Joe Shield (born June 26, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player in the National Football League (NFL). Shield attended

Brattleboro Union High School Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) is a public school in Vermont that serves the towns of Brattleboro, Vernon, Guilford, Dummerston, and Putney. The Brattleboro Union High School is connected with the middle school, Brattleboro Area Middle Scho ...

before a brief stint at Worcester Academy. He participated in athletics at both schools, excelling in baseball and football. Shield attended

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, where 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 ...

. After an injury to the team's starting quarterback in his first game, Shield took over the position and did not relinquish it for the rest of his college career. He left Trinity holding almost every team passing record. Shield was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also hel ...

; he played in three games over two seasons for the Packers before leaving football.

Early life

Joe Shield was born on June 26, 1962, in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he attended

. During his time there, Shield played both baseball, basketball and football. In football, he was named the All-Southern Vermont League quarterback for his junior and senior years (1978 and 1979); in 1978 he helped lead the team to the state championship and in 1979 he was captain and named the team's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. In baseball, he had a career .400 batting average and helped lead the team to two consecutive appearances in the state championship game, winning in 1978. Shield won numerous awards for his athletic performance in high school. He then continued his education and participation in baseball and football at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts.

College career

Shield attended

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, where he played quarterback for their football team. During his first

game at Trinity, the team's starting quarterback was injured and Shield replaced him. He ended up retaining the position for the rest of his college career. Shield accumulated over 6,500

passing yards The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

, completing over 56 percent of his passes and throwing 52 touchdowns as the team's starter for three seasons. The ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...

'' noted that Shields held "nearly every record for a quarterback at Trinity" after he left.

Professional career

Shield was drafted by the

in the eleventh round of the

. During the 1985 preseason, he battled

Scott Brunner Scott Lee Brunner (born March 24, 1957) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the New York Giants from 1980 to 1983, the Denver Broncos in 1984, and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1 ...

and

Randy Wright Randall Steven Wright (born January 12, 1961) is a former professional American football quarterback and color commentator who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1984 NFL season, 1984 to 1988 NFL season, 1988 and covered Big Ten football for E ...

for the back-up quarterback position behind

Lynn Dickey Clifford Lynn Dickey (born October 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Kansas State and was sele ...

. After Brunner was traded, Shield made the team as the third-string quarterback and suited up, but did not play, in the Packers' season opener against 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 ...

. Over 100 people, including his family and friends, attended the game to support Shield. He was released by the Packers after the third game of the season when the team signed Jim Zorn. After his release, he had interest from the Patriots and a try-out for the Toronto Argonauts. He possibly was on the Argonauts for the rest of the year. Shield entered the preseason on the Patriots, fighting for the third-string quarterback spot. During a preseason game, he suffered a leg injury and was placed on injured reserve. After being released by the Patriots in September, the Packers signed Shield a few months later. He played three games for the Packers during the

1986 NFL season The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. Defending Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears shared the league’s best record with the Giants at 14–2, with the Giants claiming the spot in the NFC by tiebreaker ...

, although he recorded no statistics. He was released during the offseason after the Packers acquired a few rookie quarterbacks. On September 17, 1987, Packers' Director of Football Operations Tom Braatz announced the team's intention of reaching out to Shield prior to the

1987 NFL season The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. This season featured games predominantly played by replacement players, as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) players were on strike from ...

to inquire on his availability to play for the team in the event that NFL players went on strike. Six days later, Braatz stated that Shield declined, preferring the stability of working elsewhere. According to the '' Brattleboro Reformer'', Shield was the first person from Vermont to be drafted into the NFL and then make a team's roster.

Personal life

Since at least 1993, he has been working in the

health informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...

industry. He has been inducted into various

halls of fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

: Worcester Academy Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017; Trinity College's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019; Brattleboro Union High School's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020; and the Vermont Principals' Association Hall of Fame in 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shield, Joe 1962 births Living people American football quarterbacks Green Bay Packers players Trinity Bantams football players People from Brattleboro, Vermont Players of American football from Vermont