60 Heroes: Taking a Hard Line for Players

After John Spagnola, originally a late-round draft pick of the New England Patriots, joined his hometown Philadelphia Eagles as a rookie free agent in 1979, he soon grew close with John Bunting. While serving as an Executive Committee member during the 1982 strike, Bunting educated Spagnola about the labor process, leading Spagnola to take the baton as the team's Player Rep in 1983. The lessons learned during that time set the foundation for Spagnola himself to become a bedrock for the union for years to come, especially during the 1987 player strike.

As Spagnola witnessed player salaries becoming a smaller piece of the growing NFL revenue pie, as well as the owners' ability to relocate franchises in the name of profit, he grew more passionate about the players' ongoing fight for free agency. When the players elected to go on a 24-day, four-game strike in 1987, the standout tight end organized a large protest outside of Veterans Stadium that drew nearly 5,000 players, fans and fellow union workers prior to a replacement game against the Chicago Bears.

Spagnola's continued efforts helped the Eagles become one of the union's strongest teams -- not one veteran player on the Eagles crossed the picket line when owners elected to use replacement players during the work stoppage. 

Spagnola went on to become Executive Vice President of the NFLPA and later, following his NFL retirement in 1990, a finalist to become Executive Director following the 2008 death of Gene Upshaw. The Yale graduate has continued his work with the labor movement by serving as a paid advisor to public-employer and union pension plans in Pennsylvania.