Mark van Eeghen

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Mark van Eeghen (born April 19, 1952 in Cambridge, Massachusetts),[1] is an American football player, who played ten years in the National Football League, including making two Super Bowl appearances. He was a member of the Oakland Raiders (1974-1981) and for two seasons, the New England Patriots (1982-1983). Ven Eeghen rushed for over 1,000 yards in 3 consecutive seasons from 1976-1978.[2] He was also a Pro Bowl selection in 1977.

Playing for Oakland in Super Bowl XV, he was the game's leading rusher with 75 yards on 18 carries.[3] He also won a championship ring with the Raiders in Super Bowl XI, and was the team's second leading rusher with 73 yards.

Van Eeghen finished his 10 NFL seasons with 6,651 rushing yards, 174 receptions for 1,583 receiving yards, and 41 touchdowns (37 rushing and 4 receiving).

In 2002, van Eeghen was inducted into the Rhode Island Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame in recognition of his career.[4] This reflected that he was voted fourth on a list of the top 50 Greatest Sports Figures by Sports Illustrated.[4]

Eeghen played for the Raiders while John Madden was coach. The superstitious Madden wouldn't let the players leave the locker room until Eeghen belched.

[edit] Student athlete

Prior to his professional career, he played football at Cranston High School West, from which he graduated in 1970, after earning all-state football honors as a senior.[4] He then played at Colgate University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1974.[4] While at Colgate, he set the school's single-season rushing record in 1973.[4]

[edit] Family

Amber van Eeghen as a Patriots cheerleader
Amber van Eeghen as a Patriots cheerleader

Mark van Eeghen has three daughters, including Amber van Eeghen (born 1980), who joined the cheerleading squad of his last team, the Patriots.[2] Amber took part in two overseas tours with the Patriot cheerleaders to perform for U.S. troops in Japan, South Korea, Hawaii, Portugal, Turkey, Iceland, Germany and England. She went to the University of Rhode Island, where she became captain of the "Ramettes" cheerleaders.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "34 Mark Van Eeghen FB", patriots.com, New England Patriots. Retrieved on 2006-06-02.
  2. ^ a b Goode, Jon. "A Patriots cheerleader: Catching up with Mark Van Eeghen", The Boston Globe (through boston.com), The New York Times Company, 2004-02-14. Retrieved on 2006-06-02.
  3. ^ "Super Bowl Recaps: Super Bowl XV - Oakland 27, Philadelphia 10", NFL.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-30.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame", Institute for International Sport. Retrieved on 2006-06-02.
  5. ^ "Amber van Eeghen", patriots.com, New England Patriots. Retrieved on 2006-06-02.


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