Mark Gastineau

By Paulie Knep
Love of Sports Correspondent

Mark Gastineau was the prototypical pass rusher.

He had the size and strength of a defensive end and the quickness of a linebacker.

The Jets’ sackmaster wreaked havoc in opposing backfields throughout the 1980s, though he received just as many headlines for his controversial behavior as for his dominance on the field.

Gastineau was the first player ever to be drafted out of East Central University when the Jets selected him in the second round of the 1979 draft. He was inserted into the starting lineup during his second season and made an immediate impact, unofficially registering 11.5 sacks. (Sacks weren’t an official NFL statistic until 1982.)

Gastineau and fellow linemen, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam, terrorized opposing quarterbacks during the early 1980s, earning the nickname the “New York Sack Exchange.” In 1981, Klecko and Gastineau finished first and second in the league in sacks (unofficially) with 20.5 and 20, respectively. The following season, the four men up front led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game.

Gastineau was the most feared member of the exchange. He was quicker to the quarterback than any defensive end of his generation, Reggie White and Bruce Smith included. He was selected to the Pro-Bowl five consecutive times from 1981-85 and was named first team All-Pro for the last four of those seasons.

Number 99 led the league in sacks for the first time in 1983 with 19 and followed it up with the best season of his career in 1984. That year he recorded 22 sacks, an NFL record until Michael Strahan registered 22.5 in 2001 (with a little help from Brett Favre who took a dive on the last one). Gastineau tallied four more sacks in the Pro Bowl and was named the game’s MVP.

His success on the field and attention-seeking persona rendered him a favorite target of the New York media. They covered his romantic relationships and on-field celebrations and he relished the endorsement deals that followed. He was the type of self-infatuated prima donna that has become so commonplace in professional sports. The hulking lineman, with the long, black hair loved to flex for the cameras without a shirt.

In spite of his production on the field, Gastineau was disliked, if not despised, by most of his teammates. They didn’t appreciate his “me first” attitude and viewed him as a distraction from their goal of winning as a team. In 1987, he infuriated his teammates by becoming the first Jets player to cross the picket line at the beginning of a players’ strike. They spit on his car as he entered the Jets’ facility, and a fight broke out between Gastineau and several players.

The defensive end also drew the ire of his teammates and opponents with his well publicized “sack dance,” every time he tackled a quarterback for a loss. Early in his career, veterans on the Jets told him the dance was inappropriate, but Gastineau continued with the routine and was ostracized in the lockerroom as a result.

During a game in 1983, Rams offensive lineman Jackie Slater took exception to Gastineau’s dance and shoved him in the back after he sacked Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo. A brawl ensued and several players on each time were fined. After that season, the NFL instituted a rule banning excessive or premeditated celebrations.

After sub-par season in 1986 and 1987, many people believed that the 31-year-old lineman was washed up and the Jets would be better off without him, but at the beginning of the 1988 season he regained his dominant form. Gastineau compiled seven sacks in the Jets’ first seven games and then stunned teammates and fans by abruptly retiring. He said he wanted to be with his girlfriend, actress Brigitte Nielsen, who was battling cancer.

Gastineau retired as the NFL’s all-time sack leader with 107.5 in just 137 games and remains the Jets’ record holder. He and Reggie White are the only players to lead the league in sacks in consecutive seasons.

He was a prima donna, a distraction in the locker room, and a controversial figure on and off the field. However, there’s no denying that Mark Gastineau was one of the greatest pass rushers in the history of the NFL.

That’s why we’re giving him some OLD SCHOOL LOVE today.