J. Michael Anderson to Receive 2017 Zunic Award
8/3/2017 3:21:00 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Former Orange offensive lineman J. Michael Anderson '77 has been named the 2017 recipient of the Zunic Award. Anderson will be honored Friday, Sept. 8 during a dinner at Timber Banks Golf Club in Baldwinsville and recognized on the field when Syracuse hosts Middle Tennessee Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Carrier Dome.
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A self-employed furniture salesman, Anderson and his wife of 41 years, Flo, have demonstrated extraordinary courage in the wake of personal tragedy. Their two oldest sons, Jimmy and Eric, died suddenly in their sleep 16 years apart.
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Despite the loss of two of their three sons, the couple persevered and found ways to make a difference in the community. Anderson served as a youth basketball coach for more than two decades at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Liverpool. He also coached baseball in the Salt City Little League for 10 years. In addition, the Andersons are frequent holiday volunteers at the Syracuse Rescue Mission, serving meals to those less fortunate, and are active participants in the Liverpool Central School District "Dollars for Scholars" program where they've established a scholarship in Jimmy's name.
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Anderson spends part of each day visiting online grief sites offering assistance to those who've experienced similar tragedy in their lives, and he recently hired his youngest son, Craig, to assist in growing the family's furniture business.
An offensive lineman at SU for two seasons, Anderson was a member of legendary head coach Ben Schwartzwalder's last team in 1973 and played for Schwartzwalder's successor, Frank Maloney, in 1974.
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Presented by the Syracuse Football Club, the Zunic Award was created in 2001 to honor Mike and Judy Zunic, who died tragically on July 18, 1989 when a United Airlines plane crashed in Sioux City, Iowa. The pilot, anticipating landing difficulties, requested if some strong passengers would volunteer to give up their seats and sit at the exit doors to assist passengers in the event of an emergency. Mike and Judy gave up their seats in first class to sit at one of the doors. They both died in the crash and those in the Zunics' original seats survived.
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Mike Zunic was a four-year starter at linebacker and earned a bachelor's degree (1981) and master's degree (1982) in speech communication from SU.
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Zunic Award Recipients
2001: Mr. and Mrs. Zunic, Frank Maloney, Gene Grabosky '60 (posthumous)
2002: Pat '88 and Kari Kelly, Roberta DeLeone
2003: Jim DaRin '77
2004: Joshua Frase
2005: Jim Rooney
2006: Rockette Pirro Brunetti, Horace Landry
2007: Sylvia Mackey, Chris Ingram '89 (posthumous)
2008: Robin Griffin '72, Carlmon Jones, Ron Page '74
2009: Bill Coghill '72, Norm Mordue '66
2010: Jim Jerome '76
2011: John Lally '82
2012: Tim Byrne '87 (posthumous)
2013: Pat Killorin '66
2014: Dick Beyer '53
2015: Frank Conover '91Â
2016: Tom Hermanowski '70
2017: J. Michael Anderson '77
For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).
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A self-employed furniture salesman, Anderson and his wife of 41 years, Flo, have demonstrated extraordinary courage in the wake of personal tragedy. Their two oldest sons, Jimmy and Eric, died suddenly in their sleep 16 years apart.
Â
Despite the loss of two of their three sons, the couple persevered and found ways to make a difference in the community. Anderson served as a youth basketball coach for more than two decades at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Liverpool. He also coached baseball in the Salt City Little League for 10 years. In addition, the Andersons are frequent holiday volunteers at the Syracuse Rescue Mission, serving meals to those less fortunate, and are active participants in the Liverpool Central School District "Dollars for Scholars" program where they've established a scholarship in Jimmy's name.
Â
Anderson spends part of each day visiting online grief sites offering assistance to those who've experienced similar tragedy in their lives, and he recently hired his youngest son, Craig, to assist in growing the family's furniture business.
An offensive lineman at SU for two seasons, Anderson was a member of legendary head coach Ben Schwartzwalder's last team in 1973 and played for Schwartzwalder's successor, Frank Maloney, in 1974.
Â
Presented by the Syracuse Football Club, the Zunic Award was created in 2001 to honor Mike and Judy Zunic, who died tragically on July 18, 1989 when a United Airlines plane crashed in Sioux City, Iowa. The pilot, anticipating landing difficulties, requested if some strong passengers would volunteer to give up their seats and sit at the exit doors to assist passengers in the event of an emergency. Mike and Judy gave up their seats in first class to sit at one of the doors. They both died in the crash and those in the Zunics' original seats survived.
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Mike Zunic was a four-year starter at linebacker and earned a bachelor's degree (1981) and master's degree (1982) in speech communication from SU.
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Zunic Award Recipients
2001: Mr. and Mrs. Zunic, Frank Maloney, Gene Grabosky '60 (posthumous)
2002: Pat '88 and Kari Kelly, Roberta DeLeone
2003: Jim DaRin '77
2004: Joshua Frase
2005: Jim Rooney
2006: Rockette Pirro Brunetti, Horace Landry
2007: Sylvia Mackey, Chris Ingram '89 (posthumous)
2008: Robin Griffin '72, Carlmon Jones, Ron Page '74
2009: Bill Coghill '72, Norm Mordue '66
2010: Jim Jerome '76
2011: John Lally '82
2012: Tim Byrne '87 (posthumous)
2013: Pat Killorin '66
2014: Dick Beyer '53
2015: Frank Conover '91Â
2016: Tom Hermanowski '70
2017: J. Michael Anderson '77
For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).
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