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.
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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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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 (...).