Manny Fernandez (American football)
Encyclopedia
Manuel Jose Fernandez is a former American football
player of who played eight seasons for the Miami Dolphins
of the National Football League
. He played in three Super Bowls for the Dolphins.
in San Lorenzo, California
, he played football
, wrestled
, and threw the discus
.
before enrolling at Utah
under head coach
Mike Giddings. Fernandez wore number 65 at the Utah and was a 3-year letterman.
He went undrafted and signed with the Dolphins who, according to Fernandez in an interview in NFL America's Game: Miami Dolphins, had hoped he would be a draw for the South Florida Spanish-speaking audience.
. Wrote Nick Buoniconti
, "It was the game of his life–in fact, it was the most dominant game by a defensive lineman in the history of the game, and he would never be given much credit for it. They should have given out two game balls and made Manny Fernandez the co-MVP with Jake Scott." Larry Csonka
also said he thought Fernandez should have been the MVP. The MVP was selected by Dick Schaap
, the editor of SPORT magazine
. Schaap admitted later that he had been out late the previous night, struggled to watch the defense-dominated game, and was not aware that Fernandez had 17 tackles
. Fernandez also recorded a sack
against the Washington Redskins
' QB
Billy Kilmer
.
"Winning the car never entered my mind until I heard that Jake won it," Fernandez said in the January 1974 issue of SPORT magazine. "I was happy for Jake, he played a helluva game for a guy who was healthy but he had two bad shoulders."
The following year, Fernandez recorded 5 tackles and 1 sack in Super Bowl VIII
against the Minnesota Vikings
. Two years earlier, Fernandez recorded 6 tackles, 1 sack and recovered a fumble in the Dolphins loss to the Dallas Cowboys
. In his three Super Bowls Fernandez recorded three sacks and 28 tackles.
For his career Fernandez had 35 career sacks, a high number for a nose tackle, with a career-high of 8 in 1971, which led the Dolphins. In Dolphin history only one nose tackle (Bob Baumhower
: 39.5) recorded more sacks. Fernandez recorded 5.5 sacks in post-season play which is currently 3rd in Dolphins history behind defensive ends Kim Bokamper
(8) and Trace Armstrong
(6).
Fernandez was 2nd team All-Pro
in 1970 and 1973, and an All-AFC selection in 1971 and a second-team All-AFC choice in 1972 and 1973, marking four consecutive season with post-season honors. Fernandez is also credited with being one of the first nose tackles in the NFL, since the Dolphins played the famed "53" defense (which was a 3-4 defense
) in 1972 through 1974, which put Manny over the center
. Likely, no team played the 3-4 defense more until the New England Patriots when went to the 3-4 full-time in 1974.
In 2007 was voted to the Dolphins All-Time team. Fernandez had previously been voted to the 1990 Dolphins Silver Anniversary Team that celebrated the Dolphins' 25 years in the NFL. From 1968 through 1973 Fernandez was voted as the Dolphins "Outstanding Defensive Lineman" even though Pro Bowlers like Bill Stanfill
and Vern Den Herder
were on the same line.
In January, 2001, was named to Pro Football Weekly
s All-Time Super Bowl team. In 2006, USA Today
named Manny to their All-time Super Bowl team.
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 of who played eight seasons for the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He played in three Super Bowls for the Dolphins.
High school career
At San Lorenzo High SchoolSan Lorenzo High School
San Lorenzo High School, also known as "SLZ", is a public high school located in San Lorenzo, California and is part of the San Lorenzo Unified School District. Its crosstown rival is Arroyo High School...
in San Lorenzo, California
San Lorenzo, California
San Lorenzo , also known as San Lorenzo Village is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 23,452 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, he played football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, wrestled
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
, and threw the discus
Discus throw
The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
.
College career
Next came Chabot Junior CollegeChabot College
Chabot College is a community college located in Hayward, California.-Campus:The campus has a 200-seat theatre, a 1,432-seat performing arts center, a full-size planetarium, four major athletic fields, an HD television studio, and an Olympic-class swimming pool.-History:Chabot College was the first...
before enrolling at Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
under head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Mike Giddings. Fernandez wore number 65 at the Utah and was a 3-year letterman.
He went undrafted and signed with the Dolphins who, according to Fernandez in an interview in NFL America's Game: Miami Dolphins, had hoped he would be a draw for the South Florida Spanish-speaking audience.
NFL career
Manny Fernandez was a strong contender for MVP of Super Bowl VIISuper Bowl VII
Super Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1972 regular season...
. Wrote Nick Buoniconti
Nick Buoniconti
Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti is a former American Football League and NFL Hall of Fame middle linebacker, who played for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins....
, "It was the game of his life–in fact, it was the most dominant game by a defensive lineman in the history of the game, and he would never be given much credit for it. They should have given out two game balls and made Manny Fernandez the co-MVP with Jake Scott." Larry Csonka
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
also said he thought Fernandez should have been the MVP. The MVP was selected by Dick Schaap
Dick Schaap
Richard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:...
, the editor of SPORT magazine
Sport magazine
SPORT magazine was an American sports magazine. Launched in September 1946 by the New York-based publisher, Macfadden Publications, SPORT pioneered the generous use of color photography – it carried eight full colour plates in its first edition – and almost immediately became half-bible, half-guru...
. Schaap admitted later that he had been out late the previous night, struggled to watch the defense-dominated game, and was not aware that Fernandez had 17 tackles
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
. Fernandez also recorded a sack
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
against the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
' QB
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Billy Kilmer
Billy Kilmer
William Orland Kilmer, Jr. was an American football quarterback in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins...
.
"Winning the car never entered my mind until I heard that Jake won it," Fernandez said in the January 1974 issue of SPORT magazine. "I was happy for Jake, he played a helluva game for a guy who was healthy but he had two bad shoulders."
The following year, Fernandez recorded 5 tackles and 1 sack in Super Bowl VIII
Super Bowl VIII
Super Bowl VIII was a professional American football game played on January 13, 1974 at Rice Stadium. in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 1973 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Miami Dolphins defeated the National Football...
against 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...
. Two years earlier, Fernandez recorded 6 tackles, 1 sack and recovered a fumble in the Dolphins loss to the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. In his three Super Bowls Fernandez recorded three sacks and 28 tackles.
For his career Fernandez had 35 career sacks, a high number for a nose tackle, with a career-high of 8 in 1971, which led the Dolphins. In Dolphin history only one nose tackle (Bob Baumhower
Bob Baumhower
Robert Glenn Baumhower is a former American football player who played college football for the University of Alabama and professional football for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.-Collegiate and NFL awards:...
: 39.5) recorded more sacks. Fernandez recorded 5.5 sacks in post-season play which is currently 3rd in Dolphins history behind defensive ends Kim Bokamper
Kim Bokamper
Kim Bokamper is a former American Football linebacker who played his entire nine year career with the National Football League Miami Dolphins from 1977 to 1985....
(8) and Trace Armstrong
Trace Armstrong
Raymond Lester "Trace" Armstrong, III is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League for fifteen seasons from the late 1980s to the early 2000s...
(6).
Fernandez was 2nd team All-Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
in 1970 and 1973, and an All-AFC selection in 1971 and a second-team All-AFC choice in 1972 and 1973, marking four consecutive season with post-season honors. Fernandez is also credited with being one of the first nose tackles in the NFL, since the Dolphins played the famed "53" defense (which was a 3-4 defense
3-4 defense
In American football, the 3–4 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers.The 3–4 defense declined in popularity over the years, but has found renewed use by modern professional and college football teams. The 3–4 defense is so named because it involves 3...
) in 1972 through 1974, which put Manny over the center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
. Likely, no team played the 3-4 defense more until the New England Patriots when went to the 3-4 full-time in 1974.
In 2007 was voted to the Dolphins All-Time team. Fernandez had previously been voted to the 1990 Dolphins Silver Anniversary Team that celebrated the Dolphins' 25 years in the NFL. From 1968 through 1973 Fernandez was voted as the Dolphins "Outstanding Defensive Lineman" even though Pro Bowlers like Bill Stanfill
Bill Stanfill
William Thomas Stanfill is a former defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League and then the NFL after the AFL-NFL merger of 1970.-High school years:...
and Vern Den Herder
Vern Den Herder
Vern Wayne Den Herder was an American football player who played twelve seasons for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He played in three Super Bowls for the Dolphins. In 1996 he was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.-High school:Den Herder attended high school in Sioux Center, Iowa...
were on the same line.
In January, 2001, was named to Pro Football Weekly
Pro Football Weekly
Pro Football Weekly is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, that covers the National Football League...
s All-Time Super Bowl team. In 2006, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
named Manny to their All-time Super Bowl team.