Chris Spielman
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Spielman, during a visit with U.S. soldiers in Iraq, in April 2008. | |||||||||
| No. 54 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | October 11, 1965 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Canton, Ohio | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 248 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Massillon (OH) Washington | ||||||||
| College: | Ohio State | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1988 / Round: 2 / Pick: 29 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| As coach: | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Charles Christopher "Chris" Spielman (born October 11, 1965) is a former American football player and is currently an analyst for the NFL on FOX. He is best known for having played linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a two-time All-American, and for the Detroit Lions in the NFL, where he was a three-time All-Pro. He is originally from Canton, Ohio.
Football career
Spielman graduated from Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio, where he was awarded the Dial Award for the national high-school scholar-athlete of the year in 1983. He was the first high school athlete to have his picture on a box of Wheaties. For college, Spielman initially wanted to attend the University of Michigan, but his father, a life-long fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes (Michigan's arch-rival), strongly opposed the idea. Spielman recounted the story in the HBO Documentary "Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry":
My dad said, "Okay, where are you going to go?" I said, "Dad, I want to go to Michigan." And he said, "You traitor. I'll tell you where you're going. You're going right down 71 South and you're going to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes. ... Better not go there (Michigan). Don't ever come home if you do."[1]
Spielman was a two-time All-American at Ohio State, intercepted 11 passes, and won the Lombardi Award as the best college football lineman or linebacker. He was the Ohio State football team MVP his senior year and won the Touchdown Club of Columbus's Chic Harley Award. He graduated from Ohio State with a degree in recreation education. In the 1988 NFL Draft, Spielman was drafted in the second round with the 29th overall pick by the Detroit Lions.
Spielman played eight seasons with the Lions (1988–95), where he was a defensive stalwart during the team’s run to four playoff appearances, two NFC Central titles, and a berth in the 1991 NFC Championship Game. He captained the Lions' defense that was one of the best statistically in the NFL in the mid-1990s. Spielman is the franchise's all-time leader in career tackles with 1,138 (since the team began recording tackles statistically in 1973.) He also recorded 10 sacks, four interceptions, 30 pass defenses, 13 forced fumbles and 17 fumble recoveries during his Lions’ career. He was the first Lion to lead the team in tackles seven consecutive seasons since 1973, including the team’s highest single-season tally of 195 tackles in 1994.
In 1995, he joined Lawrence Taylor's all pro team at Wrestlemania XI and had a feud with Tatanka.
Spielman represented the Lions in four Pro Bowls (1990–92, 1995) and was named the team’s defensive MVP in 1993 and 1994. He played for the Buffalo Bills in 1996 and 1997. In 1996, he set a team and personal record with 206 tackles. His 1997 season was limited because of a neck injury that required spinal surgery.
He chose to miss the 1998 season to assist his wife battling cancer.
He returned to the NFL in the 1999 season, with the Cleveland Browns. He retired before the regular season began, after suffering another neck injury. Spielman is also notable for being one of the players notable NFL Draft "guru" Mel Kiper, Jr. has "missed" on, Kiper admitting in a 2001 post that he had underrated the linebacker.[2] In April 2009 Spielman was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame. His induction came in July 2010. In 2012 he appeared in an episode of the NFL Network show A Football Life, the episode showed how he was not only a great player on the field but a great man off the field for his family.[3]
Broadcasting career
Chris Spielman's broadcasting career started in 1999, as an NFL studio-show analyst for Fox Sports Net. After two years with FSN, Spielman joined ESPN in 2001. He served primarily as a color analyst for college football broadcasts, as well as studio analyst for college football. Spielman is also a contributor to the Columbus-based FM radio station 97.1 The Fan; 97.1 is an ESPN Radio affiliate. In addition, he previously hosted of the 12-2pm show "Spielman on Sports." Spielman appears every Tuesday afternoon on AM 1270 WXYT, a sports-talk radio station in Detroit. Spielman also served as a color analyst for the Detroit Lions during the preseason. In 2006, Spielman hosted a reality series on ESPNU called Summer House.
In 2016, Fox Sports announced that Spielman had joined Fox NFL coverage as a game analyst alongside veteran play-by-play announcer Dick Stockton and sideline reporter Kristina Pink. He also teams up with Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis in a three man booth on select weeks [4][5]
Coaching career
Spielman was briefly the coach of the Columbus Destroyers, an Arena Football League team, in 2005. He coached one season, compiling a 2-14 record. After the 2000 season, Spielman interviewed for the vacant head coaching position at Ohio State previously held by John Cooper. However, the job eventually went to Jim Tressel.
Personal life
Spielman and his late wife, Stefanie, raised four children, Madison, Noah, Macy and Audrey. Stefanie Spielman survived four bouts with breast cancer, during which both she and her husband were active in raising funds for breast cancer research. Ultimately, however, she died on November 19, 2009, after the disease returned for the fifth time.[6] While undergoing treatment Stefanie had lost her hair, at which time Spielman voluntarily shaved his head in solidarity with his wife.[7]
Spielman has since remarried to Carrie Yocom in July 2013 and she brought with her 2 daughters, Kendra and Gina Yocom. Their family resides in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
His elder brother is the current Minnesota Vikings' general manager, Rick Spielman.
References
- ↑ "Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry". HBO. 2007-11-13.
- ↑ Mel Kiper's comments re "missing out" on Spielman
- ↑ "NFL Network's A Football Life Explores Life, Legacy of Steve McNair Oct. 17". titansonline.com. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
- ↑ "FOX Sports Announces NFL Broadcast Teams for Super Bowl Season". www.foxsports.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
- ↑ "Former Ohio State star Chris Spielman joining Fox as college football, NFL analyst". 2016-05-18.
- ↑ Notice of Stefanie Spielman's death Archived November 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Official webpage for Chris Spielman Archived October 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
External links
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