CHARLIE BATCH

' Charles D'Donte Batch' (born December 5, 1974 in Homestead, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh suburb) is a veteran NFL football quarterback.
Son of Lynne Settles, a former school teacher, and Nilesh Shah, a former Pittsburgh steel mill operator ^[1], Charlie had a remarkable career at Eastern Michigan University, owning almost every passing record. He was a local favorite when he was drafted by the Detroit Lions (over Brian Griese) in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was the Lions' starter through most of the 1998-2001 seasons, and many people believed that after poor performances by the Lions' former quarterback, Scott Mitchell, Batch would bring the Lions back to higher rank. By the end of the 2001 season, he had passed for over 9,000 yards, reaching 6th on the Lions' all-time list.
He was injured late in 2001, and was released by the Lions that offseason for salary cap reasons as well as being expendable due to the team drafting Joey Harrington with their first round pick. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed him to a one-year contract for 2002 as a backup, but he did not play. His contract was renewed by the Steelers, and Batch saw some action in 2003. In 2005, he became the second-string quarterback for the Steelers, playing behind Ben Roethlisberger. During 2005, an injury to Roethlisberger gave Batch two starting opportunities, yielding two victories. In the process, Batch became the first Pittsburgh-area native to start for the team at quarterback since Terry Hanratty, a native of Butler, Pennsylvania, started for a few games during his rookie season in 1969 before becoming a backup the following season to Terry Bradshaw.
He backed up Ben Roethlisberger during Super Bowl XL, and the Steelers' 21-10 victory made Batch a Super Bowl Champion.
He also was one of several Pittsburgh Steelers players that visited Ben Roethlisberger in the hospital to hear of his condition after his motorcycle accident on June 12, 2006.
Batch was again tapped to fill in for Roethlisberger to start the Steelers 2006-07 season when Roethlisberger had to have an emergency appendectomy the week before the season started. Batch had his best game in over 4 years, throwing for 209 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also threw the first touchdown pass of the 2006 regular season. Batch temperorarily replaced Ben Roethlisberger in week 7 in Atlanta when Roethlisberger went down with a concussion. Batch completed 8 of 13 passes for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 70 yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward.

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Charity

External links

Charity

Charlie Batch will be presented with the first Jerome Bettis Award for Humanity and Community Service. This annual award is presented to a Pittsburgh individual who demonstrates the image of the award title. Batch was chosen because of his commitment to his hometown of Homestead, PA by bringing to the area programs for the children through his Best of the Batch Foundation and upgrading basketball courts and football fields for the kids to use. Over 5 years ago, Charlie had to endure the tragedy of his sister's death due to a shooting. This is one of many reasons that Charlie doesn't want the youth of the U.S. to resort to crime and violence.

External links

★ Yahoo! Sports

★ Career capsule on Steeler's site

★ Charlie Batch at NFL.com

★ Current statisticson Pro-Football-Reference.com

★ More Current Stats

★ Best of the Batch Foundation