Mark Alan Mullaney (born April 30, 1953) 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the 1st round (25th overall) of the

1975 NFL Draft The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...

. Mullaney attended Colorado State where he played on both

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

and

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

. He played in 12 NFL seasons from 1975 to 1987 for the Vikings and is 9th on the Vikings all-time sack list with 45½ sacks. Mullaney also had 597 tackles and 13 forced fumbles Mullaney also holds a place in NFL history as the first NFL Player to wear a helmet shield

visor A visor (also spelled vizor) is a surface that protects the eyes, such as shading them from the sun or other bright light or protecting them from objects. Nowadays many visors are transparent, but before strong transparent substances such a ...

on his face mask, after suffering an eye injury in 1984. In 1986 Mullaney switched to a dark tinted shield, the first player to wear this as well. Dennis Ryan, the Vikings long time equipment manager, helped Mullaney create the shield(s).

References

1953 births Living people Players of American football from Denver American football defensive ends Colorado State Rams football players Minnesota Vikings players {{defensive-lineman-1950s-stub