Dave Gallagher (American football)

Dave Gallagher
refer to caption
Gallagher (No. 71) and Carl Russ loom over an opposing QB, 1973
No. 76, 71
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1952-01-02) January 2, 1952 (age 72)
Piqua, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:256 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Piqua (OH)
College:Michigan
NFL draft:1974 / round: 1 / pick: 20
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Sacks:4.5
Fumble recoveries:6
Interceptions:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

David Dillon Gallagher (born January 2, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, earning consensus All-American honors in 1973. He played in the NFL from 1974 to 1979.

College career

The University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library describes Gallagher's contributions as: "One of the finest defensive tackles ever to play at Michigan."[1] In 1971, he was named to the sophomore All-American team. As a senior in 1973, he was a co-captain of the Michigan football team. He made 83 tackles in 1973 and 175 in his three years playing for Bo Schembechler's Wolverines. He was a consensus first-team All-American as a senior, was also selected twice to the All-Big Ten Academic squad, and was also a recipient of a National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame postgraduate scholarship.

Professional career

Gallagher was selected in the first round of the 1974 NFL draft. He had planned to attend medical school, but decided to forgo that to play professional football.[2]

He played five years in the NFL for the Chicago Bears (1974), the New York Giants (1975–1976). He retired from professional football in 1976 and entered medical school. However, in 1978, he returned to professional football.[3] He played for the Detroit Lions in 1978 and 1979.[4]

Honors

In 2005, Gallagher was selected as one of the 100 greatest Michigan football players of all time by the "Motown Sports Revival," ranking 65th on the all-time team.[5]

See also

Michigan Wolverines Football All-Americans

Notes

  1. ^ "David Gallagher". Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  2. ^ Howard Livingston (August 6, 1976). "Gallagher's Medical Studies Will Have to Wait". Paterson News. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Curt Sylvester (August 6, 1978). "Gallagher is trying to mix med school, Lions". Detroit Free Press. p. 2E – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Dave Gallagher". Pro Football Archives. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "100 Greatest Michigan Football Players of All-Time". Motown Sports Revival. Retrieved December 9, 2007.