as that seminal moment on the school bus a decade earlier.
“I still remember the mini-camps,” he said. “Even though we only had on our shorts, shirt, and helmet, it was full battle among the linemen. There was punching, pulling, and flat-out fights at times. When I came out, the tops of my shoulders were all bruised.”
The unheralded 6-5, 285-pound rookie from Richmond passed the test and received an invitation to training camp. There, he lined up in the huddle with Marcus Allen, a future Hall of Famer, and found himself blocking for quarterback Jim Plunkett, whom he’d watched play on television as far back as his junior high days. He vividly remembers Howie Long, then a highly respected defensive tackle, now a popular television football analyst and also a member of the Hall of Fame.
“I never had to go one-on-one against him, and that’s to my benefit,” he said with a laugh. “He could put moves on people, and it was just like he ran over them and put cleat marks on their chest. What stands out was that he was such a cut-up. He cracked jokes and made you feel part of the team, and that really helped with team unity.”
Alas, as the Raiders pared their roster to the 52-man limit, Palyo was summoned to the office and told to bring his playbook.
“They called, and you knew what they wanted,” he said. “It was very disappointing, but I accept my time with the Raiders as a great experience. It’s definitely something I can look back on and relive the moments, no matter how long or short they were.”
He returned to Richmond and landed a position as a teacher and coach at Collegiate. In the spring of 1989, he moved to UR as the defensive line coach for newly appointed head coach Jim Marshall. Three years later, he left the Spiders’ program and ran a lawn-care business until 1999, then returned to Collegiate as a physical education teacher and assistant coach of football and track.
Now, in addition to his football duties, he’s the Upper School student affairs coordinator and head coach of both the winter and spring track teams. His experiences along the way – as a high school star, as a college player in a rebuilding program that excelled his final year, and as a professional, have shaped his coaching.
“I learned that you can’t have success on either side of the ball if you don’t have success up front,” he said. “That’s where games are won. We lineman types don’t get our names in the paper very often, but your team can’t win if the line doesn’t protect, give the quarterback time, and move people out of the way.
“As a coach, having good talent is important, but you also have to put your kids in situations that allow them to succeed. And they have to perform as a unit. They have to be like a synchronized swim team moving in unison if you want to accomplish our goals.”—Weldon Bradshaw
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Then, he signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles (now Oakland) Raiders, and so began an adventure that remains as fresh in his mind as that seminal moment on the school bus a decade earlier.
“I still remember the mini-camps,” he said. “Even though we only had on our shorts, shirt, and helmet, it was full battle among the linemen. There was punching, pulling, and flat-out fights at times. When I came out, the tops of my shoulders were all bruised.”
The unheralded 6-5, 285-pound rookie from Richmond passed the test and received an invitation to training camp. There, he lined up in the huddle with Marcus Allen, a future Hall of Famer, and found himself blocking for quarterback Jim Plunkett, whom he’d watched play on television as far back as his junior high days. He vividly remembers Howie Long, then a highly respected defensive tackle, now a popular television football analyst and also a member of the Hall of Fame.
“I never had to go one-on-one against him, and that’s to my benefit,” he said with a laugh. “He could put moves on people, and it was just like he ran over them and put cleat marks on their chest. What stands out was that he was such a cut-up. He cracked jokes and made you feel part of the team, and that really helped with team unity.”
Alas, as the Raiders pared their roster to the 52-man limit, Palyo was summoned to the office and told to bring his playbook.
“They called, and you knew what they wanted,” he said. “It was very disappointing, but I accept my time with the Raiders as a great experience. It’s definitely something I can look back on and relive the moments, no matter how long or short they were.”
He returned to Richmond and landed a position as a teacher and coach at Collegiate. In the spring of 1989, he moved to UR as the defensive line coach for newly appointed head coach Jim Marshall. Three years later, he left the Spiders’ program and ran a lawn-care business until 1999, then returned to Collegiate as a physical education teacher and assistant coach of football and track.
Now, in addition to his football duties, he’s the Upper School student affairs coordinator and head coach of both the winter and spring track teams. His experiences along the way – as a high school star, as a college player in a rebuilding program that excelled his final year, and as a professional, have shaped his coaching.
“I learned that you can’t have success on either side of the ball if you don’t have success up front,” he said. “That’s where games are won. We lineman types don’t get our names in the paper very often, but your team can’t win if the line doesn’t protect, give the quarterback time, and move people out of the way.
“As a coach, having good talent is important, but you also have to put your kids in situations that allow them to succeed. And they have to perform as a unit. They have to be like a synchronized swim team moving in unison if you want to accomplish our goals.”—Weldon Bradshaw
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