Mark Gastineau

Early life

Gastineau was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and moved to Springerville, Arizona at the age of seven, when his parents, Ernie and Lou, bought a ranch. Mark broke his leg as a child during this time in such a horrific manner that he was told by doctors that he would never walk again. Mark overcame the injury and the odds and Ernie built his son a rodeo ring, and Mark began entering team-roping events at 12. Mark's other passion was collecting Indian artifacts in Arizona's White Mountains. At Round Valley High School, Gastineau needed urging from his father to play football. Gastineau showed promise, but not enough to attract attention from major colleges.

College

He entered Eastern Arizona Junior College in 1975 and earned All-America honors in his first season. He transferred to Arizona State University, and spent just one season playing defensive end there before finally settling upon East Central Oklahoma State University, now East Central University, in Ada, Oklahoma. He had 27 quarterback sacks in his college career, and earned Outstanding Defensive Lineman honors for the North in the 1979 Senior Bowl. He became ECU's first-ever draft pick when the New York Jets selected him in the second round of the 1979 NFL Draft.

New York Jets

Gastineau was among the most talented and honored defensive linemen of his era. He made the Pro Bowl five straight seasons (1981–85) and finished his ten-year career with 107½ sacks, the Jets all-time record. He was a First-team All-Pro in years 1982-84 and was consensus All-AFC in each of those years.

The "New York Sack Exchange"

In New York, Gastineau was a key part of the famed "New York Sack Exchange," the Jets defensive line that also included Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam. The four combined for 66 sacks in 1981, including twenty by Gastineau (In 1981 sacks were unofficial, but Gastineau's 20 sacks trailed Klecko by only ½ a sack), to lead the Jets to their first playoff game since 1969. He was Second-team All-Pro in 1981 as well as being consensus All-AFC. In November 1981, he, Klecko, Lyons and Salaam were invited to ring the ceremonial opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, which served as the inspiration for their nickname.

With Klecko rupturing the patella tendon in his right knee in the second game of the strike shortened 1982 season against the New England Patriots, Gastineau became the new unofficial leader of the "Sack Exchange." Though he was often double teamed, he finished the season with six sacks, and was voted the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by NEA (and awarded the George S. Halas Trophy). The Jets made the playoffs again in 1982, losing the AFC Championship game to the Miami Dolphins.

Defensive Player of the Year

The 1983 season started with Gastineau and the Jets' first round pick of the 1983 NFL Draft, quarterback Ken O'Brien, getting arrested and charged with assault at Studio 54. Despite this off-the-field indiscretion, Gastineau totaled 19 sacks to lead the NFL for the first time.

Gastineau was nationally famous for doing his signature "Sack Dance" after sacking an opposing quarterback. However, he had to stop when the NFL declared it "unsportsmanlike taunting" in March 1984 and began fining players for it. The ban on the Sack Dance stemmed from a 1983 game against the Los Angeles Rams, when Gastineau and Rams Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater got into a fight following a Gastineau sack of Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo.

Gastineau had his best individual season with an NFL record 22 sacks (leading the NFL for the second year in a row), 69 tackles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown in 1984. He was voted the UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year, and was also named MVP of that season's Pro Bowl after tallying four sacks and a safety in that game. Gastineau's sack record stood for seventeen years until Michael Strahan broke it in 2001.

New defensive coordinator Bud Carson installed a 3-4 defense for the 1985 season. Gastineau shifted from left defensive end to right defensive end, although he did move him around to allow for mismatches. Gastineau broke his hand early in that season but still finished second in the league with 13½ sacks and was voted All-Pro by the NEA.

The Jets finished 11-5 in 1985 to earn a wildcard spot in the playoffs along with fellow AFC East rivals, the New England Patriots. Gastineau recorded a sack in the Jets' 26-14 loss to the Pats at the Meadowlands.

1986 playoffs

For the start of the 1986 season, Gastineau was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated alongside New York Giants star linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Injuries limited Gastineau to just two sacks in ten games (his lowest total since his rookie season) as he was slowed by groin and abdominal muscle ailments and then by a damaged left knee that required arthroscopic surgery and forced him to miss the last five games of the regular season.

Gastineau rebounded in the postseason, however, recording a sack in the Jets 35-15 wildcard round victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and 2½ more in the Divisional Round Playoff game against the Cleveland Browns. Late in the fourth quarter of that game, though, with the Jets leading 20-10 and the Browns facing a second down and 24 from their own 18-yard line, Gastineau was called for a roughing the passer penalty.

The play had originally resulted in an incomplete pass by Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar so instead of having a 3rd-and-24 situation, the 15-yard penalty on Gastineau gave the Browns a first down at their own 33. From there, the Browns drove the remaining 67 yards to a touchdown which cut the Jets' lead to 20-17. The Browns would later tie the game with 7 seconds remaining in regulation on a 22-yard field goal by Mark Moseley and win it on a 27-yard field goal by Moseley 2 minutes and 2 seconds into the second overtime period.

After the game, Gastineau said that he hadn't been guilty of roughing and that he was "just following through." Teammate Marty Lyons, the Jets' other starting defensive end, defended Gastineau saying, "(Ben Dreith) is a referee who's known to take care of the quarterback." Joe Walton, the Jets' head coach would say only, "It was a very key play, Mark was just trying to do the best he could do."

1987 NFL Players' strike

In 1987, Gastineau was the only Jet regular to immediately cross the picket line in that year's players' strike, citing his need to pay alimony. Teammate Dave Jennings said of this understandably unpopular move: "We expected it from Mark. He's always put himself in front of the team." The crossing brought to a head longstanding tensions between Gastineau and his teammates; he had never been popular in the locker room. During the players' strike, Gastineau became involved in a physical altercation with backup center Guy Bingham upon arriving early at the Jets complex. Subsequently, teammates Marty Lyons and Joe Klecko also crossed the picket line, actions which collectively weakened the solidarity of the players' strike.

Retirement

Gastineau led the AFC in sacks seven weeks into the 1988 season. He then abruptly announced his retirement soon after Nielsen, to whom he had previously announced his engagement, claimed to be suffering from cancer of the uterus. The announcement was followed by a surge of investigation by local New York papers of whether she was telling the truth, reflecting citywide mistrust of Gastineau. At the time of his retirement, Gastineau was the NFL's all-time leader in sacks.

Gastineau tried a comeback, in the Canadian Football League in 1990. He signed a two-year contract with the BC Lions, but got injured and was released after only four games.

Career statistics

Boxing

In 1991, Gastineau began a career in boxing, lasting five years. In his first fight, Gastineau knocked out Derrick Dukes in the first round. Dukes, a professional wrestler, later admitted he took a dive. TV newsmagazine show 60 Minutes interviewed several others that fought Gastineau and were told to take dives to make Gastineau look good. His career ended in 1996 when he lost to another former football player, Alonzo Highsmith. In 18 career bouts, his record in boxing was fifteen wins, two losses, and one no-contest.

Personal life

Gastineau has said he has become a changed person and put his turbulent past behind him. Shortly after his release from prison in 2001, he had a religious conversion to faith in Jesus Christ. Gastineau has appeared on programs such as The 700 Club to speak of his experience. Gastineau is now a choir member at Times Square Church. Mark married on December 20, 2007 at Times Square Church to Jo Ann Gastineau.

Health

In January 2017, Gastineau revealed that he had been diagnosed with dementia, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease in the previous year. Gastineau said he believed the illnesses could be traced back to football, stating he wanted to continue to teach younger football players how to play the game safely. He blames the brain diseases on poor tackling technique.