How the Eagles First Round Pick in 1984 Changed My Life

Originally distributed in 2015

In 1984, I was in 10th grade, and my mom, Susan Tose Spencer, was the GM for the Philadelphia Eagles. 

To this day, she is still the only female to have been GM, VP, and legal counsel for a PRO team. Yes, I am impressed with her. The BOSS LADY, the BEST MOM and GRANDMOTHER ever!! 

In my house, the NFL Draft was always a HUGE event, for the fans all over, but it's only gotten bigger and more exciting these days! One thing I will say about Roger Goodell is that he knows how to put on a good show for Draft Day! I am a fan of what Draft Day has become; it's an experience that, previously, very few had the opportunity to participate in. 

I was fortunate to live and breathe draft day in the board room, and I had no idea how much a first-round pick in 1984 would change my life. 

During high school, I would go to the senior lounge, usually off limits to non-seniors, and use the pay phone to call my mom to collect. Her secretary would then transfer the call to the draft room, and then, like a character in a Judy Blume novel, I secured my status as the coolest girl in school. Like I have said before, I could have been a leper from Calcutta, and I would still be popular. Technically, all the girls were popular; my school, The Episcopal Academy, had been all boys, and in 1984, I was in the 3rd grade with girls; you do the math. Well, back to the story. 

The Eagles picked 4th in 1984, and they had decided that the Polish Rifle, aka Ron Jaworski, needed some weapons, and the man for the job was Kenny Jackson, a Penn Stater and disciple of Joe Pa!!

Kenny Jackson was paid, and I say this in my Austin Powers Dr. Evil tone, “1 million dollars” to sign. (See photo of my mom with Kenny.) Kenny clearly adored my mom. 

I was 16 years old and beginning to understand what was going on in the real world. My mom was stuck because either she would leave me at home with the babysitter during season away games, only to return home to a house with the remnants of a party and white shag carpets that were stained pink—my second favorite color—or she would bring me along and have her baby, a sweet 16-year-old, around a bunch of men almost her age and full of testosterone. 

When I did travel with the team, my grandfather had security for me. I had a curfew and was barely allowed to sit by the pool if we were in San Diego in December. For those of you who don't know, Philly winters are horrendous. I had to bring back my ban de soleil tan. It was on a flight to, I think, San Francisco when I decided that I was going to Penn State. I had a chance to talk to Kenny Jackson for a few hours, and we became quick friends. Kenny was a college star at PSU and a really great person. He was funny and nice, and he reassured me that Penn State would be the right place for me. It was also close enough to home, and I'm a mommy's girl, and we all know my obsession with my grandfather, so PSU made sense. 

I was drafted into the world of the Nittany Lions!! Now how this decision changed my life, goes like this, I learned nothing in school, except that I wanted to make everyone's life better through the only thing I actually knew - SPORTS!  I knew that understanding the value of sports was my skill. If I had ended up at another university, I may have become a doctor or lawyer, but no, I was a sorority girl and made it my mission to have a lot of friends and enjoy college life. I went to every tailgate at Beaver Stadium and rarely missed a football game, and all of this made me the person I am today. 

Everything I learned in college and the friends I made there are still important friendships to me. We were each other's successful draft picks. 

So, the 1984 Draft made me who I am today: a dedicated philanthropist with an organization committed to making everyone's childhood better. You only get one childhood, and I had the best one, and I want to do all I can to make others have a great one too! I believe a ball can do that.

With our children’s book series and fan engagement company, Gameday in the USA, I see the impact of giving kids their very own ball, and I love it when one of the kids we have donated a ball to is on the field or court playing. Whether it's as the first-round pick or catching a ball with their brother, sister, or neighbor in the local community center, I know that without the BALL there is no draft and that the BALL is always the first-round pick.

Thank you, Mom, for picking the awesome KJ and for exposing me to sports! You're always my first-round pick! And my inspiration for Gameday in the USA.