Elvis Grbac, Guest Speaker: April 28th, 2019
St. Vitus Parish is pleased to announce that Elvis Grbac will a guest speaker at St. Vitus Church on APRIL 28, 2019 (Sunday) after the 9:00AM Mass in the lower church hall. Sponsored by: St. Vitus Pastoral and Finance Councils, St. Vitus Alumni, St. Anne Lodge #4 AMLA, and KSKJ Lodges, St Vitus #25 and Christ The King #226, and Slovenian Women Union Scholarship Foundation.
Elvis was born Aug. 13, 1970 in Cleveland, Ohio to Ivan and Cecilija Grbac. The Grbac family emigrated from Croatia to the USA in 1967 to escape religious persecution. He was baptized in St. Vitus Church. He attended St. Joseph High School where he played and excelled in basketball and football; and then attended and graduated from University of Michigan. Elvis became the starting quarterback in 1990 where he led the Wolverines to a co-Big Ten Championship in 1990. During his career at UM, UM won four Big Ten titles. He led the Wolverines to a Gator Bowl victory in 1991 as well as three appearances in the Rose Bowl: 1990, 1992, and 1993. He was a Sammy Baugh Trophy winner as the leading college QB, and UM’s all-time leader in passing attempts, completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns. Elvis graduated from UM in 1993 with a B.A. in Communications.
He was drafted and selected in the eighth round in the 1993 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. During his 1994 rookie season, the 49ers won Super Bowl XXIX with 49-26 victory with Elvis was the backup quarterback to Steve Young from 1994-1996. He appeared in 42 games with the 49ers, nine as the starting quarterback. In 1997 he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as their starting quarterback. He led them to their fourth AFC West Division championship in that 1998 season. Grbac played with the Chiefs for four seasons and then signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 before opting for early retirement at the end of that season. Elvis played nine seasons in the NFL, starting 69 of the 106 games he played for San Francisco (1994-96), Kansas City (1997-2000) and Baltimore (2001).
The Grbac family then relocated to Northeast Ohio and settled in Chagrin Falls. He is husband of Lori and their three children, Jack, Calvin and Ella. Elvis was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2010 Elvis became quarterbacks coach at St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio. Elvis serves on the pastoral council at the Church of the Holy Angels, Chagrin Falls, and is also involved in teaching Youth Catechesis. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and is a sought after speaker.
Light pastry, coffee, and orange juice will be provided. There is no admission but a free-will offering will be taken and donated to Joseph House of Cleveland Inc., a not-for-profit tax exempt organization that resettles immigrants coming to Cleveland as well as a clothing distribution ministry to all in need.