Jerry Martin Sherk (born July 7, 1948) 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

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

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) for 12 seasons between 1970 until 1981. He made the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

lineup for four straight years from 1973 through 1976,Jerry Sherk
at ClevelandBrowns.com. and is widely considered to be among the best defensive players in Cleveland Browns history.''

Eugene Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene ...

'' article:
People In Sports: Comeback in Cleveland – Jerry Sherk
."''

The Bryan Times ''The Bryan Times'' is a daily newspaper based 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 ...

'' article:
Jerry Sherk retires from Browns
."''

Beaver County Times Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-largest l ...

'' article:
They go about their jobs quietly: Some guys aren't household names
."

College career

Jerry Sherk was born in

Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is a city in and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, Oregon, Medford, along the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River. The populatio ...

.NFL.com entry fo
Jerry Sherk
He attended Grants Pass High, where he joined the school's

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and football teams.''

'' article:
People In Sports
." Sherk attended

Grays Harbor College Grays Harbor College is a public community college in Aberdeen, Washington, United States. Established in 1930, the college sits on a campus overlooking the town of Aberdeen and its seaport on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Additional "learning ...

in Aberdeen, Washington and

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

in Stillwater, Oklahoma. During high school, he played on both the football and

teams in both his junior and senior years. He was an All-Big Eight selection on the gridiron in 1969 and an

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 ...

as a Cowboy grappler in 1969. He was inducted to the Oklahoma State Hall of Honor in 2000. He was the key to the Grays Harbor wrestling team winning state two consecutive seasons. Individually, he also won back-to-back state titles and in 1968, he pinned every opponent he faced.

Professional career

Sherk was selected in the second round (47th overall) of the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 NFL draft was the 35th National Football League draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1970, at the Belmont ...

by the Cleveland Browns.''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...

'' article:
Browns' Sherk Retires to Pursue Photography
" His first game was on September 21, 1970, the first regular edition of

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

.''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'' article:
Cosell: Monday night football had rocky start
." He became a starting player immediately, and soon became noted as having a knack for getting to the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

.''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

'' article:
When They Played the Game: Browns defensive lineman Jerry Sherk
." Sherk was part of an

AFC Central The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realigned its divisions u ...

Division in which each team boasted

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

quality defensive tackles: the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene (born September 24, 1946), better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1981. A ...

, the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

' Mike Reid, and the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

Curley Culp the Arizona State Sun Devils Curley Culp (March 10, 1946 – November 27, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played co ...

, with Greene and Culp earning enshrinement in the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

. He was part of a 1972 Browns team that went 10-4 and advanced to the playoffs, losing to the undefeated

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

. Sherk led the Browns in sacks with 10½ sacks and led teams' defensive linemen in

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

with 91, after totaling three sacks and 83 tackles in 1970 and 84 tackles with 4 1/2 sacks in 1971. The following year Sherk played in his first

after sacking opposing quarterbacks 5½ times and making 100 tackles, most by any Browns defensive lineman that season. In 1974 Sherk made his second Pro Bowl and led the Browns with 10 sacks to go with his 94 tackles. In 1975 Sherk made his third consecutive Pro Bowl and was named All-AFC. He is known for punching St. Louis Cardinals QB, Jim Hart, in they eye during the Pro Bowl game causing him to leave the game with six stitches above his eye. According to Hart he did not apologize. He matched his own career-high of 100 tackles and recorded six sacks. In 1976 Sherk recorded 12 sacks and 92 tackles and was voted the

NFL Defensive Player of the Year Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards. The Associated Press (AP) has been giving the award since 1972; Pro Football Writers of America/''Pro Football Weekly'' since 1970; and ''Sporting News'' has announced winners ...

by the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary new ...

(NEA). Sherk was a consensus All-Pro, making the AP,

PFWA The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

, NEA teams as well as being consensus All-AFC for the second consecutive year. November 14, 1976 he set club record with four sacks in one game. He capped the season off by playing in his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl. At a September 1977

preseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

match against the Green Bay Packers, Sherk seriously injured his knee.''

Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...

'' article:
Browns Sherk Injured
" Consequently, he was only able to play in seven games during the 1977 season.

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

.com page:
Jerry Sherk – 1977 stats
. He came back in 1978 recording a new career-high in tackles with 105 but only dropped opposing quarterbacks 3 times. During a November 4, 1979 game at

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating ca ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, an infected

boil A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by ...

on Sherk's arm was scraped off. Bacteria from the field's

Astroturf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for pitch (sports field), playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a pile (textile), short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Si ...

entered his body through the wound, triggering a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasi ...

that traveled to his knee and nearly killed him.''

Toledo Blade ''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835. Overview The first issu ...

'' article:
Knee Infection Puts Sherk Out of Action
." Sherk missed the last six games of the 1979 season. His substitute on the field was

Henry Bradley Henry Bradley, FBA (3 December 1845 – 23 May 1923) was a British philologist and lexicographer who succeeded James Murray as senior editor of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (OED). Early life Bradley had humble beginnings as a farmer's s ...

. The infection eventually proved to be more problematic than first imagined, and effectively sidelined him for the 1980 season, in which he played in only one game and recorded only one tackle. Sherk's absence prompted the Browns to go to the 3-4 defense in 1980, with Bradley at nose guard. He spent his final season, 1981, as a designated pass rusher, coming in to play defensive tackle when the Browns switched from the 3-4 o a four down lineman

nickel defense American football, a nickel defense (also known as a 4–2–5 or 3–3–5) is any defensive alignment that uses five defensive backs, of whom the fifth is known as a nickelback. The original and most common form of the nickel defense features ...

. In that limited role he recorded 12 tackles and three sacks. In all, Sherk totaled 864 career tackles and 69½ sacks. Along the way, blocked 6 kicks, intercepted three passes, and recovered ten fumbles.

Post NFL career

Photography

After leaving football, Sherk worked as a

sports photographer Sports photography refers to the genre of photography that covers all types of sports. In the majority of cases, professional sports photography is a branch of ''photojournalism,'' while amateur sports photography, such as photos of childre ...

for roughly ten years. His work was featured in ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', ''Pro! Magazine'', and many newspapers. His photographs from this time period were featured in an exhibition titled ''Through the Eyes of a Defensive Lineman: The Cleveland Browns as Photographed by Jerry Sherk''.Cleveland Touchdown Club page:
The Cleveland Touchdown Club Charities Presents "Through The Eyes of a Defensive Lineman: The Cleveland Browns as Photographed by Jerry Sherk"
.Jerry Sherk Photography:
Events
." The photo show was held December 14, 2010 at

Baldwin Wallace College Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio, United States. Established in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin, it merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallac ...

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,545 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A western suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. Berea is home ...

, and was sponsored by the Cleveland Touchdown Club Charities.

Mentoring

In 1991 Sherk returned to college, earning a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

counseling psychology Counseling or Counselling psychology is an international discipline. It is practiced in the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong and Korea, and South Africa. Counseling psychology in th ...

. He began counseling various vulnerable populations, becoming especially interested in working with at-risk children. Along the way he created a school-based group mentoring program that uses sports to teach young people how to reach goals in academics and life.

Personal life

Sherk resides in

Encinitas, California Encinitas ( Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Diego, between Solana Beach and Carlsbad, and a ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

county, with his wife Ann.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherk, Jerry 1948 births Living people American football defensive tackles Cleveland Browns players Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers American Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Grants Pass, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon