Brian Dale Baschnagel (born January 8, 1954) is an American former 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 a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of 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

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

College

Baschnagel was a four-year starting wide receiver at Ohio State where his teams had a 40-5-1 record, won four Big Ten titles, and had four Rose Bowl appearances. He led the Buckeyes in receiving yards in 1974 (362) and 1975 (244). He was a co-captain of the 1975 team. He was part of the famed Ohio State teams that included Pete Johnson, Cornelius Greene, and

John Hicks Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economics ...

who helped Archie Griffin to win two

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

awards. He was a two-time Academic All-American and Academic All-Big Ten selection. Baschnagel finished his career with 86 carries for 652 yards and six touchdowns along with 56 receptions for 794 yards and four touchdowns.

NFL

Baschnagel was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the

1976 NFL draft The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two ...

. He wore jersey #47 in his rookie year, which he began as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, and #84 the remainder of his career with the Bears after moving back to receiver. Contrary to popular belief, Baschnagel was not on the active roster in 1985 when the Bears went 18–1 en route to a Super Bowl victory. He injured his knee in training camp and spent the entire 1985 season on IR. However, he did travel with the team that year, assisted the coaches from the coaching booth, and helped in practice after he recovered from his injury. He received a

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl ring offers a collectible memento for the actual players and t ...

after the Bears' dominant

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

win.

Personal life

After retiring from the NFL, he worked for North American Corporation and retired as the vice president of corporate sales in 2012. Baschnagel has a wife, Mindy, two daughters, Mallory and Allie, and a son, Luke. In 2013, it was announced that Baschnagel would be inducted into the West Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baschnagel, Brian 1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Kingston, New York American football wide receivers Ohio State Buckeyes football players Chicago Bears players Players of American football from Pittsburgh Brian Piccolo Award winners