Furfari At-Large
December 22, 2004 08:53 PM | General
Tom Yeater was a fine halfback for West Virginia University in the early 1960s. He lettered as a regular in his first two years on the varsity, then missed virtually all of the '64 season after injuring a knee in the opening game against Richmond.
The Moundsville native, now 61, is retired in his old hometown. He needs a wheelchair to get around because three years ago he lost both legs at the knees to diabetes.
"I loved it here," Yeater said in a recent interview. "Ed Pastilong and I came to WVU together. We played football all the way from grade school through high school and then college."
He and Pastilong, who was a quarterback, have remained close friends over the years. In fact, because of his disability, Yeater watches WVU football games from a spot in the athletic director's box at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium.
"It's great to get back," he exclaimed. "A lot guys from my area used to play for WVU, but there aren't nearly as many today.”
At Moundsville High, Yeater played guard until his senior year. He then played halfback. He was a fullback his last season at WVU.
"I still come to every home game and also watch the Mountaineers on TV when they're playing away from home. I never come to a home game that I don't see someone besides Eddie with whom I played and haven't seen in years."
Yeater, like most of the Mountaineers from his era, remembers the games against Penn State and Pitt more than others.
The 15-8 victory over the Panthers in 1962 sticks out vividly in his mind. That's understandable, though. He scored the game-winning touchdown on a four-yard run. Equally memorable is his 92-yard pass-run play, with Jerry Yost at quarterback, for a touchdown in the 51-22 loss to Oregon State at Portland in 1962.
That was the longest pass play in WVU history up to that time.
The record stood until 1973 when Ben Williams hooked up with All-American Danny Buggs for a 96-yarder against Penn State.
WVU posted an 8-2 record in '62, the best of Gene Corum's six seasons as the head coach. That team lost only to Penn State 34-6 and Oregon State 51-22.
Besides Pitt, victories that year were over Vanderbilt 26-0, Virginia Tech 14-0, Boston University 7-0, George Washington 27-25, William & Mary 28-13, The Citadel 49-0 and Syracuse 17-6.
Yeater rushed 63 times for 214 yards in 1962 and 61 times for 242 yards in 1963. For those two seasons, he also caught eight passes for 160 yards and, on defense, logged 48 tackles.
The 1964 team capped its 7-3 regular-season with a 28-27 upset of Syracuse. That earned it an appearance against Utah in the Liberty Bowl at Atlantic City.
Yeater attended that game, but was unable to play because of a knee injury.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in physical education, he took a job as a sanitarian with the Marshall County Health Dept. and stayed there three years. Then he worked eight years with DuPont Chemical Co.
"The majority of my career was with the FMC Corp. as a safety engineer," Yeater said. "Based in Wilmington, Del., that firm had plants all over the world."
He retired three years ago when his legs were amputated, primarily as a result of diabetes.
Yeater now resides in an assisted living complex in Moundsville. His sister, Kay Rulong, and her husband live nearby and help him.
He has been divorced twice. He has one grown daughter, Jennifer Yeater.
