| No. 87, 44 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1952-02-02)February 2, 1952 (age 73) Bemidji, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Chilton (Chilton, Wisconsin) | ||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame (1971–1973) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1974: 2nd round, 45th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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David John Casper (born February 2, 1952) nicknamed "the Ghost",[1] is an American former professionalfootball player who was atight end in theNational Football League (NFL), primarily with theOakland Raiders. Casper has been inducted into both theCollege Football Hall of Fame (2012)[2] and thePro Football Hall of Fame (2002).[3]
Casper spent his first three years of high school atSt. Edward Central Catholic High School inElgin, Illinois, and his senior season was atChilton High School inChilton, Wisconsin,[1] 35 miles south ofGreen Bay. He was a member of the 1969 Chilton team that outscored their opponents 363–0 in eight games.[1] The small-town team was ranked eighth in the state behind the largest schools in the state; there was no playoff system at the time.[1]
Casper played collegiate football at theUniversity of Notre Dame, where he earned Honorable Mention All-America for theFighting Irish as a tackle in 1972. In 1973, he was anAll-American on the 1973 National Championship Team. He was the 1973 ND Offensive MVP as a tight end and recorded 21 receptions for 335 yards and four touchdowns in his career.
Casper earned hisbachelor's degree in economics and graduated in 1974. He was also the captain of the Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society for Economics. In 2012, he was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
Casper was selected in the second round of the1974 NFL draft by theOakland Raiders. Casper only caught a total of nine passes his first two seasons, but was a top-ten receiver in their championship season in1976, in which he had 53 catches for 691 yards and 10 touchdowns.
One of Casper's most memorable games as a Raider came in a1977 Divisional Playoff game against theBaltimore Colts. Casper made an over-the-head catch of a soft pass lofted byKen Stabler on "The Ghost to the Post." The 42-yard reception set up a game-tying field goal that forced overtime and the Raiders went on to a 37–31 victory with Casper's 10-yard touchdown reception in the second overtime period. He finished the game with four receptions for 70 yards and three touchdowns.
Casper was also involved in another famous NFL contest in1978 on September 10 between the Raiders andSan Diego Chargers. The Raiders trailed the Chargers 20–14 with just ten seconds left in the game when Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler, about to be sacked, dropped the football. He flicked it toward the goal line in an effort to save the game and Raiders running backPete Banaszak recovered the ball at the San Diego 12-yard line but dropped the ball again and it rolled further forward. Casper kicked the ball at the San Diego 5-yard line and finally recovered it in the end zone to tie the game. The extra point attempt was good and Oakland won the game by a point, 21–20. Stabler, Banaszak and Casper all admitted afterwards that they had deliberately fumbled or batted the ball towards the end zone.[4]
The Chargers protested on the grounds that Stabler's fumble was actually a forward pass and therefore should have been ruled incomplete when it hit the ground. As a result of the play, the NFL changed its rules to make it illegal for the teammate of a ball carrier to advance the ball if the ball carrier fumbles on fourth down or in the last two minutes of the game.[5]
Casper caught the first touchdown ofSuper Bowl XI, a 32–14 Raiders victory over theMinnesota Vikings.[6] As a Raider, Casper was selected to four straightPro Bowls (1976–1979).
Along with his three touchdown catches in the "Ghost to the Post" game, Casper caught two more TD's in the 1977 AFC Championship Game. His five TD's in a postseason is an NFL record for tight ends that still stands today.
Midway through the 1980 season Casper was traded to theHouston Oilers for their first and second-round draft picks. He was reunited with his former Raider quarterback, Ken Stabler, when he was traded to the Oilers. He finished the 1980 season with 56 receptions and was named to his fifthPro Bowl. However, the trade caused him to miss out on a second Super Bowl ring, as the Raiders went on to win the Super Bowl that year, beating Houston in the playoffs on the way there. After the 3rd week of the 1983 season, Casper and quarterbackArchie Manning were traded to theMinnesota Vikings. In 1984, he returned to the Raiders (who won another Super Bowl the year before) for his final NFL season.
Casper finished his pro career with 378 receptions, 5,216 yards and 52 touchdowns. In 2002, he was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame. He was the 13th Raider to be inducted.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1974 | OAK | 14 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 17 | 3 |
| 1975 | OAK | 14 | 0 | 5 | 71 | 14.2 | 20 | 1 |
| 1976 | OAK | 13 | 13 | 53 | 691 | 13.0 | 30 | 10 |
| 1977 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 48 | 584 | 12.2 | 27 | 6 |
| 1978 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 62 | 852 | 13.7 | 44 | 9 |
| 1979 | OAK | 15 | 12 | 57 | 771 | 13.5 | 42 | 3 |
| 1980 | OAK | 6 | 6 | 22 | 270 | 12.3 | 35 | 1 |
| HOU | 10 | 9 | 34 | 526 | 15.5 | 43 | 3 | |
| 1981 | HOU | 16 | 11 | 33 | 572 | 17.3 | 52 | 8 |
| 1982 | HOU | 9 | 9 | 36 | 573 | 15.9 | 38 | 6 |
| 1983 | HOU | 3 | 2 | 7 | 79 | 11.3 | 17 | 0 |
| MIN | 10 | 8 | 13 | 172 | 13.2 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1984 | RAI | 7 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 7.3 | 13 | 2 |
| 147 | 100 | 378 | 5,216 | 13.8 | 52 | 52 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1974 | OAK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | OAK | 2 | 0 | 6 | 69 | 11.5 | 23 | 1 |
| 1976 | OAK | 3 | 3 | 9 | 122 | 13.6 | 26 | 1 |
| 1977 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 9 | 141 | 15.7 | 42 | 5 |
| 1980 | HOU | 1 | 1 | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 12 | 0 |
| 1984 | RAI | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 7 | 27 | 363 | 13.4 | 42 | 7 | ||
In recent years[when?], Casper has been working for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network inWalnut Creek, California (and nowVernon Hills, Illinois) assisting business owners with financial planning and consultation work.[7]
Stabler said he intentionally fumbled, Pete B. said he batted the ball forward and Dave Casper said that he knew that if he fell on the ball on the one- or two-yard line the game would have been over, so he kicked it along into the end zone and fell on it.
During the off-season, the league added a provision to the rule book about fumbles after the two-minute warning that allows only the player who fumbled the ball to advance it.