Richard Glenn Graf (born August 29, 1964) 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 ...

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 ...

who played for eight years 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 ...

(NFL) for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

(1987–1990), the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

(1991–1992), and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

(1993–1994).

Early life

Graf is the youngest of three sons of Richard and Barbara Graf. He was raised in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. While attending Madison public schools, he was active in swimming, track and field, hockey, and football. Graf graduated in 1982 from

James Madison Memorial High School Vel Phillips Memorial High School is a public high school in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was established in 1966 and is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District. The school is named after Vel Phillips, an American attorney, pol ...

. During

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Graf was an all-state linebacker in football. He also played on the third line for the Madison Memorial hockey team. He also competed in track and field as a sprinter and 110-meter high hurdler.

College career

Graf was recruited to the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

by Dave McClain. After being red-shirted his first

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 ...

season with an ankle injury, he was a four-year starter from 1983 to 1986. During the 1985 season, Graf tore his ACL in a game against

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. This injury ended his season. Graf returned and played in his senior year. Despite Wisconsin's 3-9 team record, he was named All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

linebacker by the coaches and media. During his collegiate years, Graf participated in two college plays: the ''

Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Set ...

'' and ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

''. Graf completed his undergraduate degree in communications (B.S. 1987).

Professional career

Graf (6 ft 5 in and 239 lbs.) was drafted in the second round (43rd pick) of the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 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 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...

by the

. He became a starter during his rookie year, 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 ...

. Graf played for the Miami Dolphins (1986–90), the

(1991–92), and the

(1993–94). He was forced to retire after a severe neck injury suffered in the last pre-season game with the Redskins. Graf is an active member of the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Chapter of the

National Football League Alumni The NFL Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is composed of former National Football League (NFL) players, coaches, team staff members and associate members who work voluntarily to raise funds for youth-oriented causes and ...

organization. *In 1988, Graf was named Favorite Son of Madison by the Pen and Mike Club. *In 2003, Graf was made a member of the Madison Sports Hall of Fame. Graf resides in Edina, Minnesota, and his wife and their three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Rick 1964 births Living people American football linebackers Miami Dolphins players Houston Oilers players Washington Redskins players Wisconsin Badgers football players Players of American football from Iowa City, Iowa Players of American football from Madison, Wisconsin