Stephen Edward Gabbard (born July 19, 1966) is a former offensive tackle 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 ...

Career

Gabbard was originally signed to the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent offensive tackle and participated in two playoff games. He spent two seasons as a member of the practice squad and suffered a knee injury. After surgery, he was sent to the World Football League to rehabilitate, where he was the first draft selection to the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were r ...

. The Monarchs were World Bowl '91 Champions, with the offensive line "Nasty Boyz" becoming a fan favorite. He became a member of the Green Bay Packers during the

1991 NFL season The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. It was the final season for coach Chuck Noll. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills, 37–24, at the Metr ...

as an offensive lineman and a member of the special teams (long snapper). After a year at Green Bay, he was signed as a Plan B free agent by 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 ...

. He also played a year in the Canadian Football League for the

Sacramento Gold Miners The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners inherited a home stadium, front office staff and much of the rost ...

as a starting left tackle. He played at the collegiate level at Florida State University, where he was a four-year starter at defensive tackle, was a 1987 Football News All-American, a 1989 AP Honorable Mention All-American and All-South Independent Honorable Mention in 1987 and 1988. The Seminoles were All-American, Gator, Fiesta and Sugar Bowl Champions during his four years as starting defensive tackle. Gabbard also served as a graduate assistant offensive line coach for three years at Florida State for

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

, during which time FSU won the NCAA National Championship (1999) in an undefeated season where they were the #1 ranked team nationally wire-to-wire. Florida State was also runner-up to NCAA National Champions Tennessee Volunteers (1998) in the Fiesta Bowl, and won the Sugar Bowl (1997) during his time on Coach Bowden's staff. His son Stephen also played football at

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

, where he was a four-year starter at the

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabbard, Steve 1966 births Living people American football defensive tackles American football offensive tackles Canadian football offensive linemen American players of Canadian football Florida State Seminoles football players Green Bay Packers players London Monarchs players Sacramento Gold Miners players Sportspeople from Lexington, Kentucky Players of American football from Lexington, Kentucky

Career

See also

References