Dave Finzer 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 punter for two seasons for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. He led the NFL in punts inside the 20-yard line with 26 in 1984. He graduated from

Loyola Academy Loyola Academy is a private, Catholic, co-educational college preparatory high school run by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago ...

in 1978, before kicking for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, and then transferring to Division III

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

in Indiana, where he played punter and kicker.

College career

Finzer began his college career at

, where he currently is tied for the 4th longest kick in Illini history. Finzer then transferred to DePauw University, where he continued to kick and punt. He graduated in 1982.

Professional career

In 1982, Finzer was a member of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

training camp, but did not make the team. The next season, the

signed him as a free agent, but he was cut once again. Finzer joined the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

for the 1984 preseason, before being traded to the Bears in exchange for a draft pick. He played in all 16 games for the Bears, as well as two playoff games. Against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, Finzer had a 87 yard punt, which at the top was the 5th longest in NFL history and 2nd longest in Bears history. Finzer was cut by the Bears at the end of the season for the same player that beat him out on the Chargers,

Maury Buford Maury Anthony Buford (born February 18, 1960) is a former American football punter in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers, the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants. Buford attended Texas Tech and was selected by the Char ...

. He then joined the

for the 1985 season, where he played in 12 games.

Personal life

After Dave’s playing days, he went on to work for family business, Finzer Roller, the largest manufacturing of rollers in the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finzer, Dave 1959 births American football punters Chicago Bears players Seattle Seahawks players Illinois Fighting Illini football players Living people Loyola Academy alumni DePauw Tigers football players Players of American football from Chicago