Michael Carter (athlete)
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Michael D'Andrea Carter (born October 29, 1960) 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 and track and field athlete. He played pro football as a nose tackle with the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). Carter was a three-time Pro Bowl and four-time All-Pro selection, including three times on the first-team. He helped the 49ers win three
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
s. He was also an
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athlete, winning a
silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
in the
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
in the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
.


High school years

Carter set the American national high school record of 81 feet inches in the 12 pound
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
, adding more than nine feet to the previous record. He set this mark at the 1979
Golden West Invitational The Golden West Invitational (GWI) high school track & field all-star meet brings together top high school athletes from throughout the country and provides them with the very highest levels of competition. The GWI made its debut in 1960 and is held ...
track and field meet while competing for
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of Dallas, Texas. No high school athlete has come within two feet of this record since. In 2004 this record was selected by
USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...
as the 16th greatest moment in
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track and field over the previous quarter century, the only high school mark to make the top 25 greatest moments. He was ''
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'' "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1979.


College years

Carter attended Southern Methodist University on a football scholarship. He was a member of both the
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
(10-1) and 1982 undefeated (11-0-1) team, as the immovable object in the center of the defensive line. In track and field, he won four indoor and three outdoor NCAA shot put championships. He was part of the SMU 1983 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship team. His lifetime best with the 16 pound shot came in his only defeat at an NCAA Championship meet, when in his senior year he launched a throw of 21.76 m (71-4 3/4 feet) to finish 2nd to John Brenner's collegiate record of 21.92m (71–11 feet) at the 1984 NCAA Championships. After graduating, he won the silver medal in the
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
at the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
in Los Angeles.


Professional career

A 6'2", 285-lb. nose tackle, Carter was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the
1984 NFL Draft The 1984 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 May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cent ...
. As a professional American football player, he played his entire National Football League career with the 49ers from 1984 to 1992. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and a three-time
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
champion. He was the first man to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl ring in the same season. Both events were held in California and televised on
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. He is a Member of the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame.


Family and personal life

Carter is married and has three children; D'Andra,
Michelle Michelle may refer to: People * Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottis ...
(an Olympic athlete and gold medalist), and Michael Jr. Michelle was the 2005 and 2006 NCAA indoor shot put champion, and won the 2016 gold medal at the
Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...
on the last of her six throws, edging two-time defending champion
Valerie Adams Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams (formerly Vili; born 6 October 1984) is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time IAAF World Championships in Athletics, World champion, four-time IAAF World Indoor Championships, World Indoor champion, ...
of New Zealand. Michelle, like her father, also set a national high school record in the shot put.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Michael 1960 births Living people American male shot putters American football defensive linemen San Francisco 49ers players SMU Mustangs football players National Conference Pro Bowl players Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Track and field athletes in the National Football League FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Thomas Jefferson High School (Dallas) alumni Players of American football from Dallas Track and field athletes from Dallas