Discover

'Howard Michael "Howie" Long' (born January 6, 1960 in Somerville, Massachusetts) is a former American football player who played as a defensive end, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000. Long has been married since June 27, 1982, to the former Diane Addonizio and they have three sons, one of whom, Christopher, plays football at the University of Virginia. The family resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Contents

High School Career

College Career

NFL career

After Football

Notes

Further reading

External links

High School Career

He attended Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts, and is a member of the Milford Hall of Fame. Long was an all-around athlete, playing football, basketball, and track. He was named to the Scholastic Coach All-America team as a senior.

College Career

Long played college football and earned a degree in communications at Villanova University. He turned down an offer to play at Boston College [1] to attend Villanova. He was a four-year letterman at Villanova and was selected to play in the Blue-Gray game and was named the MVP in 1980. As a sophomore and as a senior Long led Villanova in sacks. He began as a tight end but was moved to the defensive line, earning All-East honors and honorable mention All-American by his senior year. He also boxed at Villanova and was the Northern Collegiate boxing champion.

NFL career

Drafted in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Long would play 13 seasons for the club wearing the number 75. Long was a fearsome force on the Raiders defensive line. Long utilized his quickness and strength to earn eight Pro Bowl selections. Along the way, Long was also named All-Pro three times (in 1983, 84, and 85). He was second team All-Pro in 1986 and 1989.
Was voted the NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1985 and the NFLPA AFC Defensive Lineman of the Year that same season. Long capped a stellar 1985 season by being voted the co-NFL Defensive Player of the Year (along with Andre Tippett) by the NEA and as such received the George S. Halas Trophy.
Long collected 93 sacks during his career (8.5 are not official, as sacks were not an official statistic during his rookie year). His career high was in 1983 with 13 sacks, including a career-high 5 against the Washington Redskins on October, 2, 1983. He also intercepted 2 passes and recovered 10 fumbles during his 13-year career. At the time of his retirement, he was the last player still with the team who had been a Raider before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. He won a Super Bowl title with the Raiders in 1984 (following the 1983 season).
Long's signature defensive move was the "rip," which employed a quick, uppercut-like motion designed to break an opposing blocker's grip. Although Long had good numbers, they were not as noteworthy to All-Pro Mark Gastineau who was a contemporary to Long. As an explanation Long stated, "In our defensive scheme, individual numbers weren't important. There was no sacks guy, no tackles guy,' Long said. 'My role was as a disrupter. I drew double- and triple-teams and tried to get penetration and let the other guys make the plays" [2]

After Football

After his retirement from the NFL following the 1993 season, Long pursued an acting career, focused mainly on action films, including ''Firestorm'', a 1998 film in which he starred. He also appears in the movie ''Broken Arrow'' alongside John Travolta. He played a minor role in the movie ''3000 Miles to Graceland'', alongside Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, and Courteney Cox. Long also made numerous cameo appearances on TV shows and commercials. He was a spokesman for Radio Shack, making commercials with actress Teri Hatcher. Some people mistakenly believe that Long and Hatcher are married given the sparring and closeness that are displayed in the commercials.
Long has also been featured in many other national commercials and advertising campaigns including Coors Light, Nike, Campbell's Chunky Soup, Hanes, Frito Lay, both Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Nabisco, Kraft, the Bud Bowl campaign.
He is best known today as an analyst for the FOX Network's NFL coverage, where he often plays the "straight man" to the comic antics of co-host Terry Bradshaw, whom Long sacked several times as a player. He hosts an annual award show on FOX, ''Howie Long's Tough Guys'', in which he honors the NFL players whom he deems the toughest, and gives the toughest of them a Chevrolet truck.
Long is an alumnus of, and volunteers his time for, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Named Walter Camp Man of the Year in 2001.

Notes

★ He is known for the flat-top police haircut he has worn throughout much of his career.

★ Will not travel on the same airplane as his wife for fear of orphaning their children.

★ While in College he worked as a bouncer at a bar called "You Bet Your Life" in Bryn Mawr, Pa..

★ MTV's Paul Gargano had an interview with Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford, and asked this question: "If you could sleep with anyone famous, who would it be?" Halford looked at Gargano with a completely straight face and said, "Howie Long." [3]

★ In February, 2007, a Howie Long game-used jersey fetched $2784 on an online auction[4].

Further reading

★ Long, Howie (2003) ''Football for Dummies, 2nd edition.'' New York: Wiley. ISBN 978-0764539367.

External links

★ Howie Long - Pro Football Hall of Fame

★ Howie Long Fan Page

★

★ Howie Long Hall of Fame article from Sports Illustrated