Spagnola played receiver and linebacker at Bethlehem Catholic High School in Pennsylvania and went to Yale University. As a Boy Scout at Notre Dame Elementary School, he was awarded the Eagle Scout rank and was inducted into the Eagle Scout Hall of Fame. He was a grade school and high school classmate of running backMike Guman, who later starred at Penn State, and played 10 years professionally for the Los Angeles Rams. Bethlehem Catholic went 11-0-0 in 1974 with Spagnola as one of the team captains. He left Yale University as the all-time leading receiver in receptions and yards. He was an honorable mention All-American tight end at Yale in '79.
Professional career
Spagnola was drafted in the ninth round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He played in eleven NFL seasons from 1979 to 1987 for the Philadelphia Eagles, 1988 for the Seattle Seahawks, and in 1989 for the Green Bay Packers. Spagnola was voted the Eagles' MVP in 1984. His best year in the NFL came during the 1985 season for the Philadelphia Eagles when he caught 65 receptions for 701 yards and five touchdowns. In 1985, Spagnola and Mike Quick combined to set two club records; most receptions by two players and most combined receiving yards, breaking a record previously shared by Hall of FamerTommy McDonald and Timmy Brown. He was a pro-bowl alternative in 1985 and 1984. He caught the most passes than any other tight end in the National Football Conference in 1985 and 1984. He also appeared in Super Bowl XV for the Eagles versus the Oakland Raiders, catching one reception for 22 yards. Spagnola ranks 14th on the Eagle's all-time reception list with 256 catches for 2,833 yards. His 12 catches in one game against New Orleans in 1985 were just two short of the club record shared by Brian Westbrook and Don Looney. Spagnola served as a player representative of the National Football League Players Association. During the labor strike in 1987, Spagnola's Philadelphia Eagles were the only team in the NFL whose players did not cross the picket line. Spagnola was the first executive vice president of the NationalFootball League Players Association. In 2008-2009 Spagnola was sought by the National Football League Players Association's executive search firm, Reilly Partners, to succeed Gene Upshaw as executive director. Spagnola remained in the running after the union pared its list of finalists to five.
In 1984, he began his career in the financial services industry working for the First Boston Corporation in New York and Philadelphia. During this time, Mr. Spagnola worked in institutional sales and trading where he developed an in-depth knowledge of the capital markets, proprietary trading and corporate underwriting. In 1992, with Michael Cosack, he co-founded Spagnola-Cosack, Inc., an independent investment consulting firm that serviced Public, Taft-Hartley, Corporate, Hospital, Endowment, and Foundation Funds. Over a ten-year period the assets under advisement grew to over $3.5 billion. In 2003 Spagnola-Cosack, Inc. was acquired by Public Financial Management, a financial advisory firm located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He brings over twenty-three years of investment experience to PFM Advisors. As the Managing Director of PFM Advisors, Spagnola's duties include serving on the investment committee, overseeing marketing and client service and consulting with Public, Hospital, Endowment, and Taft-Hartley Fund clients who use the investment consulting and discretionary management services of PFM Advisors.
