Mark Gastineau

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Mark Gastineau
'
Position(s):
Defensive End		 Jersey #(s):
99
Born: November 20, 1956 (1956-11-20) (age 51)
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Career Information
Year(s): 1979–1988
NFL Draft: 1979 / Round: 2 / Pick: 41
College: Arizona State
Professional Teams
Career Stats
Sacks     107.5
Games     138
Seasons     10
Stats at NFL.com
Career Highlights and Awards

NFL Records:

  • NFL Record 2 Consecutive Years Leading League in Sacks
  • NFL Record 4 Sacks in a Pro Bowl

New York Jets Records:

  • Career Sacks, (107.5)
  • Single Season Sacks, (22)

Marcus Dell Gastineau (born November 20, 1956) is a former American football player who was a leading defensive end for the New York Jets from 1979 to 1988. A five-time Pro Bowler, his 100.5 quarterback sacks in only his first hundred starts in the NFL made him one of the quickest and most-feared pass-rushers of his generation. In 1984 Gastineau set the record for most sacks in a single season (22) which stood for seventeen years until Michael Strahan broke it in 2001.

Gastineau retired in the middle of the 1988 season to spend more time with actress Brigitte Nielsen because she had health problems. In 1990, Gastineau tried a comeback with the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League but played in only four games. A year later, he began a career in boxing.

Gastineau had several run-ins with the law, often taking away from his accomplishments on the football field. The charges included drug-possession and domestic violence, and he spent eleven months in prison for parole violations in 1999.

In recent times, Gastineau has said he has become a changed person and hopes to have put his turbulent past behind him.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Gastineau was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma. When he was seven his family moved to the town of Springerville, Arizona where he played high school football for the Round Valley Elks.

[edit] College

He played defensive end for Arizona State University then East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma where he had 27 quarterback sacks in his college career.[2] He became that school's first-ever draft pick, selected in the second round by the New York Jets in the 1979 NFL Draft.

[edit] NFL career

In New York, Gastineau was a part of the famed New York Sack Exchange, the Jets defensive line that also included Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam. Gastineau made the Pro Bowl five straight seasons (1981-85) and finished his 10-year career with 107.5 sacks, the Jets all-time record.

Gastineau was among the most talented and honored defensive linemen of his era. He was 2nd Team All-Pro in 1981 as well as being consensus All-AFC. He was a First Team All-Pro in 1982, 83, 84, and 85 and was consensus All-AFC in each of those years.

In 1982 he was voted the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by NEA (and awarded the George S. Halas Trophy). In 1983 he totaled 19 sacks to lead the NFL for the first time. (In 1981 sacks were unofficial, but Gastineau's 20 sacks trailed Klecko by only 1/2 a sack)

In 1984 he was voted the UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year. That was his best individual season, with an NFL record 22 sacks (leading the NFL for the second year in a row), 69 tackles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. He was also selected the MVP of that season's Pro Bowl. Gastineau's record was broken in 2001 by New York Giant's defensive end Michael Strahan's 22.5 sacks.

The 1985 season was one of transition. New defensive coordinator Bud Carson installed a 3-4 defense and moved Gastineau from left defensive end to right defensive end, although he did move him around to allow for mismatches. Gastineau broke his hand early in that season but still totaled 13-1/2 sacks and was voted All-pro by the NEA. In 1986 he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside fellow star Lawrence Taylor.

During the 1986 season, Gastineau was slowed by groin and abdominal muscle ailments and then by a damaged left knee that required arthroscopic surgery and forced him to miss the last five games of the regular season. He finished with only 2 sacks in 10 games, his lowest total since his rookie season. Gastineau rebounded in the postseason, recording 1 sack in the Jets wild-card round victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and 2 1/2 more in the Divisional Round Playoff game against the Cleveland Browns. However, late in the fourth quarter of that game, with the Jets leading 20-10 and the Browns facing a 2nd down and 24 from their own 18-yard line, Gastineau was called for a roughing the passer penalty. The play had originally resulted in an incomplete pass by Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar so instead of having a 3rd-and-24 situation, the 15-yard penalty on Gastineau gave the Browns a first down at their own 33. From there, the Browns drove the remaining 67 yards to a touchdown which cut the Jets' lead to 20-17. The Browns would later tie the game with 7 seconds remaining in regulation on a 22-yard field goal by Mark Moseley and win it on a 27-yard field goal by Moseley 2 minutes and 2 seconds into the second overtime period. After the game, Gastineau said that he hadn't been guilty of roughing and that he was "just following through." Teammate Marty Lyons, the Jets' other starting defensive end, defended Gastineau saying, "(Ben Dreith) is a referee who's known to take care of the quarterback." Joe Walton, the Jets' head coach would say only, "It was a very key play, Mark was just trying to do the best he could do.

In 1987, Gastineau was the only New York Jet regular to immediately cross the picket line in that year's players' stike, citing his need to pay alimony. Teammate Dave Jennings said of this understandably unpopular move: "We expected it from Mark. He's always put himself in front of the team. He's a very selfish individual." [3] Gastineau got into a fight with backup center Guy Bingham when he drove into the Jets complex early in the strike. Gastineau wound up having the last laugh of a sort when teammates Marty Lyons and Joe Klecko joined him later that season in breaking the players' strike.

Gastineau was nationally famous for doing his signature "Sack Dance" after sacking an opposing quarterback. However, he had to stop when the NFL declared it "unsportsman like taunting" in March 1984 and began fining players for it. The ban on the Sack Dance stemmed from a 1983 game against the Los Angeles Rams, when Gastineau and Rams Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater got into a fight following a Gastineau sack of Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo.

Gastineau was also famous for his highly-publicized romance with model and actress Brigitte Nielsen They'd met following the 1987 season, and during 1988 training camp she showed up at a scrimmage between the Jets and Washington Redskins at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania; she was driven onto the sidelines of the field in a limousine followed by photographers and TV cameras; following the scrimmage she and Mark publically hugged and kissed. Gastineau's relationship with Nielsen coincided with a sudden resurgence in his game early in the 1988 season, but in mid-season came his retirement announcement soon after Nielsen claimed to be suffering from cancer of the uterus; the announcement was followed by a surge of investigation by local New York papers of whether she was telling the truth, reflecting citywide mistrust of Gastineau. [4]

[edit] Career statistics

Year Team GP/GS Sacks Int FR TD
1979 New York Jets 16/1 2 0 0 0
1980 New York Jets 16/16 11.5 0 1 0
1981 New York Jets 16/16 20 0 2 0
1982 New York Jets 9/9 6 0 0 0
1983 New York Jets 16/16 19 0 2 1
1984 New York Jets 16/16 22 0 1 1
1985 New York Jets 16/12 13.5 0 3 0
1986 New York Jets 10/7 2 0 0 0
1987 New York Jets 15/7 4.5 0 0 0
1988 New York Jets 8/8 7 0 1 0
Career 138/108 107.5 0 10 2
  • Postseason Stats: Played in seven postseason contests, with five starts, and had nine sacks including 4.5 in 3 games during the 1982 postseason.

[edit] Retirement

Gastineau seemed poised to return to his old self, leading the AFC in sacks seven weeks into the 1988 season. However, he shocked the football world by announcing his retirement to spend more time with Nielsen, to whom he had previously announced his engagement, even though he was still married to his first wife, Lisa Gastineau. He and Nielsen later had a son.

Gastineau tried a comeback, in the Canadian Football League in 1990. He signed a two-year contract with the British Columbia Lions, but got injured and was released after only four games.

[edit] Boxing

In 1991, Gastineau began a career in boxing, compiling a 15-2 record before retiring in 1996. His first fight against Derrick Dukes produced a first-round knockout. Dukes, a professional wrestler, later admitted he took a dive. TV newsmagazine show 60 Minutes interviewed several others that fought Gastineau and were told to take dives to make Gastineau look good. His career ended in 1996 when he lost to another former football player, Alonzo Highsmith. His record in boxing was fifteen wins, two losses, and one no-contest.[5]

[edit] Current activity

Lately Gastineau has maintained a low profile around his former team and participates in off-season and in-season fan events. Gastineau is also known for strolling inconspicuously along the training camp sidelines in and around Giants Stadium in The Meadowlands during the times when the Jets are training during the year.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gastineau ready to put his (track) record behind him
  2. ^ 1985 Topps Football Card, #337 Mark Gastineau.
  3. ^ Sports Of The Times; It's Time For The Jets To Sack Mark Gastineau - New York Times
  4. ^ GANG GREEN, pp.243-4
  5. ^ Biography of Gastineau

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Gastineau"
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