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Badanjek still a Southington legend
By Ryan Buck
Trumbull County native Rick Badanjek has had his name mispronounced a few times throughout his life, especially once he left his hometown.
He took his stepfather George’s last name when he was a boy.
“Sure, some people would butcher my name,” he said. “It’s Croatian, but most got my name correct [at home].”
“Buh-don-ick.”
Badanjek did not mind much. Then again, it did not matter because once football fans heard his name once, it was nearly impossible to forget.
In four seasons at Southington, Badanjek set a then-Trumbull County rushing record 5,336 yards and earned all-state and all-county honors while leading the Wildcats to heights unseen until they made the state playoffs for the first time in 2001.
He is still considered one of the great players to come out of Trumbull county.
“We played single-A football,” said Badanjek, who led the Wildcats to their best-ever record of 9-1 during his senior season in 1980. “It’s country-ville. We had to go out and find single-A teams that would play us, so we would play double-A and triple-A teams and we still dominated.
“It’s a great story for someone from a small area to do something if they put their mind to it.
“Is it the weather? Do we eat different bread or drink different milk? I am so proud to be from Northeast Ohio.”
The 5-foot-8, 200-pound running back moved on to the University of Maryland where he set numerous school records, including career rushing yards (2,417), points in a career (286), points scored in a season (102), touchdowns in a season (16) and career touchdowns (46), which he still holds.
Badanjek played two NFL seasons for the Washington Redskins and the Atlanta Falcons before he left the sport in 1987.
Admittedly, the Trumbull County Sports Hall of Famer says he is still amazed it came together for him.
“I never thought I would ever do what I did,” he said. “I wasn’t studying or getting good grades. I didn’t apply myself in school. I was just growing up and being a kid.
“I was very fortunate.”
Former Southington coach Dave Wilson recognized his pupil’s talents and, though knowing he had a lot of ground to make up, introduced him to college coaches and programs when they started recruiting Badanjek.
“He taught me discipline and he helped me get through what I needed to get through,” Badanjek said. “He always said good things. Eventually it sort of sank in.”
Ohio State and Michigan offered scholarships with the condition that he go to junior college in Kansas first. TCU had playing time waiting for him after a year at a junior college near their campus.
In the end, Badanjek chose Penn State, who sent him to Glen Mills, a small prep school near Philadelphia to play for one season and become eligible.
Glen Mills set him on a path to a successful college and professional career, he says.
“I didn’t think much of it,” he said. “I came out and visited, and the rest is history as they say.
“I’m glad I came. I’ve made a life of this.”
But instead of entering Penn State, Badanjek immediately saw the field at Maryland during his freshman season of 1982. It was then, during one of the most difficult periods of his life, that another mentor emerged.
“Bobby Ross was unbelievable to me,” Badanjek said of the iconic coach. “He took over where Dave [Wilson] left off.”
Before his sophomore season, Ross called Badanjek into his office and informed him that George had passed away. Badanjek was on the verge of quitting.
Days later at the funeral, a familiar face came through the church doors and sat down next to him.
“This man — who came from the NFL and all these big college programs — came to my father’s funeral without announcing it to me or anyone. “It was a blizzard that day, one of those Ohio snowstorms. To me that was something. I’ll never forget that as long as I live.”
Inspired by the three men that helped guide him, Badanjek returned to Glen Mills after his NFL stint.
There, he’s become a college preparatory teacher and a counselor for the mostly troubled, often court-adjudicated youths who attend the school. He has been there for 24 years and spent 17 coaching football before retiring in 2010.
Badanjek has helped an uncountable number of at-risk kids and sent many on to college, including current Baltimore Ravens running back Bernard Pierce, whom he compares to a son.
“Kids run into problems and we help them. That’s what I do. I’ve had a lot of good, good athletes.
Badanjek has five children and two grandchildren.
“Life has been good,” he says.