No. 87 | |||||||
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Position: | Tight end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Marysville, Ohio, U.S. | February 23, 1950||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Marysville (OH) | ||||||
College: | Morehead St. | ||||||
Undrafted: | 1976 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Gary Lee Shirk (born February 23, 1950) is a former professional American football tight end. He played with the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) [1] for seven seasons. He also played in the World Football League (WFL) for the Memphis Southmen and in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Memphis Showboats. Shirk played college football at Morehead State University.
Shirk attended Marysville High School in Ohio before moving onto Morehead State University where he was a four-year starter and was the team MVP in 1972. [2] After playing for Memphis in the WFL in 1974 and 1975, [1] Shirk moved on to the NFL, playing for the New York Giants from 1976 until 1982. He played in 101 games for the Giants, with 34 games started, and caught 130 passes for 1640 yards and 11 touchdowns before being released during the 1983 pre-season. [3] From 1979 to 1982, his QB in New York was another former Morehead State Eagle, Phil Simms. Shirk also played for the USFL Memphis Showboats after his NFL playing days. [4] [5] Shirk was inducted into the Kentucky Football of Fame in 2010 and the Morehead State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. [6]
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The league folded midway through its second season, in 1975. A new minor football league began play as the World Football League in 2008 after acquiring the rights to its trademarks and intellectual property; it folded in 2011.
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be played in the autumn/winter, directly competing against the long-established National Football League (NFL). However, the USFL ceased operations before that season was scheduled to begin.
Larry Richard Csonka is an American former professional football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years. He also had a short stint with the Memphis Southmen in the WFL. Nicknamed "Zonk", Csonka is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. Csonka is mostly remembered for his success during his tenure with the Dolphins, which included being a member of their 17–0 perfect season in 1972, and winning Super Bowl championships in 1972 and 1973, the latter of which he was named Super Bowl MVP when he ran for a then-record 145 yards. He was also a commentator for the original run of American Gladiators.
James Edward Kelly is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). Kelly played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning offensive MVP honors in the 1981 Peach Bowl.
Reginald Howard White was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. White played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, earning unanimous All-American honors. After playing two seasons for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL), he was selected in the first round of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft, and then played for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most awarded defensive players in NFL history.
The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the most prominent players on the Showboats' roster during their two seasons of existence were future Pro Football Hall of Fame member Reggie White and future professional wrestler "The Total Package" Lex Luger.
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Thomas "Pepper" Johnson is an American football coach and former linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, the first seven of which were for the New York Giants. He won two Super Bowls with the Giants before playing for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and New York Jets.
Marysville High School (MHS) is a public high school in Marysville, Ohio. It is the only comprehensive high school in Marysville Exempted Village School District, but is accompanied by the Marysville Early College High School. MHS's school mascot is the "Monarch", which is a lion that symbolizes the "King (Monarch) of the Jungle".
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John Eugene DeFilippo is an American football coach who recently served as the Head Coach the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football as a quarterback at James Madison University, and has served as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Stephen Case Cookus, nicknamed the Chef, is an American professional football quarterback for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). As a true freshman at Northern Arizona University, he was named the recipient of the 2015 Jerry Rice Award and the STATS FCS Freshman Player of the Year Award, both of which are awarded to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He holds the record for most combined passing and rushing touchdowns in a USFL game with five, which he accomplished in a game against the Michigan Panthers on June 5, 2022.
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Ed Marshall is a former American football wide receiver and tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL).
The 2023 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League. The regular season started on April 15 and ended on June 18. The postseason began on June 24 and ended with the 2023 USFL Championship Game on July 1. The league expanded the locations their teams play to four total stadiums, adding Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.
Jarron Jones is an American football offensive lineman for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for Notre Dame with his brother Jamir Jones.
Gary Shirk of Richwood, Ohio, was named Morehead State University's most valuable football player Monday night at the annual fall sports banquet. Shirk, a senior tight end, was the top Eagle pass receiver this year. He was team captain and a four-year starter.
Memphis Showboats: (...) Leading players - Walter Lewis, rookie QB from Alabama; Reggie White, rookie DT from Tennessee; Gary Shirk, TE, last with Giants; Terdell Middleton, RB, last with Green Bay Packers.
The franchise's two seasons — from a seven-win expansion entry to championship contender — had created a bond, with stars like ex-Tennessee defensive end Reggie White, safety Barney Bussey, former Memphis State receiver Derrick Crawford, former NFL tight end Gary Shirk (...).