Former football players biking for good cause

By: Joey Nowak Posted: 04/20/09 6:14pm

Three former MSU football players are biking 2,000 miles this spring to raise money for an orphanage and are using the MSU football Green and White Game on Saturday as a jump-off point.

John Shinsky, a former MSU defensive tackle, and his wife, Cindy, hope to open an orphanage in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas. They have raised $800,000 toward the effort, but hope to raise $500,000 more through the bike-riding event.

Shinsky will be joined on the journey by two former teammates — Eljay Bowron and Joe DeLamielleure.

Bowron, born and raised in Detroit, came to MSU out of Detroit Denby High to play offensive lineman for the Spartans. After graduation, he became a member of the Secret Service, where he protected Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan, among others. He served as director of the Secret Service from 1993-97.

DeLamielleure played offensive guard at MSU and was a two-time All-Big Ten player and All-American as a senior. He went on to be a first-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1973 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

Shinsky was an MSU team captain and has served as a teacher and assistant principal in the Lansing School District. In 2000, he became an associate professor at Grand Valley State.

The planned facility in Matamoros is expected to cover 33,000 square feet and consist of 12 buildings. According to its Web site, it will provide a home, food, safety, love, education and bilingual and vocational training for hundreds of children who are abandoned physically, sexually and emotionally.

Check back throughout the week to statenews.com for updates on this event and the Green and White Game on Saturday.

For more information on the former football players, their cause and their journey, click here.

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