David Francis Manders was born on February 20,1941 and is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League from 1964 through 1974.
17 Facts About Dave Manders
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Dave Manders played college football for the Michigan State Spartans.
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Dave Manders graduated from Kingsford High School and was a key component in a Dalls Cowboys offensive line that dominated the NFL for a decade, playing in two Super Bowls with the Cowboys, winning one.
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Dave Manders was born on February 20,1941, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Dave Manders played football at Kingsford High School, where he was named all-state and lineman of the year as a senior.
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Dave Manders set an Upper Peninsula of Michigan shot put record.
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Dave Manders went on to play at Michigan State University, wearing No 50, where he was a two-way player, playing center on offense and linebacker on defense.
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Dave Manders was teammates with future hall of fame defensive back Herb Adderly, who would later be his teammate again with the Dallas Cowboys.
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Dave Manders signed as a free agent with the Cowboys in 1962, to play linebacker, but after a short stay in training camp, Dave Manders decided to return to Michigan State to complete his engineering degree.
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Dave Manders then worked two years as an engineer at General Mills, first in Grand Rapids, Michigan and then in Toledo, Ohio, before deciding to pursue a football career again.
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Dave Manders was always considered to be one of the hardest-working players on the team.
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Dave Manders did return in 1968, but upon his return he served as a backup to Malcolm Walker and Connelly.
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Dave Manders remained a backup in 1969, until he returned to form and took his job back in 1970.
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Dave Manders was involved in one of the game's controversial plays, when the Cowboys Duane Thomas fumbled the ball on the Colts two-yard line.
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Dave Manders was the starting center during the period in 1971 when coach Landry was splitting time between quarterbacks Craig Morton and Roger Staubach, in a competition to determine the number one starting quarterback.
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Dave Manders was the starter in the Cowboys first championship team in franchise history, that won Super Bowl VI in 1972.
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Dave Manders continued splitting time with Fitzgerald until his retirement at the end of the 1974 season.