Douglas J. Dressler (born August 19, 1948) is a former professional

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 ...

player who played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for five seasons for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, and the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

.Doug also played rugby for the Glenn County Warriors.

Early life

Doug Dressler was born in

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,005 at the 2020 census. Located 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, the city lies along the Beaver River, six miles (9 km) north of its co ...

, the first of three children of Richard Gale Dressler and Patricia Jennings Dressler. Richard, a U.S. Navy veteran, was employed by

National Cash Register NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...

, Lockheed, and Addressograph Multigraph, and later owned a printing business. Dressler's family moved from Pennsylvania to

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...

when he was an infant. His sophomore year in high school, Dressler transferred to

Las Vegas High School Las Vegas High School is a public high school in Sunrise Manor, Nevada, part of the Clark County School District. It is the oldest high school in Las Vegas and originally opened in 1905 on what was then the outskirts of town. The school's first c ...

, from which he graduated. After high school, he attended the

College of Marin The College of Marin is a public community college in Marin County, California, with two campuses, one in Kentfield, and the second in Novato. It is the only institution operated by the Marin Community College District. College of Marin has been ...

Kentfield, California Kentfield (formerly Ross Landing, Tamalpais, and Kent) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Kentfield is located southwest of downtown San Rafael, at an elevation of 115 fee ...

. He then enrolled in

Chico State University California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...

, where he played tight end and defensive end and was also fourth in the nation as a heavyweight wrestler.

Professional career

Dressler in 1970 signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals, and was part of the 1970 team that won the Bengals' first-ever title, the AFC Central Division championship. He played for the Bengals from 1970 to 1974. His best year was 1972, when he rushed for 565 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry and scoring six of his nine career rushing touchdowns. Dressler and Essex Johnson became the first Bengals running back duo to rush for more than 100 yards each in one game against the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

on Oct. 29, as Dressler had 110 yards and Johnson 103. He also scored three touchdowns in one game, again against the Oilers, and in a game against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

he had a career-high nine receptions. In 1975, he played with the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Personal life

After retiring from the NFL, Dressler was always active in youth sports as a coach, baseball umpire and wrestling official. He also played rugby with the Hastings Law School Rugby Football Club. He and his wife, Jody (whom Doug met while at Chico State) were

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; ...

and

Atherton, California Atherton () is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 7,188 as of 2020. Atherton is known for its wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Athe ...

residents for 31 years. After 25 years, Doug Dressler resigned his teaching post at Kennedy Middle School in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

in 2009 and Jody retired from her position as a special education teacher for the San Mateo County Office of Education after 35 years. They now reside in

Lake Almanor, California Lake Almanor is a large reservoir in northwestern Plumas County, northeastern California, United States. The reservoir has a capacity of and a maximum depth of about 90 feet (27 meters). It is formed by Canyon Dam on the North Fork of the Feather ...

. They have two grown children, son Bodey and daughter Shayla.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dressler, Doug 1948 births Living people American football running backs Chico State Wildcats football players Cincinnati Bengals players Kansas City Chiefs players Marin Mariners football players New England Patriots players People from Atherton, California People from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania People from Menlo Park, California Players of American football from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area