| No. 65 | |||||||||
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| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1961-12-13)December 13, 1961 (age 64) Fullerton, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 294 lb (133 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Walnut(Walnut, California) | ||||||||
| College | Oregon (1980–1983) | ||||||||
| Supplemental draft | 1984: 1st round, 3rd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Gary Wayne Zimmerman (born December 13, 1961) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aHall of Fameoffensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL) andUnited States Football League (USFL). He earned aSuper Bowl ring with theDenver Broncos (Super Bowl XXXII).
Zimmerman was born inFullerton, California and played scholastically atWalnut High School in theSan Gabriel Valley ofCalifornia.[1] He played collegiately atOregon, and was a first-teamAll-American as a senior.[2][3] He was inducted into theOregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[4]
Zimmerman played for theMinnesota Vikings from 1986 to 1992 and for theDenver Broncos from 1993 to 1997.[5] He wonSuper Bowl XXXII with the Broncos against theGreen Bay Packers. He was selected to thePro Bowl seven times and was an All-Pro selection eight times. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
In 1984, Zimmerman was drafted in the second round (36th overall) by theLos Angeles Express in the1984 USFL draft.[6] He subsequently signed with the Express on February 13, 1984, and went on to play in 17 games that season, starting all 17 at left tackle. His Express teammate was future Pro Football Hall of Famer, QBSteve Young. The Express lost in the USFL Semi-Finals to theArizona Wranglers to end a 10–8 regular season. In 1985, Zimmerman suited up again with the Express, playing in 18 games (starting 17) with a 3-15 club that ended up out of the USFL playoff picture.[7]
After theUSFL folded in August 1986, Zimmerman joined theMinnesota Vikings after they obtained his rights from theNew York Giants who drafted him in the1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players.[8][9]
During his time in the NFL, Zimmerman was famous for his refusal to interact with the media. This disdain for the sports press came about due to an early incident in his NFL career, after comments made by Zimmerman (which stated both the offense and defense didn't play well enough) were construed to be comments that the defense didn't play well enough that led to teammates ostracizing him for speaking ill of his teammates' performance; this led Zimmerman to decide to boycott the sports media as a result, refusing to do interviews or engage in any sort of interaction with them for the rest of his career.[10]
Zimmerman ultimately left the Vikings for the Broncos in 1993, and stayed with the team from 1993 to 1997.[1] He would be part of the team's first Super Bowl-winning squad, winning the game in 1997 and was "in spirit" for the 1998 season. Arriving as the veteran player in 1993 to an offense that was made up of mostly rookies,[citation needed] Zimmerman became thede facto leader of the Broncos offensive line on and off the field. Zimmerman started the Denver offensive line tradition of not speaking to the media. It became a long running tradition that would continue on a full decade after his retirement in 1997. In 2007 the NFL created “The Broncos O-line rule" in response, requiring all players to talk to the media.[11]
He played in 184 NFL games, starting 169 of them.[5]
On February 2, 2008, he was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame.[12]
Zimmerman joinsReggie White,Sam Mills,Steve Young,Jim Kelly,Marv Levy,George Allen,Bill Polian, andSid Gillman as former USFL/AFL league members who are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[13]
