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Brian Baldinger

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Brian Baldinger
No. 62
Position:Guard
Center
Tackle
Personal information
Born: (1959-01-07) January 7, 1959 (age 65)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Massapequa (Massapequa, New York)
College:Duke
Undrafted:1982
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Games played:143
Games started:47
Fumble recoveries:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Brian David Baldinger (born January 7, 1959) is a former professional American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles. He currently works for NFL Network, where he serves as an analyst for the television show NFL Total Access. He played college football at Duke University.

Early life and education

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Baldinger was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He spent much of his youth playing a variety of sports in and around Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in suburban Philadelphia.

His family later moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota, and then Massapequa, New York, where he and his brothers continued to excel in sports. Brian played football, basketball and track at Massapequa High School, where his graduating class in 1977 included Jessica Hahn, Brian Setzer, and Tim Van Patten.[1]

After high school, he was planning to study at the Naval Academy Preparatory School, but there was an application mismanage and he chose to attend Nassau Community College instead, where he played football and basketball.[2] He was named the starter at tight end.[3] On October 13, 1978, he set a school record with 7 receptions in a single-game against Wesley College. He finished with 38 receptions (ranked third in the conference) for 334 yards and one touchdown. He received All-Coastal Conference honors and played in the Coastal Conference All-Star game.

In 1979, he transferred to Duke University.[4] As a sophomore, he was a backup tight end, before being converted into an offensive guard because of his blocking ability.[5]

As a junior, he was named the starter at right guard, but missed games with a knee injury.[6] As a senior, he was voted the team's most improved player and started all 11 games.[7]

Professional career

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Dallas Cowboys

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Baldinger was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 1982 NFL draft on April 30. In training camp, he was tried at center, guard and tackle.[8] As a rookie, he appeared in 4 out of 9 games, playing mostly on special teams. In 1983, he saw playing time as a backup at center and guard.[9]

In 1984, he started two games at right tackle replacing an injured Phil Pozderac, and also started 2 games at right guard in place of an injured Kurt Petersen.[10] In 1985, he injured his right knee in the third preseason game against the Chicago Bears and was placed on the injured reserve list.[11]

In 1986, he was a backup at center and also played as a third tight end in short-yardage situations. On September 2, 1987, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a left knee injury he suffered in a preseason game.[12] On October 24, he was activated to the regular season roster. He was declared inactive in 6 of the final 8 games.

Baldinger wasn't re-signed after the season. During his time with the Cowboys, he played every offensive line position and also had a few snaps at tight end.

Indianapolis Colts

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On July 19, 1988, he was signed as a free agent by the Indianapolis Colts, to provide depth in the case of a lengthy contract holdout by guard Ron Solt.[13] He was the lightest member of the offensive line. He appeared in 16 games, starting three contests at right tackle. He caught his first career pass (37 yards) from a tackle-eligible position against the Green Bay Packers.

In 1989, he appeared in all 16 games. He started the season opener at right tackle in place of Kevin Call and started 2 games at left tackle in place of an injured Chris Hinton. He also was used as tackle-eligible in short yardage situations.

In 1990, he was named the starter at right guard for the first 8 games. In the second half of the season, he was moved to replace right tackle Call, who injured his left shoulder in the eighth game against the New York Giants.

In 1991, he started 13 games at center in place of Ray Donaldson, who was lost for the season with a broken leg he suffered against the Los Angeles Raiders.[14]

Buffalo Bills

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On April 2, 1992, he was signed in Plan B free agency by the Buffalo Bills, joining his brother Gary Baldinger.[15] He was released on August 31.[16]

Philadelphia Eagles

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On September 28, 1992, he was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles to replace an injured John Hudson.[17] In 1993, he started 4 games at right guard in place of an injured Eric Floyd.[18] On June 4, 1994, he was released in a salary cap move, along with 11 other veterans.[19]

Broadcasting career

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Baldinger began his broadcasting career as a color analyst at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1995, and then moved to Fox in 1997, providing analysis for NFL Europe games. The network was impressed with his soothing voice and handy repertoire of clichés, and promoted him to a color commentary slot for NFL games. Baldinger worked alongside play-by-play voices Ray Bentley, Curt Menefee, Joe Buck, Pat Summerall, Kenny Albert, and Dick Stockton.

In May 2009, it was reported that Baldinger would be replaced by former NFL safety John Lynch on Fox's telecasts. Shortly thereafter, Baldinger was hired by Compass Media Networks to serve as lead analyst for their national radio broadcasts of select Sunday afternoon NFL games.

In 2010, He served as offensive line coach during the season for the Bergamo Lions in the Italian Football League. The quarterback on the team was Bradlee Van Pelt.

Baldinger also co-hosts a talk show for Sporting News Radio during football season, and teaches seminars for Nadia Communications. He is the author of the book The Map to Clear Messages. Baldinger has previously co-hosted various radio shows, and now is a frequent contributor for a sports-talk radio show for Philadelphia's WPEN, as well as NFL Network and Sky Sports.

In October 2016, during an appearance on WPEN ahead of a Sunday Night Game between the Eagles and Cowboys, Baldinger said that the Eagles should put a bounty on then-rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott.[20] A few days later, NFL Network suspended Baldinger without pay for 6 months, but later reduced his suspension and he returned to NFLN in April 2017.[21][22]

Personal life

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A resident of Marlton, New Jersey, he has two younger brothers, Rich and Gary, who also played in the National Football League. Baldinger frequently works at The NFL Network in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.[23] He has a slightly mutilated right pinky finger that was injured when it became entangled in the jersey of Randy White.

References

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  1. ^ Ketcham, Diane. "ABOUT LONG ISLAND; At the Repository of High School Memories" Archived March 19, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, February 12, 1995. Accessed January 3, 2017. "Copies of The Sachem, as the Massapequa book is called, are scattered throughout the collection. A long-haired Jerry Seinfeld pops out of the pages of 1972. In '74, Mr. Buttafuoco and his wife graduated. There is just one comment under Mr. Buttafuoco's picture. It says, 'I love Mary Jo.' Other graduates of the Massapequa schools include the Baldwin brothers, Alexander, '76, class president; Dan, '79; Billy, '81, and Steven, '84. In Ms. Hahn's Class of '77 were also Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Tim Van Patten, an actor and Brian Baldinger, a professional football player."
  2. ^ Jim Smith (February 19, 1978). "Nasau CC Winning on Its Old Court". Newsday. p. 406. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Rhoden, William C. (October 6, 1983). "Winning Football Team Craves Fans". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Harris, Tom (March 18, 1979). "Clemson leads area recruiters". The News and Observer. p. 6. Retrieved February 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tar Heels Face Clemson Saturday". Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  6. ^ John Cargile (September 19, 1980). "Tigers, Devils 'Duke' It Out". Alabama Journal. p. 14. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  7. ^ "Duke Returns 19 Starters". The Daily Progress. September 3, 1981. p. 6. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Ken Sins (September 7, 1982). "Night was bad, news was good". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 1C. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "Terps' White premier defensive player in NFL". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  10. ^ "Cowboys Injured In Drills". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "Transactions". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  12. ^ "Giants: Listen To Reasons". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  13. ^ "Free Agent". July 20, 1988. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  14. ^ "Colts are pointing fingers at each other". Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "Football". Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  16. ^ "Transactions". Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  17. ^ "Archives - Philly.com". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  18. ^ "Archives - Philly.com". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  19. ^ "Transactions". June 5, 1994. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  20. ^ Lichtenstadter, Matt (October 30, 2016). "NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger suggests Eagles should "put a little bounty" on Ezekiel Elliott". Awful Announcing. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  21. ^ Fang, Ken (November 2, 2016). "NFL Network suspends Brian Baldinger for six months over Ezekiel Elliott bounty comment". Awful Announcing. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  22. ^ Smith, Michael David (April 7, 2017). "NFL Network cut short Brian Baldinger's suspension". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  23. ^ Luksa, Frank (July 7, 2002). "Lessons in Dallas prepared Baldinger". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
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