MOUNT HOPE, W. Va. -You may know the late Lonnie Warwick from his time spent playing in the NFL. However, before he played for the Minnesota Vikings, Warwick played football for his high school in Mount Hope, West Virginia. On the field, his talent for the game was unmistakable.
“…I really noticed it in the ninth grade when I’d watch him play out here and do some things that you normally wouldn’t see freshmen do, and I knew he was special,” says Teddy Spadaro, who played football with Lonnie Warwick in high school.
Even with his talent, his path to the big leagues wasn’t easy. Michael Kessinger, mayor of Mount Hope and a friend of Warwick, says his journey to the NFL can inspire the younger generation with his story of hard work and strength of character.
“Lonnie was a great guy. He… grew up in very humble beginnings. Literally went to school in the sixth grade without shoes on his feet and overcome so many obstacles… numerous, numerous obstacles in his life. Should have been a statistic many times, but always, always excelled, always come through…” says Mayor Kessinger.
Spadaro says, with his success in the NFL, Warwick could have lived anywhere, but chose to return to his hometown, where he married his high school sweetheart, April Warwick, and gave back to the community he loved. Spadaro, who became a football coach after graduation, says Warwick would often join him at his football camps.
“…To see those little kids line up and want to get his autograph… and the adults… I couldn’t hardly get him to work with me, he was signing autographs and all that. That was good, and I really miss him,” says Spadaro.
A few months ago, his community honored his legacy by renaming the stadium where he used to play into the “Lonnie Warwick Mount Hope Municipal Stadium.” After Warwick’s passing, Mayor Kessinger used this stadium to hold a celebration of life for a man who was a friend to many here and a legend to many others.
To honor that football history, many wore the purple of the Minnesota Vikings or the blue of the Mount Hope Mustangs where his successful football journey started. There was also live music from some of the people who used to play in his bar.
His wife calls this celebration a privilege and honor and says it shows the people of Mount Hope loved him as much as he loved them.
“He would really, really, really, really love this, and… I really have a sad time, but I know that he would be happy with his friends here and his family,” says April Warwick.
April Warwick says her husband loved this stadium and loved helped his area, including the young athletes starting the same path he did at their age.
This event also helped raise money for the stadium Lonnie Warwick loved and played in, with all proceeds from raised by the vendors set up here going to its restoration.
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