St. Cloud Times — Mike Spanier is now in his 17th season as an NFL official.
Prior to that, he officiated in the Big Ten and at other levels of college football.
There isn’t much he hasn’t accomplished in his career. But if the Sartell resident has one regret, it’s this:
Dick Putz didn’t live to see all he’s gone on to accomplish.
Putz — a longtime area official himself, and a mentor to Spanier and many others — died 25 years ago this week at the age of 61 after suffering a heart attack.
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But his impact didn’t stop there. He was a longtime booster of athletics at St. Cloud State, where he was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 1988. And he was the president of the Minnesota Baseball Association Board, the body that governs amateur baseball in the state. He’s a member of the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame and the Minnesota Fastpitch Softball Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame as well.
Read more: http://www.sctimes.com/story/life/2015/10/01/putzs-legacy-lives-years-death/73131214/
