David Jon Herman (September 3, 1941 – October 19, 2022) 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 played offensive

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for ten seasons in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and

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 for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

from 1964 to 1973, having earlier 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

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

Early life

Herman was born in

Bryan, Ohio Bryan is a city in, and the county seat of, Williams County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the state's northwestern corner, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 8,729 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Histo ...

, on September 3, 1941. He was raised on a chicken farm in nearby

Edon, Ohio Edon is a village in Williams County, Ohio, United States. The population was 796 at the 2020 census. History Edon was platted in 1867. A post office has been in operation at Edon since 1867. Geography Edon is located in northwest Ohio approxi ...

, where he attended

Edon High School Edon High School is a public high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper s ...

. He then studied at

, where he played football for the

Spartans Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...

. He was selected by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the eighth round (110th overall) of the 1963 NFL draft, but did not sign. He was also selected by the

in the 27th round (211th overall) of the 1964 AFL draft. He later revealed that he chose the Jets because they offered him $100 more than the Giants.

Professional career

During his 1964 rookie season, Herman played in five games, but missed the rest of the year due to an ankle injury. From 1965 to 1968, he started all 14 of the Jets' regular season games. He was named to the AFL All-Star team in 1968 and 1969. Herman was the starting right guard for the franchise during the 1968 season. His fellow starting offensive linemen that year included left tackle Winston Hill, left guard Randy Rasmussen, center John Schmidt, and right tackle

Sam Walton Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for Co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 res ...

. In preparation for

Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football championship game played on January 12, 1969, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl in Miami, Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the fi ...

, Jets coach

Weeb Ewbank Wilbur Charles "Weeb" Ewbank ( ; May 6, 1907 – November 17, 1998) was an American professional football coach. He led the Baltimore Colts to consecutive NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 and the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in J ...

moved Herman from right guard to right tackle to defend against Baltimore Colts' defensive lineman Bubba Smith. Bob Talamini replaced Herman at right guard and Sam Walton, a rookie, was benched. Herman's ability to neutralize the pass rush of Bubba Smith enabled

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

to enjoy a solid game passing, hitting on 17 of 28 passes. It also helped open the running lanes for Jet fullback

Matt Snell Matthews Snell (born August 18, 1941) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the New York Jets of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was Jets' owner Sonny Werblin's f ...

, who rushed for 121 yards as the Jets beat the heavily-favored

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

16–7. The AFL merged with the NFL before the 1970 season. Herman again started all 14 games for the Jets in 1970 and 1971. He announced his retirement in April 1974.

Later life

After retiring from professional football, Herman was employed as an account executive for Blair Television Company. He also worked in radio sports programming, partnering with

Marty Glickman Martin Irving Glickman (August 14, 1917 – January 3, 2001) was an American radio announcer who was famous for his broadcasts of the New York Knicks basketball games and the football games of the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Glickman ...

to announce Jets games on WOR Radio Network from 1974 to 1978. He later became a financial planner in New York City. Herman was diagnosed with

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...

in 2014. He died on October 19, 2022, in

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

. He was 81 years old.

References

External links

1968 Jet statistics during the regular season
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herman, Dave 1941 births 2022 deaths American Football League All-Star players American Football League players American football offensive linemen Michigan State Spartans football players NFL announcers New York Jets announcers New York Jets players People from Bryan, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio United States Football League announcers