.jpg) Den Herder playing for the Dolphins in 1979 | |||||||||
| No. 86, 83 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1948-11-28)November 28, 1948 (age 76) Le Mars, Iowa, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Sioux Center (IA) | ||||||||
| College: | Central (IA) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1971: 9th round, 230th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Vern Wayne Den Herder (born November 28, 1948) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive end for 12 seasons with theMiami Dolphins of theNational Football League (NFL). He played in threeSuper Bowls for the Dolphins. He playedcollege football for theCentral College Dutch. In 1996, he was selected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
Den Herder attended high school inSioux Center, Iowa.[1] There was nofootball team his first two years but he was a star in hisjunior andsenior seasons. He was a star inbasketball and added football his last two years.
Den Herder choseCentral College inPella, Iowa, because of its reputation for education in sciences and its affiliation with theReformed Church in America. He was graduatedcum laude with a major inchemistry. At 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm) in height, he was the startingcenter on Central's basketball team for four years and set the school scoring record. He playeddefensive end in football.CBSanchormanHarry Smith was a teammate.
Den Herder made All-Iowa Conference in 1968, 1969, and 1970. In 1970, his senior season, he wasteam captain, Iowa ConferenceMVP, and was namedAll-America, college division, by theNAIA, the Football Coaches Association, and theAssociated Press. Furthermore, he was coached by the lateRon Schipper, himself aCollege Football Hall of Famer, at Central Iowa.[2]
| "When I'm watching the games on Sunday, it's nice to be able to think, 'I was good enough. I played in that league.' I left the game with a good taste in my mouth. I played as long as I could have, and I was able to leave when I wanted to." |
| — Vern Den Herder reflecting on his NFL career.[3] |
As theNFL did not officially maintainsack records until 1982,[4] he unofficially led the Dolphins in sacks in 1972 with 101⁄2; Den Herder also unofficially led the team in 1975 with a career high 11 sacks. He was named All-AFC in 1972. In October 1973, he unofficially tiedBill Stanfill for most sacks in a single game with 5, as Stanfill had recently surpassed the previous total just two weeks earlier. Also, he unofficially led the Dolphins in sacks during the 1978 and 1979 seasons with 9. His unofficial total of 641⁄2 sacks ranks fourth on the Dolphins sack list.[5] In addition to his five-sack game in 1973, Den Herder recorded two four-sack games (September 22, 1974, at Buffalo Bills) and (November 11, 1979, vs. Baltimore Colts).[5] He was voted by the NEA as the Dolphins MVP in 1979.
CoachDon Shula called him "one of the most dependable players I've ever coached."[6]
Seeing that the game had evolved toward more passing-oriented strategies that were not attuned to his run-stopping ability, Den Herder originally decided to retire in 1981, returning to his hometown to work in a cattle feeding operation. However, Coach Shula asked him to return to the game for one more season after the Dolphins roster had thinned due to injuries. He ended his career after playing inSuper Bowl XVII.[3]
After retiring from football for the second time, Den Herder returned to Sioux Center, Iowa and became a farmer, now specializing in corn and soybeans.[3][7] He is married and the father of two children.[3] Due to a harvest, he was unable to join the rest of the 1972 Perfect Season Dolphins at a ceremony in their honor, hosted by PresidentBarack Obama at theWhite House.[7]