Stephen Romanik, 85, Villanova football star

On a miserable December night in Miami 60 years ago, Villanova University quarterback Stephen Romanik played himself into the national spotlight.

"Notre Dame had six men in the game," the United Press reported about that Dec. 26 game, "but two Villanova players emerged . . . as the stars of the 1949 Shrine football game between the North and the South.

"Fullback Ralph Pasquariello and quarterback Steve Romanik, of the Wildcats, were the key men in a powerful assault that brought the North a 20 to 14 victory last night in the rain and mud."

On Wednesday, Mr. Romanik, 85, commissioner for parks and public property in Millville, N.J., from 1965 to 1981, died of heart disease at Genesis HealthCare there.

From 1974 until he retired in 1989, Mr. Romanik also was agency director for the Cumberland County Board of Social Services.

But it was his skills as a college quarterback that earned him so much coverage in the newspapers of his time.

In late September of his 1949 senior season, Mr. Romanik shocked Penn State in a 27-6 win.

"Quarterback Romanik's passing was the thing that hit State fans between the eyes," an Evening Bulletin reporter wrote.

"His arm gave the Wildcats 88 yards, two of his heaves resulting in touchdowns."

He had played defense the year before, the newspaper reported, but soared on offense in his senior year.

Mr. Romanik had won a four-year football and academic scholarship to Villanova, his son Richard said, and it was the Penn State game for which the Maxwell Club named him player of the week.

Then in early December of 1949, the Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club of South Jersey named him its collegiate football player of the year.

Mr. Romanik also was named to the All-East All-Star Team, his son said, and the Associated Press gave him honorable mention on its all-American team.

After he graduated from Villanova in 1950, Mr. Romanik was the third player selected that year by the NFL's Chicago Bears, and he played for them for 31/2 years. He later played for a year and a half for the Chicago Cardinals.

But an Inquirer writer reported in August 1951 that not only had Mr. Romanik broken the thumb on his passing hand before the 1950 season, but also that Johnny Lujack, "all-league quarterback, considered by many the greatest of Notre Dame's grid greats, is the hub around which the Bears revolve."

In an Inquirer interview years later, Mr. Romanik was remarkably self-effacing:

"They had Sid Luckman, Johnny Lujack, and George Blanda," he said, naming three Bears backfield legends. "I wondered what they wanted me around for."

He had done enough. A Villanova spokesman said last week that Mr. Romanik was inducted into its Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1983.

Born and raised on a farm in Millville, Mr. Romanik graduated from Millville High School in 1942 and attended the University of Delaware before being drafted into the Army in World War II.

He was among the rear-echelon support troops at the Battle of the Bulge, his son said, and played football with the 407th Infantry Regiment Raiders, a team that won the 102d Division title.

He was among the original members of the Millville Hall of Fame, his son said, coached Little League baseball teams from 1962 to 1972, and officiated at South Jersey high school football games from 1958 to 1983.

For 40 years, he was president of the St. Nicholas Ukrainian American Club in Millville and a member of the Ukrainian National Home, the Cumberland County Recreation Commission, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Fraternal Order of the Eagle.

Besides his son Richard, Mr. Romanik is survived by sons Gary, Edward, John, and James; daughter Jane Sooy; and five grandchildren. His wife, Helen, died in 2003.

A visitation is set for 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Christy Funeral Home, 11 W. Broad St., Millville, with a Parastas service there at 8:15. A second viewing is set for 8 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Mass at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, 801 Carmel Rd., Millville, and burial in the church cemetery.