Michael Allen Ruether (September 20, 1962 - December 29, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

offensive lineman 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 (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

, earning first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors as a lineman in 1983. During his 10-year professional career, he played primarily with the NFL's

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

and went to

Super Bowl XXIV Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He also played for the Los Angeles Express and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and spent a year with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

College career

Ruether played college football at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 he was an All-Southwest Conference, and first-team

selection on a team that won the conference championship and went into the Cotton Bowl undefeated and ranked 2. 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 The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducin ...

of the USFL and then traded to the Los Angeles Express along with

Mark Adickes Mark Stephen Adickes (born April 22, 1961) is an orthopedic surgeon and a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins. Adickes was an All-American offensive ...

for two future picks. He played for the Los Angeles Express of the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

, 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. When the USFL folded in 1986, Ruiether signed with the

. The Cardinals held his rights because they drafted him in the first round of the

1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players The 1984 NFL supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of United States Football League (USFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) players held on June 5, 1984. While there were a few Hall of Famers and Pro Bowl players in ...

. 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. 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 Ricky Cardell Hunley (born November 11, 1961) is an American football coach and former professional player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Hunley played college footb ...

before the season started. Ruether was a back-up center for the

in 1988 and went to

with them. At the end of the season he was resigned with them as a Plan B free agent. 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

where he played the last four seasons of his career. 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. He was an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 1994 season and resigned with Atlanta, but was then released in August. In November 1994 he was signed as a free agent by the

. 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruether, Mike 1962 births 2021 deaths American football offensive linemen Texas Longhorns football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Denver Broncos players Atlanta Falcons players Los Angeles Express players Players of American football from Inglewood, California Minnesota Vikings players People from Roeland Park, Kansas All-American college football players