Bio

After a two-year career at Palomar under coach Cecil McGehee in 1964 and 1965, Jaroncyk started at safety for back-to-back Rose Bowl teams at USC and helped lead coach John McKay's Trojans to the 1967 national championship. The '67 season was capped by a 14-3 Rose Bowl victory over Indiana on Jan. 1, 1968. Also an outstanding outfielder, he was offered a baseball scholarship by BYU after his freshman season in Spring 1966 but turned it down to return to Palomar for his sophomore football season. After the '66 football season, Jaroncyk accepted a full football scholarship to USC. He also was offered a full scholarship from USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux but again chose football over baseball. An injury ended his football career after he signed with the New Orleans Saints. Next stop for Jaroncyk: flying combat jets as a U.S. Navy pilot during Vietnam. McGehee, who later was a football assistant at the University of Arizona and then Associate Athletic Director at the University of Colorado, was both Jaroncyk's football and baseball coach at Palomar and was at the Hall of Fame dinner to see Jaroncyk get inducted.