Howie Long

Howard Matthew Moses Long (born January 6, 1960) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons.

As a sophomore in 1978, Long led Villanova in sacks with five and recorded 78 tackles.

The next season, Long sustained a thigh injury, missed three games, and ended the season with 46 tackles.

A four-year letterman for the Wildcats, he was selected to play in the Blue–Gray Football Classic and was named the MVP in 1980.

As a freshman, Long started every game and had 99 tackles.

As a senior in 1980, Long again led the Wildcats with four sacks and had 84 tackles.

He began as a tight end but was moved to the defensive line, playing mostly nose guard his first two seasons.

After moving to defensive end, he earned All-East honors and was honorable mention All-American in his senior year.

Long also boxed at Villanova and was the Northern Collegiate Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

He spent his entire career with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders franchise, who selected him in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft.

Long received eight Pro Bowl and three first-team All-Pro selections while helping the team win Super Bowl XVIII.

Selected in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders, Long played 13 seasons for the club, wearing the number 75.

On the Raiders defensive line, Long earned eight Pro Bowl selections.

He had high aspirations early in his career.

Along the way, he was also named first-team All-Pro three times (in 1983, '84, and '85) and second-team All-Pro twice (in 1986 and 1989).

From 1983 to 1986 the Raiders defense recorded 249 sacks, which tied with the Chicago Bears for tops in the NFL over that span.

Long collected 911⁄2 sacks during his career (71⁄2 are not official, as sacks were not an official statistic during his rookie year).

His career high was in 1983 with 13 sacks, including a career-high five against the Washington Redskins on October 2, 1983.

He also intercepted two passes and recovered 10 fumbles during his 13-year career.

At the time of his retirement, he was the last player still with the team who had been a Raider before the franchise moved to Los Angeles.

He won the Super Bowl XVIII title as the left defensive end with the Raiders (1983 season), beating the Washington Redskins, as he outplayed the opposing offensive tackle, George Starke; the vaunted Washington running game led by John Riggins had only 90 yards in 32 rush attempts.

Long's signature defensive move was the "rip," which employed a quick, uppercut-like motion designed to break an opposing blocker's grip.

Pro Football Weekly (PFW) named Long as one of the ends on its All-time 3–4 defensive front, along with Lee Roy Selmon, Curley Culp, Lawrence Taylor, Andre Tippett, Randy Gradishar, and Harry Carson.

PFW based its "Ultimate 3–4" team on the vote of over 40 former NFL players, coaches, and scouts.

He was selected by John Madden to the All-Madden teams in 1984 and 1985 and was named to the 10th Anniversary All-Madden team in 1994.

Long was voted the NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1985.

He capped off a stellar 1985 season earning the George Halas Trophy for having been voted the NEA's co-NFL Defensive Player of the Year (along with Andre Tippett).

He was also named the Seagrams' Seven Crown NFL Defensive Player of the year.

The following year, Long was voted the Miller Lite NFL Defensive Lineman of the Year.

Both those awards were taken by polls of NFL players.

He told Football Digest in 1986 that he wanted "Financial security, and I want to be President. That's my goal. And I'd like to win a few more Super Bowls."

In 1986, Long was voted to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and was key in helping the Raiders record 63 sacks and being the number one defense in the AFC.

After his retirement from the NFL following the 1993 season, Long pursued an acting career, focused mainly on action films—including Firestorm, a 1998 feature in which he starred.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

After retiring, Long pursued a career in acting and broadcasting and serves as a studio analyst for Fox Sports' NFL coverage.

Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Long was raised in Charlestown, Boston, primarily by his uncles and maternal grandmother.

He attended Milford High School in Milford, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and is a member of the Milford Hall of Fame.

Long was an all-around athlete, playing football (lettered three years and was named to the Scholastic Coach All-America team as a senior, although he had never played football until age 15), basketball (lettered three years as a forward), and track (lettered three years, competing in the shot put, discus, and javelin).

Long also set state records in the shot put and discus.

Long played college football at Villanova University near Philadelphia and earned a degree in communications.