Dave Finzer
{{Short description|American football player (born 1959)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Dave Finzer
| number = 15
| position = Punter
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|2|3}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 185
| high_school = Loyola Academy {{avoid wrap|(Wilmette, Illinois)}}
| college = DePauw
| undraftedyear = 1982
| pastteams =
- Dallas Cowboys ({{NFL Year|1982}})*
- Chicago Bears (1982)*
- San Diego Chargers (1984)*
- Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|1984}})
- Seattle Seahawks ({{NFL Year|1985}})
| statlabel1 = Punts
| statvalue1 = 151
| statlabel2 = Punt yards
| statvalue2 = 6,094
| statlabel3 = Longest punt
| statvalue3 = 87
| pfr = FinzDa20
}}
Dave Finzer is an American former professional football player who was a punter for two seasons with the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and DePauw Tigers. He led the NFL in punts inside the 20-yard line with 26 in 1984.
Early life
College career
Finzer began his college career at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , where he currently is tied for the fourth longest kick in Fighting Illini history. He then transferred to Division III DePauw University in Indiana, where he continued to kick and punt. He graduated in 1982.{{cite web|url=https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/20761/|publisher=DePauw University|title=FOOTBALL CARD OF DAVE FINZER '82 IS ISSUED|date=August 8, 1985|access-date=December 2, 2020|archive-date=January 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118183649/https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/20761/|url-status=dead}}
Professional career
In 1982, Finzer was a member of the Dallas Cowboys training camp, but did not make the team. The next season, the Chicago Bears signed him as a free agent, but he was cut once again. Finzer joined the San Diego Chargers for the 1984 preseason, before being traded to the Bears in exchange for a draft pick.{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/08/16/The-Chicago-Bears-have-acquired-punter-Dave-Finzer-from/2836461476800/|date=August 16, 1984|title= The Chicago Bears have acquired punter Dave Finzer from the San Diego Chargers|publisher=United Press International}} He played in all 16 games for the Bears, as well as two playoff games. Against the New Orleans Saints, Finzer had a 87 yard punt, which at the top was the 5th longest in NFL history and 2nd longest in Bears history. Finzer was cut by the Bears at the end of the season for the same player that beat him out on the Chargers, Maury Buford.{{cite web|url= https://chicago.suntimes.com/2016/6/24/18452596/1985-bears-coverage-finzer-is-looking-for-a-job|title= 1985 Bears Coverage: Finzer is looking for a job|author=JB Blanchard|publisher=Chicago Sun Times|date=June 24, 2016}} He then joined the Seattle Seahawks for the 1985 season,{{cite web|url= https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/33444/|title=CHICAGO TRIBUNE: PUNTER DAVE FINZER '82 TO SIGN WITH SEATTLE SEAHAWKS|publisher=DePauw University|date=October 2, 1985}} where he played in 12 games.{{cite web|url= https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FinzDa20.htm|title=Dave Finzer|publisher=Pro Football Reference}}
Personal life
After Dave’s playing days, he went on to work for family business, Finzer Roller, the largest manufacturing of rollers in the United States.