John Gonzaga

John Gonzaga
No. 76, 79
Position: Offensive lineman / Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1933-03-06)March 6, 1933
Place of birth: Martinez, California
Date of death: May 17, 2007(2007-05-17) (aged 74)
Place of death: West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 247 lb (112 kg)
Career information
High school: Mount Diablo (CA)
College: None
Undrafted: 1956
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 132
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

John Louis Gonzaga (March 6, 1933 – May 17, 2007) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and the Detroit Lions. He also played in the American Football League for the Denver Broncos.

Early years

Gonzaga played football for Mount Diablo High School, but didn't attend college and continued to be involved in the sport by playing sandlot football.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

On October 21, 1956, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers, even though he never played a down of college football and he was working at the time in a steel mill. As a rookie he was played at middle linebacker. The next year he was used as a two-way right tackle. In 1958, he was moved to the left side.

Dallas Cowboys

He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft and became the first starter at right defensive end in franchise history and also led the team in sacks.[1]

On August 21, 1961, he was traded to the Detroit Lions in exchange for offensive guard Bob Grottkau and rookie Houston Entwine.[2]

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions moved him to left tackle in his first two seasons with the team and then changed him to left guard. After being a five-year starter, he was released on August 30, 1966.[3]

Denver Broncos (AFL)

On September 6, 1966, he was signed as a free agent by the Denver Broncos of the American Football League. He played right guard.

Personal life

Gonzaga came from a family of 14 children and Portuguese descent. He worked for Ford Motor Company until starting his own company. He died on May 20, 2007, after battling an illness.[4]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.