Philip Maurice Pozderac (born December 19, 1959) 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 wi ...

offensive lineman 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

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 divi ...

. He played college football at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

Early years

Pozderac attended

Garfield Heights High School Garfield Heights High School is a public high school located in Garfield Heights, Ohio, about 10 miles southeast of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is part of the Garfield Heights City School District. The school currently contains approximately 1,3 ...

, where he practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and football. He accepted a football scholarship to the

. In his first two years he was a backup at

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

behind All-American Tim Foley. He was named the starter at

in his junior and senior seasons. In his last year, he received the team's Outstanding Offensive player and honorable-mention All-American honors. He finished his college career with 23 straight starts.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Pozderac was selected by the

in the fifth round (137th overall) of the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 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 27–28, 1982, at the New York Sh ...

and became the NFL's tallest player over

Ed "Too Tall" Jones Edward Lee Jones (born February 23, 1951), commonly known as Ed "Too Tall" Jones due to his height, is a former American football player who played 15 seasons (1974–1978, 1980–1989) in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys ...

(he was a half-inch taller than Jones). As a rookie, with

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

Jay Saldi John Jay Saldi, IV (born October 8, 1954) is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He played college football at the University of South Carolina. Early year ...

injured most of the year, he played

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

on short-yardage situations, with Pat Donovan moving to the

spot. In

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, he started two regular season contests in place of an injured Donovan and played

on all short-yardage and goal situations when the Cowboys went to a 3 three-

formation. He started the 7th game of the season against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in place of an injured

Jim Cooper James Hayes Shofner Cooper (born June 19, 1954) is an American lawyer, businessman, professor, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for (based in Nashville and containing parts of Davidson, Cheatham, and Dickson Counties) fro ...

. In

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, after the retirement of Donovan, he beat former first round selection Howard Richards for the starting

job (7 starts), before being moved to the

position, when Cooper missed half of the season after being injured on a bizarre accident, when he slipped and broke his ankle while rising from a table at a night club, while watching

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, he was the starter at

until an injured right knee forced him out of the lineup after 3 starts. He returned to start 4 more games, until being moved to the right side to back up Cooper, with

Chris Schultz Christopher Schultz (February 16, 1960 – March 4, 2021) was a Canadian professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He primarily played with the CFL Toronto A ...

keeping the left side job. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, he was the starter

, before losing his job to

Mark Tuinei Mark Pulemau Tuinei (March 31, 1960 – May 6, 1999) was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Known as a "gentle giant", his career lasted for 15 years (1983–1997) and his ability ...

and being moved to the other side. He also received two infamous penalties that negated critical first downs during the final 75 seconds of a 17-14 loss against the New York Giants, propelling the team to a Super Bowl Championship. The coaches and media speculated that he became a target of the league's referees, gaining notoriety for holding and false start penalties. A standing joke in Dallas would be to list Pozderac's 5 best plays with the answer being - #1 Holding, #1 Holding, #3 Holding, #4 Holding, #5 False start. He suddenly retired during the

1987 NFL strike The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...

and was replaced by rookie

Kevin Gogan Kevin Patrick Gogan (born November 2, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and Sa ...

Indianapolis Colts

On April 26,

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 Phi ...

, he signed with the Indianapolis Colts to attempt a comeback, after being out of football for 3 years. He was released before the start of the season on August 26.

Personal life

Pozderac served as the

NFL Players Association The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeM ...

Dallas Chapter Chief Financial officer, Director of Sales for SC&T International, VP of Sales for Nextlink, and CEO of both MedPact and MPACT, two companies in the digital communication industry. He has worked with the Fellows Research Group to aid research regarding the viability of thermo-acoustic devices for low temperature electric energy generation. He also had part ownership in a manufactured housing plant in Laredo Texas and a sawmill in Oklahoma. As of 2013, he was the Operations Director at the Mulligan Mint, a private minting facility in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozderac, Phil 1959 births Living people American football offensive linemen Dallas Cowboys players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players People from Garfield Heights, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio