David Mark Greenwood (born March 25, 1960 in

Park Falls, Wisconsin Park Falls is a city in Price County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,462 at the 2010 census. Located in the woods of north central Wisconsin, primarily the Chequamegon National Forest, Park Falls is a small community divided by t ...

) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who played three seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. Considered by many to be the greatest high school athlete in the history of Wisconsin, Greenwood excelled in track and basketball as well as football in high school. He still holds the Wisconsin prep high jump record (7'2") He went on to become a four-year starter at both safety and punter for the Wisconsin Badgers. Previously, he played in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

also as a punter for the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

and the

Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can trac ...

. Before joining the USFL, he was expected to be a 1st-round-quality NFL draft pick, a strong hitter and blitzer who performed poorly at man-to-man coverage. He played in all 16 games for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, starting 10, but was cut early in training camp the next year due to inconsistency. He blamed this on burnout, having started in the Buccaneers' season opener only one week after leaving the Invaders.

Awards

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

All-League Team, 1983
USFL at oursportscentral.com. Accessed 03 Jun 2009

References

External links

NFL.com player page
1960 births Living people People from Park Falls, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American football defensive backs Wisconsin Badgers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Green Bay Packers players Los Angeles Raiders players Michigan Panthers players Oakland Invaders players {{defensiveback-1960s-stub