Michael D'Andrea Carter (born October 29, 1960) 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 and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. He played pro football as a

nose 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 ...

with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

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). Carter was a three-time

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 ...

and four-time

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 ...

selection, including three times on the first-team. He helped the 49ers win three

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

s. He was also an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

athlete, winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Early life

Carter set the American national high school record of 81 feet inches in the 12 pound

, adding more than nine feet to the previous record. He set this mark at the 1979

Golden West Invitational The Golden West Invitational (GWI) high school track & field all-star meet brings together top high school athletes from throughout the country and provides them with the very highest levels of competition. The GWI made its debut in 1960 and is held ...

track and field meet while competing for Jefferson High School of Dallas, Texas. No high school athlete has come within two feet of this record since. In 2004 this record was selected by

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and 1 ...

as the 16th greatest moment in American track and field over the previous quarter century, the only high school mark to make the top 25 greatest moments. He was ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

'' "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1979.

College career

Carter attended

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

on a football scholarship. He was a member of both the

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(10–1) and 1982 undefeated (11–0–1) team, as the immovable object in the center of the defensive line. In track and field, he won four indoor and three outdoor

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

shot put championships. He was part of the SMU 1983

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

team. His lifetime best with the 16 pound shot came in his only defeat at an NCAA Championship meet, when in his senior year he launched a throw of 21.76 m (71-4 3/4 feet) to finish 2nd to John Brenner's collegiate record of 21.92m (71–11 feet) at the 1984 NCAA Championships. He won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

shot put title at the 1983 AAA Championships and after graduating, he won the silver medal in the

at the

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Professional career

A 6'2", 285-lb.

, Carter was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

1984 NFL draft The 1984 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...

. As a professional American football player, he played his entire

career with the 49ers from 1984 to 1992. He was a three-time

selection and a three-time

champion. He was the first man to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl ring in the same season. Both events were held in California and televised on

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. He is a Member of the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Family and personal life

Carter is married and has three children; D'Andra, Michelle (an Olympic athlete and gold medalist), and Michael Jr. Michelle was the 2005 and 2006 NCAA indoor shot put champion, and won the 2016 gold medal at the

Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

on the last of her six throws, edging two-time defending champion

Valerie Adams Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams (formerly Vili; born 6 October 1984) is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IA ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Michelle, like her father, also set a national high school record in the shot put.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Michael 1960 births Living people American male shot putters American football defensive linemen San Francisco 49ers players SMU Mustangs football players SMU Mustangs men's track and field athletes National Conference Pro Bowl players Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Thomas Jefferson High School (Dallas) alumni Players of American football from Dallas Track and field athletes from Dallas NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen