Dean Albert Wink (born September 25, 1944) is an American politician and former football player who played parts of 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 ...

(NFL) with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

from 1966 to 1968. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he represented District 29 in the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided into ...

from 2009 to 2016. Wink was the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

pro tempore of the House from January 11, 2011 to January 10, 2015 and the Speaker of the House from January 10, 2015 to January 10, 2017.

Career

Wink signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

in 1966 and made the team as a

taxi squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

player. He was called up to the active roster on November 10, 1967, and started his only game the next year. In the offseason, Wink received his master's degree in education. He was waived on July 15, 1969.

Life after football

After retiring from football, Wink returned to

Yankton College Yankton College is a former private liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches (later the United Church of Christ). Yankton College produced nine Rhodes Scholars, more than a ...

, then moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, where he became a rancher, before working for a Texas cattle company. Wink and his wife Joan, whom he had married in 1966, returned to South Dakota in 1988. That year they bought a ranch in Meade County, and moved to it full-time in 1994. Ten years later, Joan retired from the faculty of

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

Elections

South Dakota House of Representatives

*2008 When District 29 incumbent Republican Representatives

Larry Rhoden Larry Rhoden (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 39th lieutenant governor of South Dakota since 2019. A Republican, he previously served in both houses of the South Dakota Legislature. Early life Rhod ...

ran for

South Dakota Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers L ...

and left a District 29 seat open, Wink ran in the three-way June 3, 2008 Republican primary and placed second with 1,309 votes (32.3%), in the four-way November 4, 2008 General election incumbent Republican Representative

Thomas Brunner Thomas Brunner (April 1821 – 22 April 1874) was an English-born surveyor and explorer remembered for his exploration of the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Brunner was born in April 1821 in Oxford. When he was fifteen, he began ...

took the first seat and Wink took the second seat with 5,341 votes (29.1%) ahead of Democratic nominees Fred McPherson and Bob Burns. *2010 Wink and incumbent representative Brunner were unopposed for the June 8, 2010 Republican Primary and won the three-way November 2, 2010 General election, where Representative Brunner took the first seat and Wink took the second seat with 5,088 votes (35.5%) ahead of Democratic nominee DaleArleta Volmer. *2012 When fellow District 29 incumbent Republican Representative

was

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

ed and left the Legislature, Wink ran in the three-way June 5, 2012 Republican Primary and placed second with 1,059 votes (32.0%); Wink and Gary Cammack were unopposed for the November 6, 2012 General election, where Cammack took the first seat and Wink took the second seat with 4,824 votes (44.6%).

References

External links

Official page
at the

South Dakota Legislature The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the South Dakota Senate, which has 35 members, and the South Dakota House of Representatives, whic ...

Dean Wink
at Pro Football Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wink, Dean 1944 births Living people American athlete-politicians Speakers of the South Dakota House of Representatives People from Meade County, South Dakota Republican Party members of the South Dakota House of Representatives People from Woodbury County, Iowa Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Iowa Yankton Greyhounds football players West Chester University alumni 21st-century American politicians