Nothing outlasts Princeton's Paski

What do Princeton senior offensive lineman Mark Paski and baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. have in common? Both have shown that they can keep going and going longer than the Energizer Bunny.

Ripken, the “Iron Man” of baseball, played in 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles, a record that looks to stand for years to come. And though Paski’s streak is smaller in scale, it still gives him a place in the Tigers’ record book.

The right tackle from Chester, N.J., has started all 37 games in his career on the Princeton offensive line. If he starts the Tigers’ last three games this year he will become the only offensive lineman in Princeton history to start all 40 games.

Paski already has one record streak under his belt even if injury or some other unforeseen setback prevents him from carrying out the larger feat: He is the only Princeton offensive lineman to start all 10 games as a freshman.

“I was very fortunate to be starting my career the year after five very talented senior offensive linemen had graduated,” Paski said in an e-mail. “I … somehow managed to fight off getting completely embarrassed in my first couple of starts.”

But Paski also knows that records can be deceiving.

“I know that they didn’t abolish freshman football that long ago, as I’m sure someone probably would have achieved that if freshman football had not existed.”

That season may have been the highlight of Paski’s career as the 2006 Tigers won the Ivy League championship. Although this season hasn’t been as rewarding for Princeton (2-5, 1-3 Ivy), the Tigers hope to turn it around when they come to Franklin Field Saturday, to take on Penn in the Quakers’ homecoming matchup.

For Paski and for Penn, this game is an important one. With the start, Paski will be one game closer to setting the milestone, and with a win, the Quakers can continue their undefeated Ivy League season heading into a crucial showdown with Harvard next weekend.

“It is always an extremely exciting atmosphere getting a chance to play at Franklin Field, nonetheless on homecoming,” the politics major said. “You can always expect a fierce competition to ensue in a Princeton versus Penn football game.”

While clearly Paski has the talent — he was second team All-Ivy last year — he sees his streak as more a result of chance.

“I really don’t think about [the record] all that often because I live with all of the senior offensive linemen, several of which have also been playing since very early in their careers,” Paski said. “I was just the lucky one to fill in at tackle, whereas the others broke in a little bit later at the guard spots once the opportunities presented themselves.”

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