Bio

No one has had a bigger impact on Midview Football than Joe Staysniak. A fact that is hard to dispute considering his stature on and off the field.

At 6’5” and 290 lbs., Big Joe was dominant at the line of scrimmage in the 1983 and 1984 seasons. He played both offense and defense and with the 6’6” 240lb. Chad Coffman, provided the Middies with a tackle tandem that was formidable for any opponent to deal with. Joe also handled the kicking duties and his imitation of Lou Groza proved to be more than adequate. Joe’s high school credentials include being selected team captain, an indication of his leadership abilities, which has always been apparent.

Joe was all-conference, All-County, and All-Ohio. He was voted the Lorain County Class AAA Defensive Lineman of the year and was the Lorain County Lombardi award winner. He was courted by many major colleges but answered to the call of Earl Bruce and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

At Ohio State, Joe found himself a home at the left tackle position where he excelled at protecting the Buckeye quarterbacks, while a Buckeye, his awards were many and his recognition include: All-Big10, GTE Academic All-American, National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete award. Big 10 Conference Medal of Honor recipient, Jack W. Stephenson award (awarded by OSU College of Business for Athletic and Scholastic Achievement) and predictably, he was a team captain.

Joe was drafted by the Buffalo Bills was a member of their AFC Championship team. They did a repeat in 1991. He retired from pro-football in 1995 as a member of the 1995 AFC East Champion Indianapolis Colts.

Joe never forgot his roots and has been and continues to be a strong supporter of the Midview football program by providing Midview coaches and players an entrée to football camps and contacts that would not otherwise been available. Joe has been Midview’s own “Rock of Granite.”

Joe is an afternoon drive sportscaster and co-host of the Indianapolis Colts pregame and post-game shows on MWBCradio (1070 a.m.) in Indianapolis. He lives in Brownsburg, Indiana with his wife Pam and their son, Nathan.