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Harding unveils Warfield statue
By Joe Scalzo
warren
Three weeks after Paul Warfield stood in front of his president, he stood in front of his hometown.
At both, he was honored to be honored.
Speaking in front of his just-unveiled monument at Warren Harding High, Warfield’s speech started with the words “I really am speechless.” He then stopped several times to compose himself as he thanked the crowd of hundreds who gathered for “Paul Warfield Day” in Warren.
“To all of you who have come here this evening to pay tribute to me, I thought that I had a highlight … a few weeks ago … when I stood … with our president and he said some complimentary things to me,” Warfield said. “But certainly this ceremony this evening really surpasses that in many, many respects.”
Warfield, a Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver who won an NFL title with the Cleveland Browns and two Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins, joined members of the 1972 undefeated Dolphins at the White House on Aug. 20 as a guest of President Obama.
On Thursday, his high school unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of Warfield — wearing his No. 45 Panther jersey — between two double-sided granite panels celebrating his high school, Ohio State and pro careers. The monument sits just outside the home stands at Mollenkopf Stadium and was funded by private donations.
Warfield, who is retired and lives in Rancho Mirange, Calif., credited his teachers and his coaches for his development, particularly a sixth-grade gym teacher at First Elementary School named Clemons Seimdelia who convinced him to play football.
“I owe a lot to this community because it provided me an opportunity,” Warfield said. “Coming back to Warren means so much to me, because the foundation of whatever I am began right here.”
Warren Harding’s band and cheerleaders attended Thursday’s event, the football team wore red-and-white Panther jerseys — the team normally wears black-and-gold Raider jerseys, a product of the 1990 merger between Harding and Western Reserve — and several business and community leaders gave speeches and presented gifts, including the key to the city and a sign commemorating “Paul Warfield Way,” which leads into the stadium.
“Instead of using flowery phrases like ‘best of the best,’ ‘cream of the crop’ and ‘the cherry on top,’ let’s just say this: ‘Paul Dryden Warfield is the greatest athlete in the history of Warren G. Harding High School, Warren, Ohio, Trumbull County and the entire Mahoning Valley,’” said his former teammate Ray Yannucci. “Period. Exclamation point. End of story.”