George “Lefty” Demko of Catasauqua, Pa., entered the Marine Corps directly out of high school. He served in Korea where he was wounded and received a Purple Heart. After his military service he attended West Chester State College on the G.I. Bill. He would play three years of football under the legendary Glenn Killinger. He was a dominating offensive tackle who also played defense. He co-captained the 1957 Golden Rams team. During his time at West Chester the Rams were 21-4. He would later be elected to the West Chester Hall of Fame.

After West Chester, he attended Penn State University where he received his Master’s. In 1964, after studying abroad in the Soviet Union, he received his Ph D in Geography from Penn State. He went on to teach at Ohio State University for 18 years, including working on projects for NASA. The World Bank, and the United Nations. He left academia for public service at the National Science Foundation and the Federal Government in Washington, D.C., where he served as the Geographer of the United States.

Demko died on October 25, 2014. Former West Chester athlete, Bruce Shenk, describes him as follows: “I remember George (we called him Lefty) as the father figure on our football team, when he spoke, we listened. He was no-nonsense when necessary, but otherwise a fun-loving team mate. He was an outstanding player and leader.”