Chuck Zapiec

Chuck Zapiec (born July 1, 1949)was an All-American Linebacker at Penn State and Defensive Captain of the Cotton Bowl Champion Nittany Lions, 1971 record 11-1, that went on to defeat Texas 30-6.

"Charlie" started every game at Penn State that he was eligible for and graduated with the best record of any Penn State Player ever, 34 and 1, winning two Orange Bowls, defeating Kansas and Missouri, and one Cotton Bowl, with a win over Texas!

"Big Daddy Z", as he was known by his friends and coach Paterno, started as an Offensive Guard his Sophomore and Junior Years when the Lions went undefeated in 1968 and 1969. Big Z was named to the All-America Blocking Team selected by Wirt Gammon of the Chattanooga Times in 1969. As an Offensive Guard he earned All-East Honors each Year and was a Second All American Selection in 1969.

He is most remembered in Penn State Annuls as the lead blocker that took out Kansas All-American John Zook at the goal line that allowed Bobby Campbell to score a 2-point conversion that lead to a Nittany Lion 15-14 Orange Bowl Victory with no time on the clock. This successful try followed an errant pass on the first 2 point attempt when Kansas was penalized for having 12 men on the field. George Plimpton, author of the book and movie Paper Lion, went on to characterize Zapiec's block on Zook as the most important block in College Football, equivalent to Jerry Kramer taking out Jethro Pugh at the goal line to allow Bart Star to score in the 1967 NFL Championship. Fourteen years later NBC voted the Penn State - Kansas finish as the most exciting game in the first 40 years of televising College Football.

Switching to Defense for the 1970 Season, Big Z was moved to middle linebacker, a position he was destined to play after idolizing his boyhood hero Chuck Bednarik, aka, "Concrete Charlie". Bednarik was the last of the 2-way performers in the NFL leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the 1960 Championship over Lombardi's Packers when he played Center and Middle Linebacker for 60 minutes.

Unfortunately, after only playing 1 game as a middle linebacker that year against Navy in 1970, Charlie suffered an appendectomy on the plane flying out to Colorado to play the Buffalos who went on the next day to defeat the Lions and bring to halt their 31 game winning streak. The next year Charlie returned to the defensive side of the ball moving to outside linebacker, captaining the Team and earning First Team All- American Honors. Additionally, he was awarded the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Game Award (1971 was the first year that Chevrolet gave the game award) against Iowa that year when he made 18 solo tackles in a victory over the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium - still a one game record for Penn State Linebackers today!

Following his illustrious career at Penn State, Chuck was chosen in the Fourth Round Draft by Dallas Cowboys in 1972. Picked up by the Miami Dolphins later that year he chose not to play the Dolphins "Taxi Squad" and elected to gain playing time as a Starter in the CFL.

Chuck went on to play linebacker for the Ottawa Rough Riders and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from 1972-1978. He was a CFL All-Star two times and was a part of two Grey Cup victories for the Alouettes. He finished his career with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1979.

Chuck has the distinction of playing for the Winningest Coach in College Football, Joe Paterno, and the Winningest Coach in Professional Football, Don Shula. Chuck also played for two other NFL Hall of Fame Coaches, Tom Landry and Marv Levy.

After his distinguish football career on the field, Chuck continued his success off the field ranging from financial services sales and management to Independent Venture Capital & Private Equity Professional. In the mid 90's he left Merrill Lynch and formed his own Venture Capital Company, Waterford Capital. Waterford invested in fast growing Internet Companies, many of which are still operating today.

Seizing the Opportunity to take advantage of the Technological Breakthroughs which were first starting then, he founded an Internet company and became its CEO, appliedE, Inc: focused on "KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVAL AND RECOLLECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS" used by professionals to bill their clients for research done over the Internet. He has 5 Patents issued to him as the Inventor which formed the basis of the company's software product, PartnerOnline.

A medical setback sent him on rest and recovery vacation to Hilton Head in 1997 where he fell in love with the Island and started investing in real estate. Using his tech background, Chuck was one of the first vacation rental companies to advertise on the Internet and he used that advantage to grow his real estate holdings over the next 10 years.

Chuck currently owns a Vacation Rental Company in Hilton Head, SC - Hilton Head Hideaways. Additionally he owns two other Enterprises, a Cleaning Services Company - A-1 Cleaning Services, and a Maintenance Company - A-1 Resort Services. He has a General Manager who operates his business enterprises which focus on real estate management of short term vacation rentals and long term rentals of homes and villas.

Chuck has been real estate investor on Hilton Head for the past 16 years, buying, renting and selling properties for his own account. He recently became licensed Realtor with Weichert Coastal Properties to take advantage of his expertise in building real estate portfolios for other investors accounts; he also specializes in Commercial Properties on Hilton Head Island.

His financial and practical experience makes him a real estate expert in investing in residential and commercial properties on Hilton Head Island and the surrounding areas.

His tag line is - Interested in Real Estate? "Talk to Chuck"