Dave Manders

David Francis Manders (born February 20, 1941) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 through 1974. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. He graduated from Kingsford High School and was a key component in a Dallas Cowboys offensive line that dominated the NFL for a decade, playing in two Super Bowls with the Cowboys, winning one.

Early life Manders was born on February 20, 1941, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He played football at Kingsford High School, where he was twice named Michigan All-State in football at center, and Lineman of the Year as a senior. He also played basketball and was on the track team, and set an Upper Peninsula of Michigan shot put record.

His number 51 is only one of three numbers retired by the school, along with Dick Berlinski, who also played football at Michigan State, and future 10-year NFL player Tim Kearney. Manders and Kearney became good friends, and when Kearney was at Kingsford, Manders helped him learn proper weight training.

In 1980, he was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. playing center on offense and linebacker on defense. He became the starting center as a sophomore in 1959. He was teammates with future Hall of Fame defensive back Herb Adderly, who would later be his teammate again with the Dallas Cowboys.

During his college career, he was among the team leaders in tackles, even though he experienced leg injuries in his last two years. As a sophomore, he was a third-team All-Big Ten selection and became an All-American honorable mention after his senior year. had held back mail inquiries from NFL teams to his players to prevent distraction, and few members of his Spartans team were drafted in the 1962 NFL draft. Manders signed as a free agent with the Cowboys in 1962, to play linebacker, becoming the first franchise offensive lineman named to the Pro Bowl. Manders did return in 1968, but upon his return he served as a backup to Malcolm Walker (the starting center in 1968-69) and Connelly (himself a backup in 1968). Manders remained a backup in 1969, until he returned to form and took his job back in 1970. CoachTom Landry also made him a team captain in 1970. He was also involved in one of the game's controversial plays, when the Cowboys Duane Thomas fumbled the ball on the Colts two-yard line. Although Manders recovered the ball, the officials still awarded it to the Colts (convinced by the Colts Billy Ray Smith he had recovered it, not Manders). The Colts won their first Super Bowl as Jim O'Brien kicked a 32-yard field goal with time running out for a 16-13 victory. Eminent Baltimore sportswriter John Steadman believed Manders's version of events.

Manders was the starting center during the period in 1971 when coach Landry was splitting time between quarterbacks Craig Morton and Roger Staubach, in a competition to determine the number one starting quarterback. In 1973, he retired due to a contract dispute, but by the month of September, he was back working out with the team. He played in the majority of games during that season as center on special teams, although John Fitzgerald was the starter at center for the Cowboys in 1973-74. He continued splitting time with Fitzgerald until his retirement at the end of the 1974 season.

Personal life After retiring, Manders and his wife moved to McKinney, Texas, where he ran a commercial landscaping company.