Gregory Keith Fields (born January 23, 1955) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played 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) and

United States Football League 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 ...

(USFL).

Early life

Fields was born and grew up in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and attended Mission High School. He was an All-City selection in football as a junior and senior.

College career

Fields began his career at

Hartnell College Hartnell College is a public community college in Salinas, California. Established in 1920 as Salinas Junior College, Hartnell is one of 115 schools that constitute the California Community Colleges, one of the three higher education systems i ...

and was named All-Coast Conference as a sophomore before transferring to Grambling State for his final two years of eligibility.

Professional career

Fields was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as an undrafted free agent in 1978 but was cut during training camp. He was signed by the

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 ...

and spent the 1979 and 1980 seasons playing mostly special teams and as a reserve on the defensive line. Fields was cut by the Colts at the end of training camp in 1981. Fields was signed by the

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 ...

during the 1982 offseason but was cut during training camp. After being cut he locked himself in his hotel room and told Falcons' defensive line coach Jim Stanley that he refused to be released and did not leave training camp until the police were called. Essentially blackballed from the NFL, Fields was signed by the Los Angeles Express of the newly-formed

(USFL) in 1983. He finished second on the team with ten sacks during the 1983 season. Fields was cut at the end of training camp in 1984 and assaulted Express head coach

John Hadl John Willard Hadl (''Pronounced:'' HAY-dull) (February 15, 1940 – November 30, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 16 years in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He w ...

after being informed of his release. Fields was later signed by the San Antonio Gunslingers, where he played for two seasons until the USFL folded. He recorded 16.5 quarterback sacks in his career at USFL.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Greg 1955 births Living people Players of American football from San Francisco American football defensive ends Detroit Lions players Baltimore Colts players Atlanta Falcons players Los Angeles Express players San Antonio Gunslingers players Grambling State Tigers football players Hartnell Panthers football players