Spencer Enjoyed Being Close To Action for Bulldogs

SPRINGDALE —Lee Spencer spent more than 30 years as a regular on the sidelines at Springdale High football games.

He began as a hard-hitting defensive back who enjoyed trading paint with an opposing player. After graduation, he became a longtime member of Springdale’s chain crew.

People who knew Spencer, who passed away in 2007 at age 57 from a heart attack, say he always enjoyed being close to the action. Sometimes that meant jumping in on a pile as a defensive back for Springdale in the late 1960s.

“He was very aggressive,” said Gary Jech, who was a defensive end for the Bulldogs and graduated with Spencer in 1968.

Spencer and Jech later worked together on Springdale’s chain crew, and in August they’ll both be members of the Springdale Hall of Fame. Spencer will be posthumously inducted into the hall of fame two years after Jech’s induction.

“He loved Springdale athletics and loved the Springdale Bulldogs,” Jech said.

Spencer was a three-time lettermen at Springdale, and he was a standout on the school’s 1967 football team that lost only one game.

Cyndy Spencer, Lee’s wife, joked that she has heard stories about how her former husband liked to hit opposing players. He wasn’t afraid to make a tackle, and he took pride in how scuff ed up his helmet got during a game.

It was even better if his helmet had another team’s paint on it.

“He liked to have that color on his helmet,” Cyndy said, laughing.

Spencer still wanted to be a part of Springdale’s games after graduating, so he joined the chain crew and helped keep track of the down and distance.

He served on the Bulldogs’ “chain gang” from 1974-2006, giving him the chance to walk the sidelines during the tenure of former Springdale coaches Jarrell Williams, Gus Malzahn and Kevin Johnson.

“You could always get a feel for the game because you’re on the field, and it was much better than sitting in the stands with our spouses,” Jech said. “It was as close to being a part of the team as we could be, and Lee loved that part, too.”

Spencer’s wife said Lee took his job on the chain crew seriously. Of course, he also had a fun-loving personality that enjoyed being only a few feet from the action.

He also liked being able to hear what the opposing coaches had to say.

“He felt like he was still playing on the field,” his wife said. “And he said it was the best view.”