Dave Casper
Encyclopedia
David John Casper nicknamed "The Ghost." is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player. He was an offensive lineman and tight end.

High school

Casper spent his first 3 years of high school at St. Edward Central Catholic Highschool in Elgin, IL. His final year of high school was at Chilton High School in Chilton, Wisconsin
Chilton, Wisconsin
Chilton is a city in and county seat of Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,708 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Chilton.-History:...

. He was a member of the 1969 football team that outscored their opponents 363-0 in eight games. The small-town team was ranked eighth in the state behind the largest schools in the state; there was no playoff system at the time.

Notre Dame

Casper played collegiate football at the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

, where he earned Honorable Mention All-America as a tackle in 1972. In 1973 he was an All-American
1973 College Football All-America Team
The 1973 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...

 on the 1973 National Championship Team He was the 1973 ND Offensive MVP and recorded 21 receptions for 335 yards and four touchdowns in career. He was drafted in the second round of the 1974 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Casper only caught a total of 9 passes his first two seasons, but was a top 10 receiver in 1976. That season he had 53 catches for 691 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Ghost to the Post

One of Casper's most memorable games as a Raider came in a 1977 Divisional Playoff
NFL playoffs, 1977-78
The NFL playoffs following the 1977 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XII.Due to Christmas, the Divisional playoff games were held in a span of three days. The AFC playoff games were played on December 24 while the NFC games were held on December 26...

 game against the Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....

. Casper made an over-the-head catch of a soft pass lofted by Ken Stabler on "The Ghost to the Post." The 42-yard reception set up a game-tying field goal that forced overtime and the Raiders went on to a 37-31 victory with Casper's 10-yard touchdown reception in the second overtime period. He finished the game with 4 receptions for 70 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Holy Roller

Casper was also involved in another famous NFL contest on September 10, 1978, between the Raiders and San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. The Raiders trailed the Chargers 20-14 with just ten seconds left in the game. Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler, about to be sacked, dropped the football, which he then flicked toward the goal line in an effort to save the game. Raiders running back Pete Banaszak
Pete Banaszak
Pete Banaszak is a former player of college and professional American football. A running back, he played college football at the University of Miami, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Oakland Raiders from 1966 through 1969, and for the NFL Raiders through...

 recovered the ball at the San Diego 12-yard line but dropped the ball again, and it rolled further forward. Casper kicked the ball at the San Diego 5-yard line and finally recovered it in the end zone to tie the game. The extra point attempt was good and Oakland won the game, 21-20. Stabler, Banaszak and Casper all admitted afterwards that they had deliberately fumbled or batted the ball towards the end zone.

The Chargers protested on the grounds that Stabler's fumble was actually a forward pass, and therefore should have been ruled incomplete when it hit the ground. As a result of the play, the NFL changed its rules to make it illegal for the teammate of a ball carrier to advance the ball if he fumblea on fourth down or in the last two minutes of the game.

Other career highlights

Casper caught the first touchdown of Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...

, a 32-14 Raiders victory over the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

. As a Raider, Casper was selected to four straight Pro Bowls (1976–1979).

Midway through the 1980 season Casper was traded to the Houston Oilers for their first and second round draft picks. He was reunited with his former Raider quarterback, Ken Stabler, when he was traded to the Oilers. He finished the 1980 season with 56 receptions and was named to his fifth Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

. In 1984 he returned to the Raiders for his final NFL season.

Casper finished his pro career with 378 receptions, 5,216 yards and 52 touchdowns. In 2002 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

. He was the 13th Raider to be inducted.

Current activities

In recent years, Casper has been working for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network in Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...

 (and now Vernon Hills, Illinois
Vernon Hills, Illinois
Vernon Hills is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,120 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 23,957 as of 2005...

) assisting business owners with financial planning and consultation work.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK