DaRin to be Honored with 2003 Zunic Award
9/10/2003 4:16:39 PM | Football
DaRin played for SU head coach Frank Maloney during his first year on The Hill. He moved to play center prior to his sophomore year and then did not get the opportunity to letter during his junior and senior season because of an accident at his summer job following his sophomore year.
As an employee at Miller Brewing Company DaRin was responsible for making sure that all kegs were empty if the line would not process the keg for recycling. One day as was emptying a keg, it keg exploded, sending shards of metal every which way. A metal rod that was in the keg went through Jim's neck beneath his throat grazing his windpipe and taking a piece of his esophagus and completely taking one of his vocal cords.
DaRin said believes that he would not be here today if not for his brother-in-law Nick Rusch, who is a doctor, came to see him just after the accident and demanded DaRin be transferred to SUNY Upstate Medical Center when he saw the depths of his injuries. The doctor explained to DaRin that he may be institutionalized because of the extent of his injury. The doctors had not seen anything like this since the Korean War with pieces of metal throughout his body. After 12 operations on his spinal cord and a ruptured artery near his heart, DaRin is thankful that he is able to be a father to his twin daughters and a husband to his wife, Luann.
An all-state football and lacrosse student-athlete from Jamesville-Dewitt High School, DaRin was the seventh of eight children in his family.
The Zunic Award is named for former SU football standout Mike Zunic and his wife, Judy, who died tragically on July 19th, 1989 when a United Airlines flight crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 111 passengers. During the emergency landing, a flight attendant asked for volunteers to help with the exit door, Mike and Judy volunteered. They perished in the crash while the people in the area of the plane where they were originally seated survived.
The award is given annually to anyone who exhibits the courage and spirit of Mike and Judy Zunic. Those eligible for the award include current and former players, current and former coaches, the parents of current and former Orangemen, season ticket holders and anyone associated with SU Football.
Zunic was a four-year starter at linebacker for the Orange, Mike Zunic received his bachelor’s degree in 1981 and his master’s degree in 1982, both in speech communication.
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