Mike Ruether
{{Short description|American football player (born 1962)}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Mike Ruether
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| number = 51, 57, 55
| position = Center / Guard / Tight end
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1962|09|20}}
| birth_place = Inglewood, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|12|29|1962|09|20}}
| death_place = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lb = 279
| high_school = Bishop Miege {{nowrap|(Roeland Park, Kansas)}}
| college = Texas
| suppdraftyear = 1984
| suppdraftround = 1
| suppdraftpick = 17
| pastteams =
- Los Angeles Express ({{USFL Year|1984}}–{{USFL Year|1985}})
- St. Louis Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1986|1987}})
- Denver Broncos ({{NFL Year|1988|1989}})
- Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1990|1993}})
- Minnesota Vikings ({{NFL Year|1994}})
| highlights =
- First-team All-American (1983)
- First-team All-SWC (1983)
- 1983 Southwest Conference Champion
- 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic Champion
| pfr = RuetMi20
}}
Michael Allen Ruether (September 20, 1962 - December 29, 2021) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman and tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, earning first-team All-American honors as a lineman in 1983.{{cite news|title=The 1983 NEA All-America team|newspaper=The Republic (Columbus, Ind.)|date=November 30, 1983|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4574799/1983_nea_allamerica_team/|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} During his 10-year professional career, he played primarily with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and went to Super Bowl XXIV with the Denver Broncos. He also played for the Los Angeles Express and the St. Louis Cardinals and spent a year with the Minnesota Vikings.
College career
Ruether played college football at the University of Texas from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 he was an All-Southwest Conference, and first-team All-American selection on a team that won the conference championship and went into the Cotton Bowl undefeated and ranked {{abbr|No.|Number}} 2.{{cite news |title=The 1983 United Press International all-Southwest Conference football team |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/30/The-1983-United-Press-International-all-Southwest-Conference-football-team/7448439016400/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=UPI |date=30 November 1983}}{{cite news |title=Top-ranked Nebraska and Brigham Young |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/12/08/Top-ranked-Nebraska-and-Brigham-Young-the-two-best-offensive/6855439707600/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=UPI |date=8 December 1983}} He also played for the 1981 team that spent a week ranked No. 1 and finished the season ranked No. 2 after upsetting Alabama in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Professional career
In early 1984, Ruether was selected by the Houston Gamblers of the USFL and then traded to the Los Angeles Express along with Mark Adickes for two future picks. He played for the Los Angeles Express of the USFL, where he snapped the ball to future Hall of Famer Steve Young in 1984 and 1985 before entering the NFL with the Cardinals in 1986. He started all but two games his rookie season in which they made it to the Conference Championship game, but was not a starter in 1985 and battled knee, elbow and neck injuries.{{cite news |title=USFL Injury Report |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/02/21/USFL-Injury-Report/3110477810000/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=UPI |date=21 February 1985}} When the USFL folded in 1986, Ruiether signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.{{cite news |title=Tuesday's Sports Transactions |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/10/01/Tuesdays-Sports-Transactions/6591528523200/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |date=1 October 1986}} The Cardinals held his rights because they drafted him in the first round of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players.{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=SLC&lg=nfl&yr=1984 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070408045353/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=SLC&lg=nfl&yr=1984 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 8, 2007 |title=1984 St. Louis Cardinals |website=databaseFootball.com |access-date= July 4, 2020}}{{Cite web |title=1984 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1984/draft.htm |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}
With the Cardinals, Ruether started two games at center in one and 2/3rds seasons he was with them, but again dealt with ankle injuries.{{cite news |title=NFL Injuries and Lineup Changes |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/11/28/NFL-Injuries-and-Lineup-Changes/6233533538000/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=UPI |date=28 November 1986}} Prior to the start of the 1988 season, he was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals, which by then had moved to Phoenix, and then traded to Denver for Ricky Hunley before the season started.{{cite news |title=Thursday Sports Transactions |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/06/30/Thursdays-Sports-Transactions/1787583646400/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=UPI |date=30 June 1988}}{{cite news |title=Strong safety Dennis Smith, the last veteran holdout |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/07/20/Strong-safety-Dennis-Smith-the-last-veteran-holdout-of/1504585374400/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=UPI |date=20 July 1988}}
Ruether was a back-up center for the Denver Broncos in 1988 and went to Super Bowl XXIV with them. At the end of the season he was resigned with them as a Plan B free agent.{{cite news |title=Broncos sign five |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/04/02/Broncos-sign-five/4968639028800/ |access-date=27 April 2023 |work=UPI |date=2 April 1990}} He was released by the Broncos early in the 1989 season, but then signed with them again 5 weeks later.
He was a Plan B free agent again in 1990 and was signed by the Atlanta Falcons where he played the last four seasons of his career.{{cite news |title=Plan B Means Plenty to a Lot |work=The Washington Post |date=1 April 1990}} In Atlanta, he played center, guard and tight end. He had his most successful season with the Falcons in 1991 when he started 6 games and even caught a pass for 22 yards.{{cite web|url=https://www.footballdb.com/players/mike-ruether-ruethmi01|title=Mike Ruether |website=footballdb.com |access-date= July 4, 2020}} He was an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 1994 season and resigned with Atlanta, but was then released in August.{{cite news |title=NFLPA announces free agents |work=The Jackson Sun |date=28 January 1994}}{{cite web |title=Mike Ruether |url=https://www.prosportstransactions.com/football/Search/SearchResults.php?Player=Mike+Ruether&Team=&BeginDate=&EndDate=&PlayerMovementChkBx=yes&submit=Search |publisher=Pro Sports Transactions |access-date=27 April 2023}}
In November 1994 he was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Vikings. He never took the field with them and was a free agent when the season ended.
He was married for some time to Marjorie Severin Biasotto and they had two children – son Reece Austin Ruether and daughter Ramsey Severin Phillips - and a granddaughter Charley Severin Phillips. His parents were Bob and Connie Ruether.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals 1984 draft navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruether, Mike}}
Category:American football offensive linemen
Category:Texas Longhorns football players
Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
Category:Denver Broncos players
Category:Atlanta Falcons players
Category:Los Angeles Express players
Category:Players of American football from Inglewood, California
Category:Minnesota Vikings players