Dan Bunz
{{Short description|American football player (born 1955)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
|image= 1986 Jeno's Pizza - 27 - Dan Bunz (cropped).jpg
|caption= Bunz (57) playing for the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI
|number=57, 97
|position=Linebacker
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1955|10|7}}
|birth_place=Roseville, California, U.S.
|height_ft=6
|weight_lb=226
|height_in=4
|high_school=Oakmont (Roseville)
|college=Long Beach State
|draftyear=1978
|draftround=1
|draftpick=24
|teams=
- San Francisco 49ers ({{NFL Year|1978}}–{{NFL Year|1984}})
- Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|1985}})
|highlights=
- 2× Super Bowl champion (XVI, XIX)
- PFWA All-Rookie Team (1978)
- First-team All-Coast (1977)
|statlabel1=Sacks
|statvalue1=6.0
|statlabel2=Interceptions
|statvalue2=4
|statlabel3=Fumble recoveries
|statvalue3=14
|pfr=B/BunzDa20
}}
Dan Bunz (born October 7, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1978 to 1985, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers.
Bunz played at Oakmont High School, the University of California, Riverside, and California State University, Long Beach before being drafted in the first round of the 1978 NFL draft by the 49ers. He had a small role in the 1979 movie North Dallas Forty. He taught physical education at Miwok Middle School (renamed from Sutter Middle School in 2023), in Sacramento, California for over 25 years.{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Daniel|title=Dre Greenlaw's goal-line stand saved the 49ers — and left Dan Bunz cheering|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1500811/2019/12/31/dre-greenlaws-goal-line-stand-saved-the-49ers-and-left-dan-bunz-cheering/|access-date=21 August 2024|work=The New York Times|date=31 December 2019}}
The Stop
In Super Bowl XVI (January 24, 1982), Bunz made one of the most famous tackles in NFL history. On a critical 3rd-and-Goal from the 1-yard line, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson passed to Charles Alexander in the right flat, but Bunz came up fast, grabbed Alexander around the waist, and hurled him backward before he could break the plane of the goal line. Had Bunz tackled Alexander low, his momentum certainly would have carried him into the end zone.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeN-Zsb4og0&t=14m32s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/VeN-Zsb4og0 |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|title=Super Bowl XVI San Francisco 26 Cincinnati 21, Goal Line Stand|format= YouTube |work=NFL Productions |time=14:32}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/superbowlsubs.html|website= ESPN|format=Page2|title=The greatest Super Bowl subs ever|last1=Merron|first1=Jeff}} Known as "The Stop", the play was followed by another stop on 4th down, slowing Cincinnati's comeback and ultimately propelling the 49ers to their first Super Bowl title.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkyg_1eeOT4 |title=Dan Bunz Describes 'The Stop' in 49ers First Super Bowl Victory |work=49ers Studios |date=29 December 2015 |format=YouTube}}
Personal life
Bunz is a lifelong Placer County resident who grew up in Roseville with his older siblings Ben and Dennis. He retired from the Detroit Lions at age 30 after a contract dispute, and became a teacher at Sutter Middle School in Sacramento. He and his wife own a farm on the Placer County Wine Trail.{{cite news|last1=Davidson|first1=Joe|title=Ex-49er Dan Bunz still revels in game-saving stop in Super Bowl XVI|url=http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/hometown-report/article129196134.html|access-date=28 September 2017|work=The Sacramento Bee|date=27 January 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Daniel|title=49ers' Super Bowl hero Dan Bunz now bathes in lavender|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/01/15/49ers-super-bowl-hero-dan-bunz-now-bathes-in-lavender/|access-date=28 September 2017|work=The Mercury News|agency=Bay Area News Group|date=15 January 2016}}
In 1984 Bunz opened Bunz & Company restaurant and sports bar in his hometown of Roseville, California. He sold the restaurant in 1999, and it closed in the summer of 2012.{{cite news|title=Former 49er's Roseville Restaurant Closes After 30 Years|url=http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/05/27/former-49ers-roseville-restaurant-closes-after-30-years/|access-date=28 September 2017|work=CBS13|date=27 May 2012|location=Sacramento, CA}} On January 19, 2013, Bunz and some other entrepreneurs opened 2H - 2nd Half at Bunz & Company in the same location as the original Bunz and Company.
He appeared in an episode of HGTV's Yard Crashers when his daughters' back yard got a makeover. Hillside Terrace (2012){{cite web|url=http://roseville-rocklin.news10.net/news/home-garden/102693-diy-network-yard-crashers-bushnell-landscape-design-build-and-sf-49er-dan-bunz |title=DIY Network Yard Crashers with Bushnell Landscape Design Build and SF 49er, Dan Bunz |publisher=roseville-rocklin.news10.net |date=6 August 2012 |access-date=6 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706232229/http://roseville-rocklin.news10.net/news/home-garden/102693-diy-network-yard-crashers-bushnell-landscape-design-build-and-sf-49er-dan-bunz |archive-date=6 July 2015 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Footballstats|nfl=dan-bunz|pfr=B/BunzDa20}}
- [https://www.bunzlavender.com/ Bywater Hollow Lavender]
{{1978 NFL Draft}}
{{49ersFirstPick}}
{{49ers1978DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XVI}}
{{Super Bowl XIX}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunz, Dan}}
Category:American football linebackers
Category:Long Beach State 49ers football players
Category:UC Riverside Highlanders football players
Category:Detroit Lions players
Category:San Francisco 49ers players
Category:Sportspeople from Roseville, California
Category:Oakmont High School alumni
Category:Players of American football from Placer County, California