Beyond the Bio: Former US Open Director Jay Snyder
Photo by FacingCancerTogether.com
Prostate cancer survivors Thomas Goodman, Jr. (L) and Jay Snyder (R) at an event in Harrisburg.
(Harrisburg) — When Jay Snyder was a high school senior in Selinsgrove, legendary Susquehanna University football coach and athletic director Amos Alonzo Stagg, Jr., came out of his house to talk with Jay and his friends.
“He said, ‘you know, when you get old, you’re not going to be able to play baseball, you’ll never find enough people to play baseball, you can’t play football, you can’t play basketball,’” Snyder remembers, recalling Stagg’s high-pitched voice. “‘There are some sports you can play,’ he said, ‘tennis, golf and bowling.’”
Stagg then gave Snyder a tennis racquet, and the young man got the first taste of a sport where he would become a leader and its top official.
The 2013 US Open Tennis Tournament being played today is part of Snyder’s legacy.
As part of our Beyond the Bio series, witf‘s Craig Layne talks with Snyder about the roots of his leadership, which grew out of his experience as a 23-year-old lieutenant in Vietnam in 1965…
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Snyder describes his fight against cancer and his advocacy for prostate cancer screening…
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Snyder talks about his time as a tennis umpire and dealing with “bad boys” like John McEnroe:
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