With the passing of Matt Snider on October 9, Lower Merion High School lost one of its most celebrated athletes. Snider, a standout football and basketball player in the 1990s, went on to play in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.
Lower Merion vs. Radnor, January 15, 1993. At the beginning of the video, Matt Snider #43 jumps center for the Aces. Kobe (a freshman, age 14) is wearing #24.
Snider’s death is the latest in a string of losses for the Lower Merion athletic community.
In 2020, Kobe Bryant, who played basketball with Snider at Lower Merion, died in a helicopter crash.
In January of 2022 Gary Kelly died. Kelly was averaging 23 points per game for the Aces when he was declared academically ineligible at the end of the 1991-1992 season, just as Lower Merion was about to make a run for a Central League and possibly a PIAA District title. Snider was a sophomore then and was the team’s second leading scorer and the top rebounder for the Aces.
The following season Snider would have led the Aces in scoring had it not been for the appearance of a Freshman phenom named Kobe Bryant. Snider played two seasons at Lower Merion with Bryant. Even with having to share the ball with Kobe, Snider still managed to average double figures, scoring and rebounding.
The 6’2” 215-pound (he bulked up to 240 pounds as a pro) Snider’s prowess on the hardwood floor was matched by his abilities on the gridiron. He played “both ways” for Lower Merion, as a running back and a defensive end.
University of Richmond and then the Packers
For four seasons, Snider lettered at the University of Richmond but he never made All-Conference. Still, in June of 1993, undrafted, the Carolina Panthers signed him. But then Panthers released him the following month. The Green Bay Packers grabbed immediately Snider off waivers.
Snider played in eight games with the Packers that year. In 2000, he played in all 16 of their games, mainly on Special Teams for kickoffs and punts.The Packers released him as the 2001 season began. Snyder then latched on with the Minnesota Vikings. He played four games that season, his last in the NFL.
The cause of Snider’s death has not been reported. However, in May of 2023 he posted on Facebook about some severe health issues he was undergoing.
Snider Was A Co-Plaintiff In a “Concussion Suit” vs NFL
Snider was one of the plaintiffs in the ongoing case of CERQUA et al v. NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE et al. The plaintiffs allege that the NFL concealed the dangers of concussions and failed to take adequate steps to protect players from head injuries.
A 2013 documentary film, “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis,” investigated the National Football League’s (NFL) handling of concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The film was produced by Frontline and aired on PBS.