Phil Pozderac
| No. 75 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tackle | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | December 19, 1959 Cleveland, Ohio | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 277 lb (126 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Garfield Heights | ||||
| College: | Notre Dame | ||||
| NFL draft: | 1982 / round: 5 / pick: 137 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Philip Maurice Pozderac (born December 19, 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a former American football offensive lineman who played six seasons in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame.
Early years
Pozderac attended Garfield Heights High School, where he practiced basketball and football.
He accepted a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame and was named the starter at right tackle in his junior and senior seasons. In his last year, he received the team's Outstanding Offensive player and honorable mention All-American honors.
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Pozderac was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 5th round (137th overall) of the 1982 NFL Draft and became the tallest player in the league, even ahead of Ed "Too Tall" Jones.
In 1984 after the retirement of Pat Donovan, he beat former first round selection Howard Richards for the starting left tackle job (7 starts), before being moved to the right tackle position, when Jim Cooper missed half of the season after being injured on a bizarre accident, when he slipped while rising from a table at a night club, while watching Monday Night Football.[1]
The next year he split time (7 starts) with Chris Schultz at left tackle.
In 1986 he was the starter left tackle, before losing his job to Mark Tuinei and being moved to the other side.[2] He also received two infamous penalties that negated critical first downs during the final 75 seconds of a 17-14 loss against the New York Giants, propelling the team to a Super Bowl Championship.[3] The coaches and media speculated that he became a target of the league's referees, gaining notoriety for holding and false start penalties.[4] A standing joke in Dallas would be to list Pozderac's 5 best plays with the answer being - #1 Holding, #1 Holding, #3 Holding, #4 Holding, #5 False start.
He suddenly retired during the 1987 NFL strike and was replaced by Kevin Gogan at right tackle.[5]
Indianapolis Colts
In 1991 he attempted a comeback with the Indianapolis Colts, but was released before the start of the season.[6]
Personal life
He served as the NFL Players Association Dallas Chapter Chief Financial officer, Director of Sales for SC&T International, VP of Sales for Nextlink, and CEO of both MedPact and MPACT, two companies in the digital communication industry.
Pozderac has worked with the Fellows Research Group to aid research regarding the viability of thermo-acoustic devices for low temperature electric energy generation. He also had part ownership in a manufactured housing plant in Laredo Texas and a sawmill in Oklahoma. As of 2013, he was the Operations Director at the Mulligan Mint, a private minting facility in Dallas, Texas.
References
- ^ "Sports Briefs: Cowboys lose guard, Hogeboom Still No.1". Gainesville Sun. 17 October 1984. p. 3D. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
- ^ "Cowboys Make Some Changes". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane. Associated Press. 24 September 1986. p. D3. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
- ^ Anderson, Dave (3 November 1986). "Man to Man". The Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. p. 17. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
- ^ "Cowboys' tackle Pozderac retires". Wilmington Morning Star. Associated Press. 23 October 1987. p. 6B. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
- ^ "Cowboy rookie hoped to help defeat Giants". Observer-Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. 3 November 1987. p. B5. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
- ^ "Tampa Bay signs top draft pick". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Associated Press. 15 August 1991. p. D2. Retrieved 2014-09-11.