ADA – Former East Central University football defensive end
and NFL draft pick Mark Gastineau will join an elite club Monday, Oct. 8 during
halftime of the New York Jets/Houston Texas Monday Night Football game at MetLife
Stadium. Gastineau and Wesley Walker are
the two inductees for the 2012 New York Jets Ring of Honor.
Jets Release with Video Interview with Mark Gastineau
Gastineau and Wesley join the previous 10 members who have
been inducted since the inception of the Ring of Honor in 2010 to celebrate
Jets greats and commemorate their place in team history. Other Ring of Honor members are Joe Namath,
Don Maynard, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin, Winston Hill, Larry Grantham, Freeman
NcNeil, Weeb Ewbank, Al Toon and Gerry Philbin.
During his two years with the Tigers (1977-78), Gastineau
made an immediate impact on the defense, recording 200 career tackles and 27
sacks. He claimed first team
all-conference honors in 1977 and NAIA All-American honors in 1978. Following his senior season at ECU, he played
in the 1979 Senior Bowl where he earned the North team’s most valuable lineman
award.
That led to Gastineau being the first NAIA player selected in
the 1979 NFL draft, being picked in the second round (41st overall)
by the Jets.
The Ravia, Okla., native spent 10 seasons (1979-88) in the
NFL with the Jets where he continued his defensive power. Gastineau recorded 107.5 sacks, still a Jets
record, and has 74.0 sacks since the statistics became official in the NFL in
1982. His career-best season came in
1984 when he tallied 22.0 sacks to set the NFL record that stood for 17
seasons. He also holds the Jets
single-game record with 4.0 sacks against the Baltimore Colts in 1983 and
against the Indianapolis Colts in 1984. Gastineau scored two touchdowns during his career; both on end zone
fumble recoveries in 1983 and 1984.
Gastineau was inducted into the ECU Hall of Fame in 1987.
