WL graduate remembered as much more than just a star athlete

Sievers was multiple-sport prep standout and college and pro football starter

Through a lifelong involvement in sports, primarily football, Eric Sievers became an impactful person in Arlington and beyond.

He continues so in death, with many remembering the native Arlingtonian in so many positive manners, extending long beyond his player career.

Sievers, a 1976 Washington-Lee High School graduate, died April 10 after a six-year struggle with bladder cancer, a disease family members said he battled with the same type of aggressiveness as when he was a star football player in high school, then in college at the University of Maryland as a tight end and the same in the National Football League for three teams, mainly the San Diego Chargers.

Sievers was 66.

At Washington-Lee, Sievers was a multiple-sport standout, where he helped the Generals to one of their best football seasons in 1975 (9-2 record and second in the region), and winning seven times the season before. No WL football teams have won 16 games in consecutive seasons since.

Sievers also played basketball at WL and was a member of the track and field team. He is considered one of the best and most accomplished athletes in WL and Arlington sports history.

Josh Shapiro, head football coach at Washington-Liberty (as it is known now) said Sievers continued to give back to the school over the years, including donating football equipment and giving motivational talks to the team.

“He was a next-level guy and still had a passion for WL sports and the school,” Shapiro said. “He would walk into a room and everyone knew him.”

The many awards and honors Sievers received over the years at various levels are so lengthy and significant, not all can be mentioned in this article. The lists can be found on different Websites.

Among Sievers’ biggest accomplishments were his inductions into multiple sports Hall of Fames, including his high school’s, the Arlington Sports Hall of Fame and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Sievers was a Parade Magazine football All-American in high school.

Longtime WL gymnastics coach Joe D’Emidio met Sievers and his wife, Diana, in high school, remembering how they were high-school sweethearts and W-L’s Couple of the Year in 1976. D’Emidio coached Diana on the gymnastics team.

“He was a great role model for the other athletes at WL,” D’Emidio said. “Over the years he continued as a great supporter of WL. He donated to the Hall of Fames. “No one said anything bad about him.”

Sievers was a standout tight end at Maryland. Then he was the same in the NFL as a big part of San Diego head coach Don Coryell’s wide-open passing offense with quarterback Dan Fouts, who kept in contact with Sievers until his death.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Sievers played 10 seasons in the NFL, making the All-Rookie team in 1981. He had 214 career catches for 2,485 yards and 16 touchdowns.

In addition to his wife, Sievers is survived by his sons Chris and Tim.

“The outpouring of support we have received has been incredible,” Chris Sievers told the GazetteLeader. “My dad was a great man who had a great impact on a lot of people and still loved his high school and Arlington sports. He was very humble and never looked at himself as someone special. He had an unbelievable moral compass, always put others before himself and his preparedness in every capacity for everything he did in life was unparalleled.”