Stefl played football at Brownsville, Maryland and in Canada
Like many athletes from his era, Tom Stefl parlayed a college scholarship and education into a meaningful career.
Stefl was a standout offensive and defensive lineman at Brownsville High School in the early 1950s and was a part of Brownie squads that posted records of 3-4-2 in 1950, 6-4 in 1951 and 5-5 in 1952.
“We had some talented guys on those teams,” Stefl recalled. “Gil Shoaf was playing the other tackle spot and Frank Bartolomucci was the running back and his younger brother Don was playing fullback.”
Brownsville was coached by Warner Fritsch during that period.
“We liked each other,” Stefl said of Fritsch. “He was a get-up-and-go, come-on-you-guys type of coach. A rah-rah type of coach.”
Brownsville was part of the Big Six Conference during Stefl’s playing days.
“The big rival was Redstone; they were the big game throughout my four years of high school,” Stefl stated. “Redstone was our number one rival and their high school was only four or five miles away from our high school.”
Stefl, at 6-1 and 175 pounds as a sophomore, was a standout at tackle on offensive and defense for the Brownies and saw significant playing time starting in his sophomore season. He weighed in at 205 pounds as a senior.
“I started for three years,” Stefl said. “It was significant for me to play as a sophomore, at least I thought it was. I wanted to play whether I felt like I was good enough or not. I don’t know, but the coach seemed to think he could use me.”
Stefl garnered All-Big Six second team honors his senior season.
“I thought more about winning than I did honors,” Stefl said.
In the summer of 1952 Stefl was selected to play in the Fayette-Washington County All-Star football game. It turned out to be a big moment in his career.
“I wasn’t being heavily recruited until that game,” Stefl said. “I took a summer job at G.C. Murphy’s in Brownsville, the manager there had a connection with the Athletic Director at Allegheny College in Meadville. They offered an academic scholarship and I paid a $50 enrollment fee required of all students.
“I played in that All-Star game and Maryland line coach Jack Hennemeier saw me and offered me a scholarship. My dad was a coal miner and several schools besides Maryland were interested. I told my dad that he was providing the funds for me to go to college. I would have had to pay part of my tuition at Allegheny, that wasn’t the case at Maryland. My dad said going to Maryland would ease the financial burden on the family and that’s why I went to Maryland.
“The charges by the Middle States Athletic Association were eventually dropped and I played at Maryland.”
Stefl played freshman football in 1953 and was redshirted in 1954.
“I played in 1955, 56 and 57 after being redshirted,” Stefl stated.
Maryland went 10-0 in 1955 under coach Jim Tatum and then lost to Oklahoma 20-6 in the Orange Bowl.
“I was still toward the bottom of the pile on the depth chart in 1955,” Stefl explained. “I went to the Orange Bowl. We had a terrific team with a quarterback named Bernie Faloney who had played for Warner Fritsch at Carnegie, before Fritsch came to Brownsville. We also had Stan Jones, who played for the Bears, and Bob Pellegrini, who played for the Eagles and Redskins.”
Maryland posted records of 2-7-1 in 1956 and 5-5 during Stefl’s senior season in 1957.
“We had a coaching change after the 1955 season,” Stefl said. “Tatum resigned to coach at his own alma mater, North Carolina, Tommy Mont was appointed as his replacement. He lasted until the 1958 season.”
Stefl made the most of his education, he was in pre med. His grades weren’t good enough to get into medical school, he then switched to dental school.
“I went to my father and he got a little irritated when I said I was going to stick with dentistry,” Stefl recalled. “I said it’s kind of your fault because you taught me how to use my hands and that is what dentistry is all about. I was accepted to dental school. I took a deferment examination so I wouldn’t get drafted.”
Stefl attended McGill University in Montreal for dentistry starting in 1958 and played three years of football in Canada.
“The football wasn’t anything like the U.S.,” Stefl stated. “The situation is different in Canada, as long as you are working toward a higher degree you can continue to play intercollegiate sports.”
Stefl graduated from McGill in 1962.
“I had joined the Naval Reserve to avoid the draft when I was at McGill,” Stefl explained. “I entered the Navy and stayed in the service for 23 years. I practiced in California and then completed post-graduate training in prosthodontics at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Mary., and I’m a board-certified specialist in implant, esthetic and reconstructive dentistry. I taught at the University of Southern California and moved east to be near my son a grandchildren.”
On the staff at Middleton Dental Care in Middleton, Mass. Stefl also teaches at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and works at the VA Bedford Dental Clinic.
Stefl, 79, resides in Middleton with his wife of 53 years, Bernice. They have one son, Timothy.