- Dan Fike
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Dan Fike No. 69 Offensive lineman Personal information Date of birth: June 16, 1961 Place of birth: Mobile, Alabama High School: Pine Forest High School
Pensacola, FloridaHeight: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Weight: 280 lb (127 kg) Career information College: University of Florida NFL Draft: 1983 / Round: 10 / Pick: 274 Debuted in 1985 for the Cleveland Browns Last played in 1993 for the Pittsburgh Steelers Career history - *Offseason and/or practice squad member only.
Career highlights and awards - Second-team All-SEC (1982)
Games played 115 Games started 102 Fumbles recovered 1 Stats at NFL.com Stats at pro-football-reference.com Stats at DatabaseFootball.com Dan Clement Fike, Jr. (born June 16, 1961) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.
Contents
Early life
Fike was born in Mobile, Alabama.[1] He attended Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Florida,[2] and played high school football for the Pine Forest Eagles.
College career
Fike received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Charley Pell's Florida Gators football from 1979 to 1982.[3] While he was an undergraduate, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity (Alpha Epsilon Chapter). As a freshman, he lived through the worst season in the history of the Florida football program in 1979,[4] when the Gators posted an 0–10–1 record.[5] The following season, Fike was part of the biggest one-year turn-around in Division I football history,[4] when the 1980 Gators finished 8–4 after defeating the Maryland Terrapins in the Tangerine Bowl.[6] He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection following his senior season in 1982.[3]
Professional career
The New York Jets selected Fike in the tenth round (274th pick overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft,[7] but he spent two years on the Jets' practice squad without being activated for a regular season game. He signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1985, and earned a position as a regular starter, playing at different times at offensive guard and offensive tackle, from 1985 to 1992.[2] Fike arrived in Cleveland at an opportune time when the team was experiencing a competitive revival, and was a starter for five consecutive Browns playoff teams (1985–1989), including appearances in the three AFC Championship Games (1987, 1988, 1990).[1]
Fike played his final NFL season for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993, seeing only limited action in three games.[8] In his nine-season professional football career, he appeared in 115 games and started 102 of them.[1]
See also
- Florida Gators
- Florida Gators football, 1980–1989
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of New York Jets players
- List of Pi Kappa Phi alumni
- List of Pittsburgh Steelers players
- List of University of Florida alumni
References
- ^ a b c Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Dan Fike. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
- ^ a b databaseFootball.com, Players, Dan Fike. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
- ^ a b 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 96 & 181 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011.
- ^ a b Norm Carlson, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 95–97 (2007).
- ^ College Football Data Warehouse, Charley Pell Records by Year, 1979. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ College Football Data Warehouse, Charley Pell Records by Year, 1980. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ National Football League, Draft History, 1983. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ National Football League, Historical Players, Dan Fike. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
Bibliography
- Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0794822983.
- Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
- Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
- McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
- Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196x.
Categories:- 1961 births
- Living people
- American football offensive guards
- American football offensive tackles
- Cleveland Browns players
- Florida Gators football players
- New York Jets players
- People from Mobile, Alabama
- People from Pensacola, Florida
- Pittsburgh Steelers players
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