Sports
David Bartek a Tiger to remember
Monday, 20 February 2012 by Keith Bahlmann
A Wall of Honor Tiger who many said was perhaps Belton's best-ever football player passed away Jan. 31 in Las Vegas, Nevada. David C. Bartek, called "Bull" by his teammates, died unexpectedly of natural causes.
Bartek was born in Belton on August 23, 1952 to Ben and Agnes Bartek and grew up to star in both football and track and field.
He was named First Team 3A All State as a fullback and linebacker in 1969 and 1970 and led the 10-2-1 Tigers to the state semi-finals in 1969. Bartek rushed for 3,253 yards in his career.
He was also named All-State in track and field, throwing the shotput 60'5" and twice finishing second in the state.
Bartek was president of his senior class, graduating from Belton High School in 1971.
After being awarded numerous athletic honors in high school, he was highly recruited by Southwest Conference schools and chose to attend the University of Texas. He was the starting fullback on the 1971 freshman team with a 5.6 yards per carry average and was second team linebacker on varsity as a sophomore before a knee injury ended his season.
Bartek was moved to fullback as a junior and was backup to two All-Americans that all college football fans remember --- Roosevelt Leaks in 1973 and the great Earl Campbell in 1974.
He received his BBA from UT in 1975 and worked as a sales representative in Austin for several years before moving to Las Vegas in 1997, where he was a casino host at Fitzgerald's until he retired.
He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Jen (the former Jen Brandes of Temple).
Visitation for David C. Bartek will be held 6:00-7:30pm Friday (Feb. 10) at Harper-Talasek Funeral Home Chapel, 500 W. Barton in Temple. A chapel funeral service will be held Saturday at 1:00pm at Harper-Talasek, followed by a small private family burial ceremony.
