Honoring an OFA football standout

This season the OA Schools football teams will be sporting Number 29 stickers on their helmets, and in honor of a standout athlete from the Class of 1967, Gary Deuel.

OFA football fans remember “Deuelie” as a three-sport star at OFA from 1963-1967. He excelled in football, basketball and track and field.

Deuel passed away on Dec. 26, 2022. He was 73.  

Patrick Gavin, today involved with the Owego Hose Teams among other community endeavors, and OFA alum, was a quarterback back in the 1990’s, and described Deuel as, “The greatest running back out of Owego.”

The helmet stickers, Gavin said, is a dual effort with fellow OFA alum Eric Nichols, and remarked, “We feel it is an appropriate tribute to Gary.”

Head OFA Coach Patton Taylor, and in his first year replacing longtime and retired coach Steve Virkler, shared, “I think it is important to honor the memory and legacy of Gary,” adding, “I hope every player in the OFA program is able to draw inspiration from these helmet stickers.”

And then, with help from his wife, Gavin is creating a keepsake football postcard. The card will feature Deuel’s photo and highlight his extraordinary statistics. It will be distributed to players soon.  

Nichols, an All Division / All Metro guard and middle linebacker for OFA in the 1990’s, was a coach in Owego for 15 years. Nichols commented that he had met Gary Deuel a couple of times, including on one occasion at a Hall of Fame induction.

Nichols recalled, “I enjoyed looking through my mother’s OFA yearbook and saw photos of Gary,” and added, “He was accomplished, and one of the best to play in Owego.”

Nichols added, “The football program does a lot for the players, so it’s also important for the players to know who played on the field before them.”  

Deuel’s sister, Diane, and the third generation living at the family’s Flemingville farm, reminisced about the growing-up years, and said, “Our whole life as a family was football. We followed Gary all across the country and watched him play in some major games.”

Deuel, a running back at Penn State, was a three-year letterman, and a member of the 1968 and 1969 unbeaten squads that went on to win two Orange Bowl Championships. He played alongside football greats like Franco Harris.

Owego native Steve Lawrence, and a sports writer out of Ithaca, shared memories of watching “Deuelie” play.

Lawrence said, “I recall how excited my Dad and his gang of former OFA players were when going to watch Gary play. I tagged along; and while I was just entering Junior High when Deuel was a senior, I could see why everyone was so excited,” and continued, “Whenever he got his hands on the ball, ‘Deuelie’ was smooth, he was fast, and he ran around and through defenders.”

Deuel graduated with a B.S. in Business from Penn State, and went on to achieve a M.S. in Physical Education and NYS Administrative Degree from SUNY-Cortland.

Football never stopped, though. Deuel continued playing football for the Triple Cities Jets, was a coach at SUNY-Cortland, and then taught Phys Ed and coached football and track and field at Greene and Chenango Valley Central Schools for 38 years. He also coached his own children’s Pee Wee football teams.

Deuel was inducted into the Owego Athletes Hall of Fame, the New York State Section IV Sports Hall of Fame, along with the Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame.

Diane appreciates the recognition that Gary still receives today, and shared, “It’s overwhelming to me that my brother remains so well-known in Owego,” and as a long-time fan of her brother, added, “At Owego he was number 29, at Penn State he was number 43, and for the T.C. Jets he wore number 26.”

Back to the upcoming season at Owego, Coach Taylor said that he and his staff are extremely excited.

Taylor remarked, “We had a great turnout during summer workouts, had 79 kids sign up, and it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Taylor explained that new concepts and plays were implemented, and added, “The kids have been working hard all preseason and summer, and we’re at a point right now where we are comfortable and confident on both sides of the ball.”

And this season the number 29 will be with them at every play, as well as an inspiration on and off the field. 

You can read Deuel’s full obituary at https://jamccormack.com/tribute/details/2094/Gary-Deuel/obituary.html.

For information about Owego football, visit oacsd.org.