Joe Fishback (born November 29, 1967, in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, and

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 ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Carson-Newman University.

Early years

Fishback attended

Austin-East High School Austin-East High School, also known as Austin-East Magnet High School, is a public high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, operated by Knox County Schools. The school includes a magnet school program in performing arts. History Austin-East is the ...

, where he earned All-state honors in both football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. He initially played out of position as an undersized (160 pounds)

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. On the defensive side he played at

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He initially accepted a football scholarship from

Johnson C. Smith University Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accredited by the ...

, but opted to leave after a week, when he came to a decision that the football program wasn't what he expected. He would end up transferring to Carson-Newman University, where he was converted into a

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

, even though he never played the position before. He was named a starter mid-way through his freshman season. As a senior, he was the runner up in the NAIA's Player of the Year voting and was named Conference "Defensive Player of the Year". He took part in 4 consecutive NAIA Division I championship games from 1986 to 1989, winning the title in 1986, 1988 and 1989. He finished his college career with 293 tackles, 11 interceptions (3 returned for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s) and a 21.6-yard average on 7 punt returns (2 returned for

s). In 2013, he was inducted into the Carson-Newman Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was inducted into the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

New York Giants

Fishback was 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 ...

by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

after the

1990 NFL draft The 1990 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Marq ...

. He injured his back in the third preseason game and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

, with a transverse process fracture on August 27. He was released in November.

Atlanta Falcons (First stint)

On September 4,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, the

signed him to their

practice 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, ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 16. He played in 14 games as a reserve defensive back, posting 5 defensive tackles, 24

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles (led the team), partially blocked a punt, returned a fumble for a

and returned 3 kickoffs for 29 yards. He was named the Falcons "Special Teams Player of the Week" 6 times. He was selected as a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

alternate at the end of the season. In the NFC Wild Card playoff game 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 ...

, with the score 27-20 and less than 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Tim McKyer Timothy Bernard McKyer (born September 5, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1 ...

intercepted a pass that sealed the victory, but instead of falling down, he chose to make a risky lateral pass to teammate

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...

, who after a sizeable run, made another dangerous lateral pass to Fishback, who returned the ball for an apparent touchdown, that would be overruled when proven that Sanders had done an illegal forward lateral, thus the play ended as a footnote.

New York Jets

On March 13,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, he signed in Plan B free agency with the

. He appeared in the first five games, collecting 4

tackles. He was cut on October 20.

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

On November 3,

, he signed as a

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

. He appeared in the final 7 games, making 7 defensive tackles and 8

tackles. On August 23,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, he was placed on the

with a sprained neck. He was released on October 4.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 13,

, he signed as a

with the

. He played mainly on

and registered 12

tackles (tied for sixth on the team). He suffered a sprained right knee in the tenth game against the Phoenix Cardinals and was declared inactive for the next 5 contests. He was a part of the

Super Bowl XXVIII Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

Championship team. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, he registered 17

tackles (sixth on the team). He was released on November 30.

Denver Broncos

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he was signed as a

by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. He was released on August 22.

Personal life

Born to Shirley Battle and Joe Fishback, Sr. He is married to Irish Fishback, Realtor with Maximum One Realtor Partners and together they have 5 boys.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishback, Joe 1967 births Living people Players of American football from Knoxville, Tennessee American football cornerbacks Carson–Newman Eagles football players Atlanta Falcons players Dallas Cowboys players New York Jets players