'It made us all feel a part of the NFL'

Former NFL player returns to Clark Fork with a gold gift

He caught touchdown passes from both Clark Fork quarterback Rick Adams and Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, was on the field for one of the most memorable Super Bowls in NFL history, and was everything from a Wampus Cat, to a Beaver, to a Cowboy, 49er, Falcon and Seahawk.

On Saturday night Ron Heller will return to his old stomping grounds with a bright and sparkling present for his former high school, where he starred as a football, basketball and track athlete before graduating in 1981.

As part of the NFL’s 50th Anniversary celebration, the league gave a gold-covered football to the high school of every player or coach who ever took part in the spectacle that is the Super Bowl.

Heller played on special teams and was a backup tight end in Super Bowl XXIII, a game most remembered for the aforementioned Montana leading a game-winning 92-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes to lead the 49ers to a 20-16 win over the Bengals.

Lewis Speelmon, who was the athletic director and head basketball coach at Clark Fork when Heller played there, remembers watching his former player on one of the biggest stages in sports.

“His biggest play was on one of the last punts, he downed the ball on the 1- or 2-yard line. That was really neat,” recalls Speelmon, noting many in North Idaho were also paying close attention to No. 89. “The whole surrounding area, whether they played against him or with him, it made us all feel a part of the NFL. We all remember what Jerry Kramer did out of Sandpoint. It just reinforced that.”

Speaking of Kramer, he presented Sandpoint with a gold ball during halftime of a Bulldog football game this fall during a memorable night. All told, there are only 11 gold footballs being presented in Idaho, with just four in North Idaho, two belonging to Bonner County.

Heller, whose dad Don Sr. and brother Randy still live in Clark Fork, and whose brother Don is currently a track coach in Caldwell, was a force as a high school running back/linebacker, back when the Wampus Cats switched back and forth between eight-man to 11-man, depending on the opponent. With just 14 players, they trekked north to face Bonners Ferry in 1981, and more than held their own in the 11-man brand.

With Heller, and teammates Rick Adams, Don and Kelly Crawford, and Todd and Jimmy Johnson, the Cats lost to the Badgers by just a couple points.

“They were leaders. They wanted to have a good school,” remembers Speelmon, who coached the same kids to a third-place state finish in basketball. “If there was anything going on in the hallways that shouldn’t have been, they would take care of it. There was an aura about them, good kids, good families.”

Heller was all-state in basketball, and also won state titles in the 100 meters as a junior and the 200 meters as a senior. He was a sight to behold rambling down the asphalt tracks.

“When he ran, it was like a wedge, he was a big guy in the middle with all of these little guys,” describes Speelmon of the sprints. “He was such a hard worker. He ran in the summertime, would run after work late at night. Extremely dedicated. There wasn’t a weight room in Clark Fork back then, and they’d gather what weights they could and would lift in a garage.”

Blessed with great speed and agility for a 6-foot-3, 230-pound player, Heller drew heavy recruiting interest out of high school, stretching as far away as Tennessee and legendary head coach Johnny Majors.

He chose to stay closer to home and signed with Oregon State of the then-Pac-10, where his lateral quickness made him a tackling machine as a starting linebacker his sophomore and junior seasons. As a senior he moved to tight end, and was eventually signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, but did not make the team.

He did do enough to catch on with a budding dynasty in San Francisco, where in two seasons as a backup tight end in 1987 and ’88 he caught 26 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns, earning some Super Bowl bling in the process.

After two years with the 49ers, Heller had his most productive season as a pro with the Falcons, tallying 324 yards on 33 catches, good enough to rank sixth among NFL tight ends that season. After one season in Atlanta he played another two in Seattle, finishing his career with 84 catches for 871 yards, to go with five touchdowns.

Now Heller is the CEO of a successful business called Senior Portfolio Advisor, and lives in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Not bad for a kid from Clark Fork.