Dave Manders

Dave Manders

Position(s) Center Jersey #(s) 51
Born	February 20, 1941 (1941-02-20) (age 70) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Career information
Year(s)	1964–1974
Undrafted in 1962
College	Michigan State
Professional teams
Dallas Cowboys (1964–1974)
Career stats
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Career highlights and awards
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David Francis Manders (born February 20, 1941 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was an American football center in the National Football League from 1964 through 1974. He played college football at Michigan State University. He graduated from Kingsford High School and played in 2 Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, winning one.

Early Years

Dave Manders played football at Kingsford High School.

His number 51 is only one of three numbers retired by the school, along with Dick Berlinski and Tim Kearney.

College career

Manders went on to play at Michigan State University in 1959, where he became a two-way player, playing center on offense and linebacker on defense.

During his career, he was among the tackle leaders of the team, and was an All-American honorable mention after his senior year.

Professional career

Manders was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a rookie undrafted free agent in 1962 to play linebacker, but quit the team before training camp ended.

After spending two years playing semi-pro football for teams in Grand Rapids and Toledo, Manders called the Cowboys front office and asked for another chance, he rejoined the Cowboys and made the team in 1964 as a center.

Nicknamed "Dog" by his teammates, he was quick, strong and had huge legs. He was always considered to be one of the hardest-working players on the team.

In 1965 his second season in the NFL, he became the Cowboys starting center replacing Mike Connelly.

In 1966 together with Ralph Neely became the first franchise offensive linemen to ever be named to the Pro Bowl.

In 1967 he suffered a knee injury and missed the entire season, upon his return he served as a backup to Mike Connelly and Malcolm Walker until he took his job back in 1970.

He was a starter in the Cowboys first Super Bowl-Super Bowl V, held in Miami on January 17 1971 against the Baltimore Colts. He was also involved in one of the game's controversial plays, when the Cowboys Duane Thomas fumbled the ball on the Colts two-yard line, and although Manders recovered the ball, the officials still awarded it to the Colts, who won their first Super Bowl as Jim O'Brien kicked a 32-yard field goal with time running out for a 16-13 victory.

He was the starter in the Cowboys first championship team in franchise history, that won Super Bowl-Super Bowl VI in 1972.

In 1973, he retired due to a contract dispute, but by the month of September, he was back working out with the team. He played in the majority of games during that season, although John Fitzgerald was the starter at center for the Cowboys. He continued splitting time with Fitzgerald until his retirement at the end of the 1974 season.

Manders was a captain and a key component in a Cowboys offensive line that dominated the NFL for a decade and won 2 NFC Championships and 1 Super Bowl.

References

NFL.com player page

Persondata
Name	Manders, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 20, 1941
Place of birth
Date of death
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