| No. 50, 65, 66 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Center | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1958-12-16)December 16, 1958 (age 66) Mesa, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 275 lb (125 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Albany (Albany, Georgia) | ||||||||
| College: | BYU | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1983 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Bart Steven Oates (born December 16, 1958) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acenter in theNational Football League (NFL) for theNew York Giants andSan Francisco 49ers. He played for the Giants from 1985 to 1993 and with the 49ers from 1994 to 1995. He was a member of the Giants teams that wonSuper BowlsXXI andXXV and the 49ers team that wonSuper Bowl XXIX.
A graduate ofAlbany High School in Georgia,[1] Oates playedcollege football atBrigham Young University (BYU), originally entering in 1977 before serving an 2-year mission forthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints inLas Vegas, Nevada then later joining the Cougars football team.[2] Oates earned a BS in accounting from theMarriott School of Business there in 1985,[3] and he was inducted into the BYU athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.[2]
The Giants signed Oates in 1985 at the relatively advanced age of 26. This was because he had initially played three seasons with thePhiladelphia/Baltimore Stars in theUSFL where he won two USFL championships.[4] Oates has stated that he feels the 1985Philadelphia Stars of the USFL could have beaten the1985 Philadelphia Eagles.[4] Oates won threeSuper Bowls, two with the Giants in1987 and1991, and one with the 49ers in1995. Oates was selected to fivePro Bowls during his career and to theUPI All-NFC team three times. He was extremely durable, starting 125 consecutive games during his Giants career.[5]
Oates worked as acolor analyst for NFL games onNBC television in 1996, teaming with eitherDan Hicks or, when Hicks was away on assignment,Jim Donovan. In 2006, he voiced himself in theAqua Teen Hunger Force episode"Bart Oates".
Oates attended law school classes during the football off-season and graduatedmagna cum laude with aJuris Doctor degree fromSeton Hall Law School in 1990. He worked in New Jersey with the firms of Ribis Graham and Curtin in Morristown, Raymond Koski and Associates in Fort Lee and the real estate company Gale and Wentworth in Florham Park. His primary focus of practice was real estate and health care. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association.[6]
Oates was chairman of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, a Hall of Fame for New Jersey residents in a variety of fields ranging from scientists to athletes.[7] He was selected to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2019. He also spent time helping out as the line coach at Seton Hall Preparatory School earlier in the decade. He currently serves as the Bishop (lay Pastor) of the Morristown 1st Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and as the Executive Director of CIT International, promoting partnerships of law enforcement with mental health resources.[8]
Oates and his wife, Michelle, have three children and reside inHarding Township, New Jersey. His brother,Brad, also played offensive line in the NFL for six seasons on five teams.