Gary Fencik

John Gary Fencik (born June 11, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 12 seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Yale Bulldogs and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 10th round of the 1976 NFL draft. He was a once first-team All-Pro and twice Pro Bowl selection. Fencik is the Bears all-time leader in interceptions and total tackles. He was also part of the 1985 Bears team that won the franchise's first Super Bowl title in the Super Bowl XX.

Playing career

He played college football at Yale University, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1976. In 1986, he received an MBA from Northwestern University. John Madden once said in a broadcast that "Gary Fencik played football at Yale; that is like saying clean dirt". At Yale, Fencik played wide receiver, catching 86 passes for 1,435 yards and 7 touchdowns from 1973 to 1975. In his senior season, Fencik caught 42 passes and led the Ivy League with 729 receiving yards.

Considered too slow to be an NFL receiver, the Miami Dolphins drafted Fencik in the tenth round of the 1976 NFL draft with the 281st overall selection, intending to convert him to defensive back. After rupturing his left lung in a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, he was released in September and headed home to Chicago, planning to start a banking career until he received a job offer from the Chicago Bears.

In Chicago, he was the team's defensive captain through the 1980s including the 1985 Super Bowl championship season. He made two Pro Bowl appearances (1980, 1981). He was also awarded a gold record and a platinum video award for the 1985 '' Super Bowl Shuffle''. Fencik and Doug Plank were dubbed "The Hit Men", a fact referenced by Fencik in ''The Super Bowl Shuffle''.

In September 1986 he was featured on the cover of '' GQ'' magazine. His picture also appeared on the reverse side of a ''Playboy'' centerfold, showing him and the December 1982 Playmate Charlotte Kemp, shopping at the Old Town Art Fair. The story promoted Fencik as "the NFL's smartest player."

Fencik finished his career with 38 interceptions, which he returned for 488 yards and a touchdown. He also recorded 4 sacks and recovered 13 fumbles, returning them for 65 yards.

During his playing career, he became the part-owner of the Hunt Club, a popular bar on Chicago's North Side.

Retirement

Following his football career, Fencik has worked in the finance industry. Fencik worked with Wells Fargo and UBS before joining Adams Street Partners in 1995. He has also worked as a sports commentator, mainly on WGN radio where he was a color commentator on Bears radio broadcasts from 1990 to 1993. During the 1988 NFL season he paired with James Brown as an NFL television commentator on CBS.

During Fencik's final NFL season, he was widely speculated as a potential candidate in the then-upcoming 1987 Chicago mayoral election. Donald L. Totten (the chairman of the Cook County Republican Party) attempted to persuade Fencik to run as a Republican. When asked in September 1986 to describe his political ideology, Fencik remarked, "maybe an independent Republican." In a 2022 radio interview, Fencik said while he believes he would be able to impact positive change if he were to become mayor of Chicago, he currently held no intention of seeking that office.

In October 2012, the Illinois Lottery Board unanimously voted to name Fencik as its chairman.

Personal life

Fencik and his wife Sandy have two children, Garrison and Evan. He is of Polish descent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fencik, Gary
1954 births
Living people
American football safeties
American people of Polish descent
Kellogg School of Management alumni
American sports announcers
Chicago Bears announcers
Chicago Bears players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
NFL announcers
Players of American football from Chicago
Yale Bulldogs football players