Brian David Baldinger (born January 7, 1959) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

man in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. He covered

preseason games as an analyst with

Scott Graham Scott Graham (born June 10, 1965) is an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of the Philadelphia Phillies, his work with NFL Films, and his studio hosting of ''The NFL on Westwood One''. He has lived and worked near Philadelphia ...

for several years. He currently works for

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

, where he serves as an analyst for the television show NFL Total Access. He played college football at Duke University.

Early years

Baldinger was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. Always big, strong, and athletic for his age, Baldinger spent much of his youth playing a variety of sports in and around

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census. ...

. His family later moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota, then Massapequa, New York where he and his brothers became well known locally as they continued to excel in sports. Brian practiced football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and track at Massapequa High School, where his graduating class included Jessica Hahn,

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

, and

Tim Van Patten Timothy Van Patten (born June 10, 1959) is an American director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed episodes of '' Perry Mason'', ''Boardwalk Empire'', '' Black Mirror'', ''Deadwood'', '' Ed'', ''Game of Thrones'', ''The Pacific' ...

.Ketcham, Diane
"ABOUT LONG ISLAND; At the Repository of High School Memories"
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 12, 1995. Accessed January 3, 2017. "Copies of The Sachem, as the Massapequa book is called, are scattered throughout the collection. A long-haired Jerry Seinfeld pops out of the pages of 1972. In '74, Mr. Buttafuoco and his wife graduated. There is just one comment under Mr. Buttafuoco's picture. It says, 'I love Mary Jo.' Other graduates of the Massapequa schools include the Baldwin brothers, Alexander, '76, class president; Dan, '79; Billy, '81, and Steven, '84. In Ms. Hahn's Class of '77 were also Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Tim Van Patten, an actor and Brian Baldinger, a professional football player."

College career

After high school, he initially enrolled at the Naval Academy, but later decided to transfer to Nassau Community College, where he became an All-Coastal Conference

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

and also practiced

. In 1979, he transferred to Duke University, where he was converted into a guard because of his blocking ability. As a senior, he was voted the team's most improved player and started all 11 games.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Baldinger was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York S ...

on April 30. As a rookie, he appeared in 4 out of 9 games, playing mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. In

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, he saw playing time as a backup at center and guard. In

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, he started two games at right tackle replacing an injured Phil Pozderac and also started 2 games at right guard in place of an injured Kurt Petersen. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, he injured his right knee in the third preseason game against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, he was a backup at center and also played as a third

in short-yardage situations. On September 2,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

, he was placed on the

with a left knee injury he suffered in a preseason game. On October 24, he was activated to the regular season roster. He was declared inactive in 6 of the final 8 games. Baldinger wasn't re-signed after the season. During his time with the Cowboys, he played every

position and also had a few snaps at

Indianapolis Colts

On July 19, 1988, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

, to provide depth in the case of a lengthy contract holdout by guard

Ron Solt Ronald Matthew Solt (born May 19, 1962) is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He played professionally for the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles. Biography Solt was born in Bainbridge, Maryland and ...

. He was the lightest member of the

. He appeared in 16 games, starting three contests at right tackle. He caught his first career pass (37 yards) from a tackle-eligible position against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

. In

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

, he appeared in all 16 games. He started the season opener at right tackle in place of Kevin Call and started 2 games at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

in place of an injured

Chris Hinton Christopher Jerrod Hinton (born July 31, 1961) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Indianapolis Colts franchise. In addition to his seven seasons wi ...

. He also was used as tackle-eligible in short yardage situations. In 1990, he was named the starter at right guard for the first 8 games. In the second half of the season, he was moved to replace right tackle Call, who injured his left shoulder in the eighth game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

, he started 13 games at center in place of Ray Donaldson, who was lost for the season with a broken leg he suffered against the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

Buffalo Bills

On April 2,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

, he was signed in

Plan B free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

, joining his brother

Gary Baldinger Gary Thomas Baldinger (born October 4, 1963) is a former professional American football player. Baldinger, a defensive lineman, played six seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the Kansas City Chiefs. His older brother Rich Baldin ...

. He was released on August 31.

Philadelphia Eagles

On September 28,

, he was signed as a

by the

to replace an injured John Hudson. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, he started 4 games at right guard in place of an injured Eric Floyd. On June 4,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

, he was released in a salary cap move, along with 11 other veterans.

Broadcasting career

Baldinger began his

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

career as a color analyst at Bucknell University in 1995, then moved to Fox in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, providing analysis for

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

games. The network was impressed with his soothing voice and handy repertoire of clichés, and promoted him to a color commentary slot for NFL games. Baldinger worked alongside

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present In linguis ...

voices Ray Bentley, Curt Menefee, Joe Buck,

Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. Summerall announ ...

Kenny Albert Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four ...

, and Dick Stockton. In May 2009, it was reported that Baldinger would be replaced by former NFL safety John Lynch on Fox's telecasts. Shortly thereafter, Baldinger was hired by

Compass Media Networks Compass Media Networks is an American radio network. The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann. The company focuses on radio and offers representation and ma ...

to serve as lead analyst for their national radio broadcasts of select Sunday afternoon NFL games. Baldinger also co-hosts a talk show for

Sporting News Radio SportsMap is a sports radio network that is distributed by Gow Media. The SportsMap Radio Network supplies its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its history, through ...

during football season, and teaches seminars for Nadia Communications. He is the author of the book ''The Map to Clear Messages''. Baldinger has previously co-hosted various radio shows, and now is a frequent contributor for a sports-talk radio show for Philadelphia's WPEN, as well as

and

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It h ...

. In October 2016, during an appearance on WPEN ahead of a Sunday Night Game between the Eagles and Cowboys, Baldinger said that the Eagles should put a bounty on then-rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott. A few days later, NFL Network initially suspended Baldinger without pay for 6 months, but reduced his suspension and returned to NFLN in April 2017.

Personal life

A resident of

Marlton, New Jersey Marlton is a census-designated place (CDP) located within Evesham Township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, he has two younger brothers,

Rich Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense taste, flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling **Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated ...

and

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

, who also played in the

. He has a slightly mutilated right pinky finger that was injured when it became entangled in the jersey of Randy White.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldinger, Brian 1959 births Living people American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Players of American football from Pennsylvania People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey People from Evesham Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from the Delaware Valley People from Apple Valley, Minnesota People from Massapequa, New York American sports radio personalities Nassau Lions football players Duke Blue Devils football players Dallas Cowboys players Indianapolis Colts players Philadelphia Eagles players National Football League announcers NFL Europe broadcasters College football announcers Philadelphia Eagles announcers Atlanta Falcons announcers Nassau Community College alumni Massapequa High School alumni Ed Block Courage Award recipients