Those who knew Ed Vuillemin dubbed him a “humble throwback” who played football at St. Vincent and Notre Dame in the 1960s with “old-school sportsmanship.”
Vuillemin was a standout for St. V coach Eddie Wentz. His talent attracted the attention of colleges from all over the United States, including Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian, an Akron native.
“Ed was a very good athlete,” said John Cistone, who was a longtime football coach at St. V and St. Vincent-St. Mary. “He was very focused on football. He loved football. He went from being a top athlete at St. V to Notre Dame on a scholarship.
“He was a top kid who had everything. He was very smart, intelligent, good looking, built, blond — he had everything going for him.”
Vuillemin contributed to the 1966 Notre Dame team that won the national championship.
Vuillemin suffered a stroke last week and died at age 69 on Friday, May 5, with family at his side at the Hospice of the VNS — Justin P. Rogers Care Center. He had dealt with schizophrenia since the onset of the mental disorder at age 22.
The Vuillemin family held a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday morning at St. Paul’s Catholic Church and then an interment at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Vuillemin was born to Rita (Huth) and Alfred E. Vuillemin on Sept. 6, 1947, in Akron. The family resided in Firestone Park, and Ed attended St. Paul’s grade school.
Vuillemin graduated from St. V in 1965. He was a senior captain and All-Ohio player in football for Wentz, who coached St. V’s football team from 1924-1964. Vuillemin played fullback and middle linebacker in football, competed in the heavyweight class in wrestling and tossed the shot put and discus in track and field.
Cistone, a 1950 St. V graduate, was an assistant at St. V under Wentz for eight seasons, including Vuillemin’s freshman, sophomore and junior years.
Vuillemin was a sophomore reserve on the 1966 Notre Dame team that went 9-0-1, won the national championship and played in the epic tie against Michigan State.
Vuillemin battled injuries his final two years at Notre Dame and earned an economics degree in 1969. He signed a contract with the NFL’s Washington Redskins, who were being coached by Green Bay Packers legend Vince Lombardi.
Schizophrenia cut into Vuillemin’s playing career, and he returned to Akron and served as a substitute teacher and an assistant coach under Cistone.
Dan Boarman, a 1970 St. V graduate, remembers watching Vuillemin as a kid.
“When I started at St. Vincent, Ed was already at Notre Dame,” said Boarman, who was the football coach at Copley from 1990-2006 and St. V-M from 2007-2015.
“I was talking to a friend today and the phrase ‘Golden Boy’ came out. Ed had it all. He was a great athlete at St. V and at Notre Dame.”
Former Notre Dame teammates Terry Hanratty, Bob Belden, Tom Eaton, Bob Neidert and Bob Meeker were in attendance at the funeral. Belden is a Canton Central Catholic graduate and Neidert is a Archbishop Hoban graduate.
“Eddie and I were classmates, teammates and friends,” said Hanratty, a two-time All-American quarterback at Notre Dame who later played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“He was truly a really good guy. He was a hell of a football player. … He got bad shoulders at Notre Dame and that curtailed his career there.
“Eddie had it all and was so good looking. He was a cross between a young Paul Hornung and a young Bobby Orr.”
Former Notre Dame and Miami Dolphins lineman Bob Kuechenberg, a friend of Mr. Vuillemin, was unable to attend the funeral, but sent a text message to the family.
Vuillemin is a member of the St. V-M Hall of Fame. An obituary written by his family described him as “a beautiful, loving, and devoted son, brother and true friend who lived and played with joy and a wonderful, hearty laugh.”
Vuillemin was preceded in death by his parents, and brother, Jim. He is survived by brothers, John (Karen), Larry (Carol), Fred (Nina); sister, Mary Ann (Fred Blakely); aunts, Marian Holibaugh, Elizabeth DiCenzi, Barbara (Richard Hill), uncle, Richard Huth, niece, Betsy Vuillemin; nephews, Brett, Jacob, and Zachary Vuillemin, and several cousins.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.