MVC grad Papak starred for Navy, on and off the field

When Carl Crawley, standout athlete, referee, and longtime observer of the local sports scene, was asked to name an elite Mon Valley Catholic High School star from any sport, he quickly came up with, “Dave Papak. He went to the Naval Academy and later coached there.” He could have added more — Papak not only went to Navy, he excelled at that institution.
Papak, who grew up on a small farm in Monongahela not far from Ringgold High School, was inducted into a prestigious group, the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. His alma mater took out a full-page tribute to him in the Hall of Fame’s program that year. It read: “The Naval Academy Athletic Association salutes Brigadier General Dave Papak, USMC. Navy football three-year letter winner.”
Like Crawley, they could easily have added more words of commendation. Begin with his sophomore and junior football seasons at Mon Valley Catholic High when he helped the Spartans win the Catholic League’s Section 2 title. In his junior and senior seasons he made the All-Catholic squad, and he was First Team as a senior — and that was in both basketball and football.
Papak even led his team in rebounding three straight seasons. Always a leader, he was named as a co-captain for both of his sports during in his senior year (1971), and he was a three-year letterman in those sports as well.
Steve Russell’s Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame booklet quoted Papak’s varsity basketball coach, Phil Pergola as saying his star “was instrumental in turning the program into a consistent winner. Some 34 years later I still mention Dave’s attitude and accomplishments to my teams.” Despite that, Papak said he was surprised to learn he had become the first Spartan to be elected into the Hall of Fame.
Playing linebacker and tight end, Papak was all over the field. He hauled down 33 passes for seven touchdowns as a senior and earned a nomination to the Big 33 squad. Naturally, he received scholarship offers from many schools, including Villanova, Arizona State, and the U.S. Military Academy, but he chose to head to Annapolis.
Papak said 1972 was the first season in which the NCAA permitted true freshmen to play at the varsity level. “Up until that point, and even a few years after that,” he said, “most universities had freshmen teams, JV teams, and varsity teams. Then, in 1972, they started to do away with the freshmen teams, but Navy continued for another three or four years. But there were six of us who, on a trial basis, were able to dress varsity for all the games. I got into a few games as a freshman.”
The following season a new coach, George Welsh, was hired and he played some of his sophomores. “I was one of those,” recalled Papak. “We later had the No. 3 defense in the country when we were seniors.”
So, for four seasons he wore the uniform of the Midshipmen, starting in 33 straight games at his defensive tackle position. Navy was a winner in each of the three games he started versus Army, outscoring the Black Knights by an incredible 100-6 margin. In the 1973 rivalry game, he was selected as the Defensive Player of the Game. The following year, as a junior, he made the All-East second team, that coming after he had also made 99 bone-jarring tackles.
As a senior in 1975 the honors kept rolling in — he was an All-East honorable mention. One highlight came when Navy, boasting the second best defense in the nation, knocked off a Tony Dorsett-led Pitt team, 17-0, despite Touchdown Tony rushing for 122 yards on 18 carries. The shutout marked the first time the Panthers were held scoreless in 66 contests.
In his book, “One on One,” John Feinstein generalized, “You just can’t play football at Army or Navy without being a remarkable person. It’s too hard. Just going to an academy is difficult. Going to an academy and playing football is pretty close to impossible.”
Papak went on to be an assistant coach for the Midshipmen and he served his country for 33 years. It was in 2004 that he earned his rank as Brigadier General, yet another lofty honor for this celebrated Valley native.
Over the years, some of the places where he has served include South Asia during the Desert Storm/Desert Shield operations, the Pentagon, and New Orleans where his Marines helped out after the city was belted by hurricane Katrina. He has received numerous decorations for his service.
Retired since 2009, he and his wife Kate, originally from Ellsworth, are the parents of three children who blessed them with seven grandchildren. An old line stated, “Join the Navy and see the world,” and even though Papak did just that, he has now chosen to reside back in the Valley, proving another old line: “There’s no place like home.”