Chris Gardocki

Christopher Allen Gardocki (born February 7, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1991 to 2006. He won Super Bowl XL with the Steelers.

Early life

Gardocki played as the quarterback, kicker, and punter for Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He declared for the NFL after his junior year at Clemson University.

Professional career Gardocki was selected in the third round of the 1991 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears with the 78th overall pick. Through the end of the 2006 NFL regular season, Gardocki holds the NFL record for most consecutive punts (1,177 for his career) with no blocks. Gardocki averaged a career-best 45.7 yards per punt for the Colts in 1996 and was selected for the Pro Bowl. After playing for both AFC North rivals Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Gardocki was released by the Steelers on May 23, 2007, less than a month after the team selected Baylor punter Daniel Sepulveda in the 2007 NFL draft.

Gardocki is best remembered by some for an incident while playing for the Browns in a September 2000 game against the Steelers in Cleveland Browns Stadium. After being tackled by Steelers linebacker Joey Porter following a punt that left Gardocki briefly motionless (Porter would be penalized for roughing the punter), Gardocki flipped the middle finger twice to Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. The incident, caught on live television, resulted in a $5,000 fine for Gardocki.

NFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl Led the league Bold Career high

Year Team Punting Punts 1992 CHI 16 79 3,393 2,862 61 42.9 36.2 0 19 9 1993 CHI 16 80 3,080 2,925 58 38.5 36.6 0 28 2 1994 CHI 16 76 2,871 2,466 57 37.8 32.4 0 23 9 1995 IND 16 63 2,681 2,105 69 42.6 33.4 0 16 7 1996 IND 16 68 3,105 2,652 61 45.7 39.0 0 23 2 1997 IND 16 67 3,034 2,423 72 45.3 36.2 0 18 6 1998 IND 16 79 3,583 2,932 62 45.4 37.1 0 23 10 1999 CLE 16 106 4,645 3,663 61 43.8 34.6 0 20 11 2000 CLE 16 108 4,919 4,026 67 45.5 37.3 0 25 5 2001 CLE 16 99 4,249 3,422 69 42.9 34.6 0 25 9 2002 CLE 16 81 3,388 2,860 59 41.8 35.3 0 27 6 2003 CLE 16 72 3,019 2,503 60 41.9 34.8 0 18 10 2004 PIT 16 67 2,879 2,507 61 43.0 37.4 0 24 6 2005 PIT 16 67 2,803 2,327 65 41.8 34.7 0 22 7 2006 PIT 16 65 2,687 2,388 56 41.3 36.7 0 11 4 Career 244 1,177 50,336 42,061 72 42.8 35.7 0 322 103

Personal life Chris' wife, Sally Gardocki, is a real estate attorney. They have a son named Cole, born in 1995, and raised on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. In 1997, Sally, an attorney and author, wrote a book titled "The Wives Room", which provided a behind-the-scenes look at the life of an NFL wife. Both donate time to several non-profit organizations including the Boys and Girls Club and the Taste of the NFL, and have regularly served turkey dinners to area residents during the holidays.