Place of birth: Mobile, Alabama Role American football player Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Weight 127 kg | College: Florida Education University of Florida Name Dan Fike Positions Lineman | |
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Date of birth: (1961-06-16) June 16, 1961 (age 54) High school: Pensacola (FL) Pine Forest NFL draft: 1983 / Round: 10 / Pick: 274 | ||
Dan Fike: Football Offensive Lineman
Dan Clement Fike, Jr. (born June 16, 1961) is an American former college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL.
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Early life
Fike was born in Mobile, Alabama. He attended Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Florida, and played high school football for the Pine Forest Eagles.
College career
Fike accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Charley Pell's Florida Gators football from 1979 to 1982. While he was an undergraduate, he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity (Alpha Epsilon Chapter). As a freshman, he lived through the worst season in the history of the Florida football program in 1979, when the Gators posted an 0–10–1 record. The following season, Fike was part of the biggest one-year turn-around in Division I football history, when the 1980 Gators finished 8–4 after defeating the Maryland Terrapins in the Tangerine Bowl. He was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection following his senior season in 1982.
Professional career
The New York Jets selected Fike in the tenth round (274th pick overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft, but he spent two years on the Jets' practice squad without being activated for a regular season game. He signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1985, and earned a position as a regular starter, playing at different times at offensive guard and offensive tackle, from 1985 to 1992. Fike arrived in Cleveland at an opportune time when the team was experiencing a competitive revival, and was a starter for five consecutive Browns playoff teams (1985–1989), including appearances in the three AFC Championship Games (1987, 1988, 1990).
Fike played his final NFL season for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993, seeing only limited action in three games. In his nine-season professional football career, he appeared in 115 games and started 102 of them.