John Sodaski: What A Time To Be An Eagles and Villanova Alum
John Sodaski played for the Eagles in 1972 and ’73.
Three things have been a part of John Sodaski’s life for as long as he can remember: the Philadelphia Eagles, the Villanova Wildcats and the summers in Avalon.
Sodaski, a senior vice president for the Morgan Stanley investment banking company, played quarterback at Villanova in the late 1960s.
He played outside linebacker for the Eagles in 1972 and ’73.
And he has spent his last 40-plus summers in Avalon with his wife, Susan.
“I’ve been going there forever,’’ says the 70-year-old Sodaski of Avalon, where he now spends time with his wife Susan, his son Jess, daughter Jen, son-in-law, Brendan and his three grandsons Finn, Cal and Luke. “We’ve had a home there since the mid-’70s. Have always spent our summers there from even before we were married.’’
As Sodaski was preparing to make this summer’s move to the shore from his residence in Newtown Square, Pa., he could look back at one heck of a sports year.
It started with his Eagles winning their first-ever Super Bowl and ending a 57-year championship drought. Two months later, Villanova won the national basketball championship.
“Villanova wins their second NCAA title in three years, and you have the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, I’m saying ‘This is great, this is living,’ ’’ Sodaski says. “Let’s keep this going for another 20 years or so.’’
Sodaski was recruited by the Wildcats out of St. Pius X High School in Pottstown, Pa. In 1968, he passed for 1,399 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for another 585 yards and 10 TDs for a Villanova team that finished 6-4 under coach John Gregory.
Pittsburgh selected him in the ninth round of the 1969 draft, and he started two games at linebacker in 1970. He joined the Eagles in 1972 and in ’73, the 6-2, 222-pound Sodaski played all 14 games for the Eagles, started nine, and had an interception and a fumble recovery.
His Eagles roots run deeper than just those two years under head coaches Ed Khayat and Mike McCormack.
“I always had Eagles season tickets, even when I was playing,’’ says Sodaski, who also has Villanova basketball season tickets. “My family used to go, my dad, all of us. I kept them through the years. I go to about half of the games, at least.’’
Sodaski watched through the years as Dick Vermeil got the team to Super Bowl XV, only to get upset by the Oakland Raiders in January 1981. Twenty-four years later, they made it to Super bowl XXXIX under Andy Reid, only to lose to the New England Patriots.
Did he start thinking it was impossible that he would ever see the Eagles hoist the Lombardi Trophy?
“No, no,’’ Sodaski says. “I always thou-ght there was a possibility every year. I never got down like that, that we would never get one. But look what it takes to do it. It’s not easy.
There were plenty of highs and lows along the way, and then it finally happened when the 2017 season ended with the Super Bowl title last February.
“Wonderful experience for everyone involved there,’’ Sodaski says. “The front office did a great job putting the team together. The coaching staff did a great job putting people in position. And then obviously the players, both with their continuity and playing together as a team. It was never just one guy. It was a great combination. More power to them, they deserve everything they got. It was a pleasure for me to watch them play the game.’’
John Sodaski, sporting an Eagles cap, poses with his son, Jess, a fellow former Villanova football player.
No one, not even a season ticketholder and former player, viewed the Eagles as a Super Bowl team before the season. As the games started and the wins began to pile up, expectations heightened.
“You start getting more and more confidence [in the team] as they played more and more games and beat some good teams,’’ Sodaski says. “They stayed aggressive the whole time. They never backed off. And to me, it looked like they had a lot of fun playing out there. It was great to watch them. I was just like the rest of the fans. I was excited for them. It was terrific.’’
And like most fans there was a collective gasp when quarterback and MVP candidate Carson Wentz went down with torn knee ligaments and backup Nick Foles took over.
“They believed in themselves and they knew [Foles] had ability,’’ Sodaski says. “And again, the coaching staff put him in the position that he could do it. He didn’t miss a beat, the reads, hitting his receivers, and the team fed off him and everything they were accomplishing. What a great thing. I was so proud.’’
Sodaski made it to Lincoln Financial Field for the playoff wins over the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.
“Talk about electric, right?” he says.
There was a bit of a scare, however, at the beginning of the NFC Championship Game.
“The Vikings go right down the field and score seven,’’ Sodaski says. “And we’re sitting there saying, ‘What happened here?’ I looked at the team before that game, and I never saw so much confidence in a team during warmups. Somehow you can feel that. They looked so loose. They were out there dancing. I said, ‘Boy, are they ready, they are really confident.’
“Then the Vikings scored and I thought maybe they were too worried about their dance steps. What the hell is going on here? But from then, that was it. They just took off from there. They didn’t panic. They just went out and played ball. And the stadium was rocking.’’
Sodaski and his wife watched the Super Bowl win over the Patriots at a party in Bryn Mawr with about 100 people.
“What a great game, what a great day,’’ he says. “And the play-calling in that one, just unbelievable.’’
Kind of like 2018 for John Sodaski.