Southern Tier sports star Chuck Crist, 69, dies

Nov. 3--Chuck Crist may have been the most complete athlete ever in New York State's Southern Tier.

Crist, 69, died on Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic after his health declined over the years in his battle with aplastic anemia. He was living in Bemus Point when he died, but he was a Salamanca native. He stood out in four varsity sports at Salamanca High, playing college basketball at Penn State before playing seven seasons in the National Football League for the New York Giants, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. He also was a six-time club champion golfer at Holiday Valley and played on local championship-level softball teams.

Crist was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. The only question was why it took so long, because he was an athletic legend in Cattaraugus County. He not only is a member of the county's sports hall of fame, he was inducted into the Chautauqua County Sports Hall of Fame even though he did not live there in his years as an athlete.

Crist was Most Valuable Player in football, basketball, baseball and track and field for Salamanca before going to Penn State. Recruited for football and basketball, Crist went to Happy Valley intending to compete for the starting quarterback position. However, he did not make his mark in football for the Nittany Lions.

"When I got to camp the very first day, I went in to get my equipment and I told them my name, 'Chuck Crist,' " he told sports reporter Jason Wolf of The Buffalo News in a 2019 interview. "(One football coach) goes, 'What position?' I said 'Quarterback.' So he flips the page and he looks and he goes, 'There's 16 of them here and you're not one of them.' And then he flips the page and says, 'Oh, defensive back. There you are. Number 2.'

"I never got on to the football field. I only watched two football games while I was there. I was a pretty confident, brash young kid. One of the reasons I chose Penn State was that they were going to give me the opportunity to play both sports, and then make a decision. They wanted me to be a defensive back first thing, and I said that's not the agreement. So I got up, shook Joe Paterno's hand, said 'Thank you very much,' and left the team."

Crist, who had made All-WNY in the 1967-68 season when he averaged 24.6 points and led the Salamanca Warriors to two Section VI Class A championship in three seasons, turned his sole attention to basketball. He played three seasons on the Penn State varsity under coach John Bach, averaging 10.4 and 10.9 points his last two seasons. As a senior in 1971-72, Crist was MVP on a team that went 17-8, Penn State's best record since 1966.

His football days were not over, however. Bach, who knew Giants owner Wellington Mara from their years at Fordham University, arranged for a football tryout with the New York team. Despite not being among the 442 players selected in the 1972 NFL Draft, Crist made the Giants as a safety and played for them for three seasons.

Crist was cut when the Giants coach Bill Arnsparger overhauled the roster in 1975. Crist ended up with the Saints and enjoyed his greatest success as a pro. He was the Saints' defensive MVP in 1977 when he had four of his 20 career interceptions. He finished his career with the 49ers in 1978.

"You could always count on Chuck," said fellow Saints defensive back Tommy Myers. "He was very consistent. ... He would always give you a real good effort. He was always in the places he was supposed to be. And every once in a while, he would make a big play that would help us win the game."

Following his football career, Crist moved back to Western New York and settled down to family life.

"I wound up raising my children," Crist told Wolf in 2019. "My wife was in the real estate business and was very supportive. ... It was a nice lifestyle. I was in the insurance business for a couple of years. But it wasn't me. I went into teaching and coaching."

Crist was an assistant football coach at Cattaraugus Central (1983-85) and Alfred University (1985-91). He was a school principal in Salamanca Central School District until his retirement in 2015. Golf became a passion, especially during vacations at Hilton Head, S.C.

At times, he struggled with his health but his determination never waned.

Scott Kindberg, sports editor of the Jamestown Post-Journal, recalled how Crist, a patient at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2015, "defied all odds that cold, winter evening and made it" to the Chautauqua Hall of Fame banquet in February 2015.

"Ever the competitor, there was no way he was going to miss it," Kindberg wrote.

Surviving are his wife, Patti; son Scott, of Bemus Point; daughter, Niki O'Neill, of Charlotte, N.C.; four grandchildren ; two sisters ; and two brothers .

Private funeral services will be held at the convenience of the family. A celebration of life will be held later.

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