Michael Albert Hartenstine (born July 27, 1953) 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 who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played 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 ...

from 1975 to 1986 and the Minnesota Vikings in 1987.

Early life and education

Hartenstine was born on July 27, 1953 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, where he played high school football at Liberty High School in Bethlehem. 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 ...

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, where he was a collegiate All-American.

National Football League

Hartenstine entered 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 ...

and was selected by the

in the second round with the 31st overall selection. In his 1975 rookie season with the Bears, he was named to the

Pro Football Writers of America NFL All-Rookie Team Following each National Football League (NFL) season, the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) compiles an honorary All-Rookie Team to recognize that season's most outstanding rookies at each position as adjudged by sportswriters of the PFWA. T ...

. Hartenstine was the oldest player on the

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

-winning Bears team in 1985. In his career with the Bears, he played in 184 games and had 85 career tackles. In 2019, Hartenstine was named to the Bears' " 100 Greatest Bears of All-Time".

References

1953 births Living people American football defensive ends Chicago Bears players Minnesota Vikings players Penn State Nittany Lions football players All-American college football players Liberty High School (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) alumni Sportspeople from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania {{defensive-lineman-1950s-stub