| No. 51, 52 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1941-02-20)February 20, 1941 (age 84) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Kingsford (MI) | ||||||||
| College | Michigan State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1962: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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David Francis Manders (born February 20, 1941) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acenter in theNational Football League (NFL) from 1964 through 1974. He playedcollege football for theMichigan State Spartans. He graduated from Kingsford High School and was a key component in aDallas Cowboys offensive line that dominated the NFL for a decade, playing in twoSuper Bowls with the Cowboys, winning one.
Manders was born on February 20, 1941, inMilwaukee, Wisconsin.[1] He playedfootball at Kingsford High School, where he was twice named Michigan All-State in football at center, and Lineman of the Year as a senior. He also played basketball and was on thetrack team, and set anUpper Peninsula of Michiganshot put record.[2][3]
His number 51 is only one of three numbers retired by the school, along with Dick Berlinski, who also played football at Michigan State,[4] and future 10-year NFL player[5]Tim Kearney.[citation needed] Manders and Kearney became good friends, and when Kearney was at Kingsford, Manders helped him learn proper weight training.[6]
In 1980, he was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame.[2]
Manders went on to play atMichigan State University (1959–61), wearing No. 50, where he was a two-way player,[7] playingcenter on offense[8] andlinebacker[citation needed] on defense.[9][10] He became the starting center as a sophomore in 1959.[11] He was teammates with future Hall of Fame defensive backHerb Adderly,[12][13] who would later be his teammate again with the Dallas Cowboys.[14]
During his college career, he was among the team leaders in tackles, even though he experienced leg injuries in his last two years.[15][citation needed] As a sophomore, he was a third-teamAll-Big Ten selection and became anAll-American honorable mention after his senior year.[7]
Manders's college coach, futureCollege Football Hall of Fame memberDuffy Daugherty,[16] had held back mail inquiries from NFL teams to his players to prevent distraction, and few members of his Spartans team were drafted in the1962 NFL draft. Manders signed as a free agent with the Cowboys in 1962, to play linebacker,[7] but after a short stay in training camp, Manders decided to return to Michigan State to complete his engineering degree. He then worked two years as an engineer atGeneral Mills, first inGrand Rapids, Michigan and then inToledo, Ohio, before deciding to pursue a football career again.[17][18]
After spending1963 playing semi-profootball in theUnited Football League for the Toledo Tornadoes, Manders calledGil Brandt in the Cowboys front office and asked for another chance. Brandt signed him in December 1963 and he made the team the next year as acenter, backing up four year starting centerMike Connelly (though he did start three games).[19][18][17][20][1]
Nicknamed "Dog" by his teammates, he was quick, strong and had huge legs.[citation needed] He was always considered to be one of the hardest-working players on the team. Cowboys special assistantErmal Allen said the Cowboys would measure their players effort by comparing them to Manders, as Manders always gave 100%.[14] In1965, his second season in theNFL, he became the Cowboys startingcenter replacing Mike Connelly.[17][1][20]
In1966 he was selected to thePro Bowl,[21] becoming the first franchise offensive lineman named to the Pro Bowl.[7] In1967 during pre-season, he suffered a career-threatening right knee injury and missed the entire season, and was told he would never play again.[17][22] Manders did return in 1968, but upon his return he served as a backup toMalcolm Walker (the starting center in 1968-69) and Connelly (himself a backup in 1968). Manders remained a backup in 1969, until he returned to form and took his job back in1970.[23][1][17][20][24] CoachTom Landry also made him a team captain in 1970.[17]
He was a starter in the Cowboys first Super Bowl–Super Bowl V, held in Miami on January 171971 against theBaltimore Colts.[25] He was also involved in one of the game's controversial plays, when the CowboysDuane Thomas fumbled the ball on the Colts two-yard line. Although Manders recovered the ball, the officials still awarded it to the Colts (convinced by the ColtsBilly Ray Smith he had recovered it, not Manders). The Colts won their firstSuper Bowl asJim O'Brien kicked a 32-yardfield goal with time running out for a 16-13 victory. Eminent Baltimore sportswriterJohn Steadman believed Manders's version of events.[26][27]
Manders was the starting center during the period in 1971 when coach Landry was splitting time between quarterbacksCraig Morton andRoger Staubach, in a competition to determine the number one starting quarterback.[17]
He was the starter in the Cowboys first championship team in franchise history, that wonSuper Bowl VI in1972.[28] In1973, 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 as center onspecial teams, althoughJohn Fitzgerald was the starter atcenter for the Cowboys in 1973-74. He continued splitting time with Fitzgerald until his retirement at the end of the1974 season.[29][30]
After retiring, Manders and his wife moved toMcKinney, Texas, where he ran a commercial landscaping company.[17]