Shaun O'Hara (born June 23, 1977) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played 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 eleven seasons. He played college football for

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

. He began his professional career by signing as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, and spent the majority of his NFL career with the New York Giants. He was a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection.

Early years

O'Hara grew up in

Hillsborough Township, New Jersey Hillsborough Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the much larger New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the ...

and attended Hillsborough High School (New Jersey). He also spent some of his childhood in

Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 Census. It lies about 33 miles (53 km) south of Cleveland and 23 miles (37 km) west of Akron within the Clevelan ...

College career

He attended

in New Jersey, where walked on and played for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team from 1995 to 1999.

Professional career

O'Hara's professional career began with the Cleveland Browns, where he played center and guard and after signing as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

free agent in 2000. While a Brown, O'Hara started 38 of 54 games, including the final 34 that he played. He signed a three-year $5.4 million contract with the Giants on March 7, 2004 with the intention of playing Center, which he considers his more natural position, as well as to help bolster an

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

that was often criticized as one of the problems in the Giants' 2003 season. In his first year with the team, O'Hara's season was nearly ended by a case of

athlete's foot Athlete's foot, known medically as ''tinea pedis'', is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus ...

, which developed into a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasio ...

, raising discussion about the incidences of staph in NFL locker rooms. O'Hara re-signed with the Giants in March 2007 keeping him off the free agent market, despite initial concerns about whether a deal was possible. The Giants' offensive line has been viewed by some as one of the keys to the team's success, which was cemented following Super Bowl XLII and in the leadup thereto, but was seen as early as 2005. Despite initial impressions that O'Hara was not a

caliber player, he was named a reserve in the

2008 Pro Bowl The 2008 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11:40a ...

, named a starter in the 2009 Pro Bowl, and to the 2010 Pro Bowl, although he did not play due to injury. On July 28, 2011, he was released by the New York Giants. Shaun O'Hara officially announced his retirement as a New York Giant on September 3, 2012. He is now a color analyst for

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...

and ESPN Radio, and a regular fill-in host for

Good Morning Football ''Good Morning Football'' is a live NFL morning television program on NFL Network. The program premiered on Monday, August 1, 2016. It airs from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET. The program is hosted by Kyle Brandt, Jamie Erdahl, Jason McCourty and Pe ...

Off-field activity

O'Hara was a member of the Giants' leadership council and was a team co-captain for the 2007 season. He was also the Giants' team representative to the players' union and was very outspoken about the role of the players' union and its leadership. He was named Giants Man of the Year for his community involvement as well as United Way's Hometown Hero in 2005Player - Shaun O'Hara - Giants.com
and has also worked with a number of organizations to support the communities where he lives. In March 2009, he was honored by the American Ireland Fund as one of the most noted and successful Irish American figures today. In April 2009, O'Hara, along with his wife Amy, launched the Shaun O'Hara Foundation, whose mission is to increase knowledge and education for life-threatening diseases for which there is limited funding.

References

22 Benedict,J. 2020 The Dynasty, the definitiveinside story of the New England Patriots. Rockspring Media. Avid Reader PressAn Imprint of Simon & Schuster,inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York10020.

External links

New York Giants bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Shaun 1977 births Living people People from Medina, Ohio People from Rutherford, New Jersey People from Chicago Heights, Illinois Sportspeople from Greater Cleveland Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Hillsborough Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois American football centers Hillsborough High School (New Jersey) alumni Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Cleveland Browns players New York Giants players National Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers Alliance of American Football announcers