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Gary Fencik

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Gary Fencik
No. 45
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1954-06-11) June 11, 1954 (age 70)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:194 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Barrington
(Barrington, Illinois)
College:Yale
NFL draft:1976 / round: 10 / pick: 281
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:1,102
Interceptions:38
Interception yards:488
Fumble recoveries:13
Sacks:2
Defensive touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

John Gary Fencik (born June 11, 1954) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Yale Bulldogs and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the tenth round of the 1976 NFL draft. He was a once first-team All-Pro and twice Pro Bowl selection. Fencik is the Bears all-time leader in interceptions[1] and total tackles. He was also part of the 1985 Bears team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in the Super Bowl XX.

Playing career

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He played college football at Yale University, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1976. In 1986, he received an MBA from Northwestern University. John Madden once said in a broadcast that "Gary Fencik played football at Yale; that is like saying clean dirt". At Yale, Fencik played wide receiver, catching 86 passes for 1,435 yards and 7 touchdowns from 1973 to 1975. In his senior season, Fencik caught 42 passes and led the Ivy League with 729 receiving yards.[2]

Considered too slow to be an NFL receiver, the Miami Dolphins drafted Fencik in the tenth round of the 1976 NFL draft with the 281st overall selection, intending to convert him to defensive back. After rupturing his left lung in a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, he was released in September and headed home to Chicago, planning to start a banking career until he received a job offer from the Chicago Bears.[3]

In Chicago, he was the team's defensive captain through the 1980s including the 1985 Super Bowl championship season.[4] He made two Pro Bowl appearances (1980, 1981). He was also awarded a gold record and a platinum video award for the 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle. Fencik and Doug Plank were dubbed "The Hit Men", a fact referenced by Fencik in The Super Bowl Shuffle.[5]

In September 1986 he was featured on the cover of GQ magazine. His picture also appeared on the reverse side of a Playboy centerfold, showing him and the December 1982 Playmate Charlotte Kemp, shopping at the Old Town Art Fair.[6] The story promoted Fencik as "the NFL's smartest player."[7]

Fencik finished his career with 38 interceptions, which he returned for 488 yards and a touchdown. He also recorded 2 sacks and recovered 13 fumbles, returning them for 65 yards.

During his playing career, he became the part-owner of the Hunt Club, a popular bar on Chicago's North Side.[7]

Retirement

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Following his football career, Fencik has worked in the finance industry. Fencik worked with Wells Fargo and UBS before joining Adams Street Partners in 1995.[8] He has also worked as a sports commentator, mainly on WGN radio where he was a color commentator on Bears radio broadcasts from 1990 to 1993. During the 1988 NFL season he paired with James Brown as an NFL television commentator on CBS.

During Fencik's final NFL season, he was widely speculated as a potential candidate in the then-upcoming 1987 Chicago mayoral election.[9] Donald L. Totten (the chairman of the Cook County Republican Party) attempted to persuade Fencik to run as a Republican.[10] When asked in September 1986 to describe his political ideology, Fencik remarked, "maybe an independent Republican."[7] In a 2022 radio interview, Fencik said while he believes he would be able to impact positive change if he were to become mayor of Chicago, he currently held no intention of seeking that office.[11]

In October 2012, the Illinois Lottery Board unanimously voted to name Fencik as its chairman.[12]

Personal life

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Fencik and his wife Sandy have two children, Garrison and Evan. He is of Polish descent.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Mayer, Larry. "Tillman repeats stellar performance". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  2. ^ "Gary Fencik College Stats".
  3. ^ Rosaforte, Tim (December 2, 1985). "Once a Dolphin, Fencik succeeds as Bears safety". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  4. ^ "Bears Trounce Patriots, 46-10, in Super Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 1986. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Stiernberg, Bonnie; Ryan, Shane (January 30, 2015). "The Super Bowl Shuffle: A GIF-Heavy Ranking of Every Verse". Paste. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  6. ^ Telander, Rick (September 30, 1985). "Pride of the Yuppies". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "GOP Leaders Want Fencik for Mayor". Quad-City Times. Associated Press. September 17, 1986. Retrieved November 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Executive Committee". ADAMS STREET PARTNERS. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  9. ^ "Political Office Probably Too Small for Fencik". Chicago Tribune. September 21, 1986. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  10. ^ "John Lattner, A Promising Politcal Rookie". Chicago Tribune. October 19, 1986. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  11. ^ Kass, John (November 19, 2022). "The Chicago Way: Gary Fencik Ran with the Bulls in Spain, and Ran with the Bears on the Lakefront, Would He Run for Mayor of a Troubled Chicago?". John Kass News/The Chicago Way. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "Gary Fencik Elected Illinois Lottery Control Board Chairman". Government of Illinois. October 15, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  13. ^ Ronkowski, Steve (March 5, 2012). "Pulaski Day Special: All-Time, All-Polish Bears Team". Windy City Gridiron.
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