Daily Press (Newport News, VA) - April 1, 1992
Robert F. ''Bobby'' Spangler, 74, whose football career earned him fame and honors, died Tuesday, March 31.
Mr. Spangler began his four-year football career at Duke University in 1935 and was quarterback for the ''Blue Devils'' 1938 appearance at the Rose Bowl. After graduating from Duke in 1939, he returned to the Peninsula and became the head coach for the Newport News Builders, a semi-pro football league in the Dixie League.
He also coached at Morrison (now Warwick) High School, Atlantic Christian College in Wilson, N.C., and Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. In subsequent years, he utilized his athletic skills in working with children in the Little League program.
He has been nominated for induction into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. The formal announcement will be made April 24. Mr. Spangler earned the distinction as the first recipient of the Peninsula Sports Club's sports person ''Emeritus'' Award.
Prior to his quarterback days at Duke, he was competing in many sports at Newport News High School. Mr. Spangler earned letters in football, basketball, track and tennis and also played American Legion baseball.
He was the first State Farm representative for Williamsburg, a position he held for 35 years. From 1940 to 1945, Mr. Spangler was employed as a draftsman at Newport News Shipbuilding.
A native of Newport News, he was a charter member and trustee of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Williamsburg. Mr. Spangler was a past president of the Williamsburg Lions Club and an avid golfer and a member of the Williamsburg Country Club. He was also a member of Beta Theta Pi National Fraternity.
He is survived by his wife, Elsie Lee Davis Spangler; two daughters, Barbara Reach of Phoenix, Ariz., and Lynn Norfleet of Richmond; and three grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 tonight at Bucktrout Funeral Home. A funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home by the Rev. Willetta B. Heising and Dr. John Byerly. Burial will be in Peninsula Memorial Park, Newport News.
Memorials may be made to St. Stephen's Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 165, Williamsburg 23187. Edition: Final
Page: B4
Copyright (c) 1992, Daily Press Inc. All rights reserved.