NORM SNOWBERGER

2026 CHAMBERSBURG ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

The ultimate honor for a high school football player in Pennsylvania in the 1960s wasn’t winning a state championship – the statewide playoffs didn’t start until much later.

In that time period, participating in the Big 33 game was the pinnacle of success. The game in Hershey paired the best players of PA against a national all-star team, and it quickly became a highlight of the summer.

Norm Snowberger

For the big 33’s first four years, no Chambersburg player was selected to play in the game. However, in 1962, two-way lineman Norm Snowberger became the first Trojan to be selected.

Snowberger will be one of 9 individuals and one team to be inducted into the Chambersburg Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 18-19.

Other individuals are Jack Mull, Carla (Shearer) Christian, Kellen Williams, Steve Moore, Terri Yeager, Paul Kaiser, Craig Helmuth, and Brooke (Jacobs) Lombardozzi, and the 1989 state champion girls cross country team. Stories on each of them will be published this summer.

In Snowberger’s senior season in football, he was named to the All-South Penn Athletic League team, the All-Franklin County squad and was listed as an All-State player, on the third team.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder – who started for three years for Chambersburg — played offensive tackle and defensive line. That fall, the Trojans compiled an 8-1-1 record, rushing for 217.8 yards per game and giving up only 94.1 yards on the ground.

Also in high school, Snowberger was an accomplished track & field thrower, especially in the shot put. In his senior year, he placed second in the shot put and third in the javelin in the South Penn meet, and was fifth in the shot put in the District 3 championships.

Snowberger had football scholarship offers from more than 25 schools, and he picked Memphis State, but ended up transferring to Shippensburg University in time to play in the 1963 season.

After his college days, Snowberger was hoping to get a tryout with an NFL team, but was diagnosed with congenital spine narrowing. Instead, he signed to play with the Harrisburg Capitals in 1965-66.

Snowberger then played several years with the semi-pro Chambersburg Cardinals and Chambersburg Yellowjackets, garnering several All-Interstate Football League honors.

Cardinals president Bill Ramsey said in the mid 1970s, “Snowberger is the best football player to come out of Chambersburg in the last 40 years. The man who used to own the Harrisburg Caps said Snowberger was the best lineman they ever had.”

Snowberger also competed in the Franklin County Track & Field meet for several years, including taking first place in the shot put in 1965 with a throw of 51-8.75.

By Ed Gotwals