Jay Brophy honors loved ones, feels support as he enters APS Athletics HOF

Brophy paid tribute to his loved ones on Monday, Oct. 19, when he was inducted into the Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame. He was enshrined into the APS Athletics Hall of Fame with the following individuals:

• Ara Parseghian (South; football)
• Bud Bond (Garfield; football)
• Duane Bland (Buchtel; football)
• Mike Fox (North; football)
• Fred Gissendaner (Buchtel; football, track and field)
• Elwood Woodling (East; swimming, track)
• John Scott (Kenmore graduate; Buchtel track and cross country coach)
• Tina Wallace (Garfield graduate; Ellet basketball and volleyball coach)
• Jerry Bitong (North; football, wrestling)

More local sports coverage: Fred Gissendaner enters Akron Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame

During the APS Athletics Hall of Fame banquet at Guy’s Party Center, Brophy delivered a heartfelt acceptance speech and felt love from coaches and teammates he has known since his high school football playing days at Buchtel (1976-78 seasons).

Those individuals, including APS Athletics Hall of Fame coach Mike Buckner and former Buchtel quarterbacks Phil and Alan Manley, have backed Brophy for years. He has been leaning on family and friends while coping with grief.

“That's the support system that helps get you through these things,” Brophy, 66, said.

Akron sports history: Football icon Ara Parseghian is part of APS Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026

For decades, Brophy dedicated himself to football. He went 2-1 with Buchtel in City Series Thanksgiving Day Championship games, won the 1983 national championship with the University of Miami and played in Super Bowl XIX with the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 20, 1985. He later coached for more than 30 years, spending time at the helms of St. Vincent-St. Mary, Sebring McKinley and Manchester high schools.

At Buchtel, Brophy played linebacker, tight end and punter. Buckner said Brophy was “a man playing among boys” on the gridiron, and he excelled in basketball, too.

“He was a great combination of academics and athletics,” Buckner added.

Yet, Brophy cherishes the lifelong connections he formed with his coaches, teammates, players and assistants more than individual accolades.

Brophy has received laminated copies of several newspaper stories written about him over the years because Buckner made a habit of mailing them as keepsakes.

A 1979 Buchtel graduate, Brophy and the Manley brothers are close to this day. They talk sports, politics and current events on their “The 3 Brotherz Podcast.” They even dabble in sketch comedy, with Brophy introducing a character he calls “Joe Alien,” a nod to a fascination he’s had with UFOs and Bigfoot since childhood.

“If you look at one of the skits, we talked about how ‘Joe Alien’ came down and he stole my car and all this stuff,” Brophy said with a laugh. “So, we added him to the podcast.”

Brophy routinely receives messages on a group text with roughly 20 players from Miami’s 1983 national title team, including Browns icon Bernie Kosar.

“There's a special bond,” Brophy said. “I don't know how to explain it. But if you've been in a locker room, through your life, that's where the special relationships and closeness are. We're on the field, and you're busting your butt with your partners out there day after day in the heat, and the sweat and the stories that go on in there, there's a special camaraderie.”

In college, Brophy's gratitude toward coach Howard Schnellenberger and his Miami assistants increased. Brophy was recruited as a tight end out of Buchtel and lettered at the position as a freshman with the 1979 Hurricanes.

However, Brophy did not initially enjoy his experience at Miami and decided he would transfer. He left Miami for a semester and missed the 1980 season, working at a rubber plant in Arkansas with one of his brothers for $5 an hour.

“I was standing over the Mississippi River, and I said, ‘Man, what did I do? I threw my life away,’” Brophy said.

When Brophy reached out to Miami to express regret and ask if he could rejoin the football program, he learned Schnellenberger had kept a scholarship open for him. Brophy redshirted and loaded his class schedule with extra credit hours to compensate for lost time and become academically eligible to play. He told his coaches he would do anything he could to return to the team, and they discussed a position change with him.

Born and raised in Akron, Brophy moved from tight end to linebacker, played defense for the Hurricanes from 1981-83 and served as a captain. As a junior in 1982, he led Miami with 135 tackles and received the team’s Jack Harding Most Valuable Player Award. As a senior in 1983, he finished second among Hurricanes with 133 tackles and tied for the team lead with three interceptions. He received All-America recognition.

“I learned about second chances,” said Brophy, who retired from coaching after Manchester's 2022 football season. “I learned about rededicating yourself. I learned that things don't go the way as expected. It gave me a new perspective. I knew what it was like to be out of football. And, man, I tell you, what a turnaround.

“Even as a coach for 30-some years, I always remembered that sometimes some kids need a second chance because I knew I did. It made a little difference in the way I approached life and people because sometimes we make mistakes, and mistakes can be big. Now, if you don't learn from your mistakes, then you have trouble. But sometimes you have to make mistakes to learn and to progress.”

Brophy said he does not believe he would have had an NFL career as a tight end. The move to linebacker gave him an opportunity at the sport’s highest level.

The Dolphins drafted Brophy in the second round (No. 53 overall) in 1984. He played in the league for four seasons, three with the Dolphins (1984-86) and one with the New York Jets (1987). He started 14 of the 34 regular-season games in which he appeared. He also started all five of his playoff games, including the 1984 Dolphins’ 38-16 loss to the Joe Montana-led San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

“I had an average-guy career, to be honest, in the NFL,” Brophy said. “Three or four years, you're done. I was just like the neighborhood I grew up in. I was a blue-collar player. I was not a superstar, but I got to the pinnacle, and those were all my dreams.”

Brophy was raised in a large Irish family and had six siblings. His father was a truck driver, and his uncles worked in rubber factories. Hard work was in his DNA.

“He was one of my leaders,” Buckner said.

Brophy was inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. He explained his inclusion in the APS Athletics Hall of Fame has given him a full-circle moment because Buchtel laid the foundation for his football career.

“It helped me receive or earn those awards that I've gotten, college, professional, everything,” Brophy said. “It all started here.”

Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jay Brophy honors loved ones, feels support as he enters APS Athletics HOF

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