Howie Long

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Howie Long

Date of birth	January 6, 1960
Place of birth	Somerville, MA
Position(s)	Defensive end
College	Villanova University
NFL Draft	1981 / Round 2/ Pick 48
Pro Bowls	9
Honors	NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
Statistics	DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1981 1982-1993	Oakland Raiders Los Angeles Raiders
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2000

Howard Michael "Howie" Long (born January 6, 1960 in Somerville, Massachusetts) played football as a defensive end, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

1 Early career
2 NFL career
3 After Football
4 External links

[edit] Early career

Long played college football at Villanova University. He attended Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts and is a member of the Milford Hall of Fame.

[edit] NFL career

Drafted in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Long would play 13 seasons for the club wearing the number 75. Long was a fearsome force on the Raiders defensive line. Long's signature defensive move was the "rip," which employed a quick, uppercut-like motion designed to break an opposing blocker's grip. Long utilized his quickness and strength to earn eight Pro Bowl selections. Long collected 84 sacks during his career (7.5 are not official as sacks were not an official statistic during his rookie year). He also intercepted 2 passes and recovered 10 fumbles. At the time of his retirement, he was the last Oakland Raider still with the team.

[edit] After Football

After his retirement from the NFL following the 1993 season, Long pursued an acting career, focused mainly on action films, including Firestorm, a 1998 film in which he starred. He also appears in the movie Broken Arrow alongside John Travolta. He played a minor role in the movie 3000 Miles to Graceland, alongside Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, and Courteney Cox. Long also made numerous cameo appearances on TV shows and commercials. He was a spokesman for Radio Shack, making commercials with actress Teri Hatcher. Some people mistakenly believe that Long and Hatcher are married given the sparring and closeness that are embodied in the commercials.

He is best known today as an analyst for the FOX Network's NFL coverage, where he often plays the "straight man" to the comic antics of co-host Terry Bradshaw, whom Long sacked several times as a player. He hosts an annual award show on FOX, Howie Long's Tough Guys, in which he honors the NFL players whom he deems the toughest, and gives the toughest of them a Chevrolet truck.

He is known for the flat-top police haircut he has worn throughout much of his career.

Long has been married since June 27, 1982 to the former Diane Addonizio and they have three sons, one of whom, Christopher, plays football at the University of Virginia. Long will not travel on the same airplane as his wife for fear of orphaning their children.