Early Years
Roethlisberger was born in Lima, Ohio, the son of Ida Jane (née Foust) and Kenneth Todd "Ken" Roethlisberger. His father is a former pitcher and quarterback at Georgia Tech. He is of part Swiss descent; his surname, "Roethlisberger" (Swiss-German spelling: Röthlisberger), is of Swiss origin, with roots in the village of Geissbuehl Lauperswil, Switzerland.
At Findlay High School in Findlay, Ohio, Roethlisberger was captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. Roethlisberger did not play quarterback until his senior year, giving way to the coach's son, Ryan Hite. Instead, Roethlisberger played wide receiver because, as coach Cliff Hite explained to the Toledo Blade, "My son throwing to Ben was a better combination." Hite told the Toledo Blade regarding the decision to start his son at quarterback over Roethlisberger: "I'm a nationally known knucklehead."
Read more about this topic: Ben Roethlisberger
Famous quotes containing the words early years, early and/or years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)
“If I get the forty additional years statisticians say are likely coming to me, I could fit in at least one, maybe two new lifetimes. Sad that only one of those lifetimes can include being the mother of young children.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)