Thomas Dorn Stincic (born November 24, 1946) 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 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 ...

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

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 divisi ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. 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 ...

, principally as a

, at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1966 to 1968. Remembered as a loving father, husband, grandfather, brother and uncle, he is in the hearts of all those that loved him.

Early years

A native of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Stincic attended John Marshall High School.

College career

Stincic enrolled at the

in 1965 and played football for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team from 1966 to 1968. From the start he was recognized for his leadership qualities. As a sophomore in 1966, he saw limited action in four games. As a junior in 1967, Stincic started two games at

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 ...

and four games at

. He had a career-high ten tackles against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. As a senior, he totaled 55 tackles and 47 assists as a starting linebacker for the

1968 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1968 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1968 Big Ten Conference football season. In their tenth and final season under head coach Bump Elliott, the Wolverines compiled an 8–2 record, outscored op ...

that compiled an 8–2 record and finished ranked No. 12 in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. He received 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 ...

honors in both 1967 and 1968.

Professional football

Dallas Cowboys

Stincic was selected by the

in the third round (68th overall pick) of the

1969 NFL Draft The 1969 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and American Football League (AFL) held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft beg ...

. He spent three seasons serving as the backup to

middle 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, ...

Lee Roy Jordan Lee Roy Jordan (born April 27, 1941) is a former American football linebacker. After attending the University of Alabama, playing under head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, he played 14 years in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from ...

, appearing in 35 games, and playing with the

Super Bowl VI Super Bowl VI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

championship team. After three years as a backup in Dallas, he asked to be traded. On July 17,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, he was sent to the

in exchange for a third-round draft choice (#53-

Harvey Martin Harvey Banks Martin (November 16, 1950 – December 24, 2001) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He starred at South Oak Cliff ...

New Orleans Saints

Stincic appeared in seven games, four as a starter, for the Saints during the 1972 season. On March 20,

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, Stincic was traded to 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 ...

along with

Dave Parks David Wayne Parks (December 25, 1941 – August 8, 2019) was an American football wide receiver and tight end in the NFL. He was the first overall selection in the 1964 NFL Draft out of Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University). ...

and

Edd Hargett Edward Eugene Hargett (born June 26, 1947) is a former American football quarterback for Texas A&M University who went on to play professionally for the National Football League (NFL)'s New Orleans Saints and Houston Oilers. He later played for t ...

, in exchange for

Ron Billingsley Ronald Smith Billingsley (April 6, 1945 – February 5, 2017) was an American football player, a defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Early years Born in Florence, Alabama, Billingsley was a m ...

and

Kent Nix Alvin Kent Nix (born March 12, 1944) is a former American football player who played professionally as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas Christian University (TCU). Nix is the son of Emery N ...

. He decided to retire after not reaching a contract agreement with the

Coaching and teaching career

Stincic coached high school football and taught social studies and science at Chaparral High School in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

in the 1980s, including coaching the football team to the state playoffs in 1985. He taught science at Mountain View High School in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

in the 2000s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stincic, Tom 1946 births 2021 deaths American football linebackers Dallas Cowboys players Houston Oilers players Michigan Wolverines football players New Orleans Saints players High school football coaches in Arizona Players of American football from Cleveland