Running back Bill Mathis #31 (right) of the New York Jets blocks for guard Dave Herman #67 (left) during the first quarter of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 7, 1965, at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The game was against the Kansas City Chiefs. Getty Images/Diamond Images
Dave Herman died on Wednesday at the age of 81. He helped protect Joe Namath when the Jets won Super Bowl III, which was a big deal.
Herman played right guard for most of his 10 seasons, but in the playoffs of 1968, head coach Weeb Ewbank changed up the offensive line and moved Herman to right tackle.
After the Jets beat the Raiders 27–23 in the AFL championship game, Herman was put in charge of the Colts’ best defensive end, Bubba Smith. The Jets beat the Colts 16-7, even though they were 18-point underdogs.
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Herman was taken by the Jets in the draught in 1963, right after he graduated from Michigan State. He played his first game in 1964. When New York picked Namath, the star quarterback from Alabama who would become the face of the AFL, in 1965, his job became even more important.
Herman was one of the best linemen in the game. From 1967 to 1969, he was named to the All-AFL teams and from 1968 to 1969, he was an AFL All-Star.
Former pro football player Dave Herman of the New York Jets goes to the 14th Annual Muscle Team Gala & Benefit Auction at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on November 15, 2010, in New York City.
He played for the Jets for all 10 of his years as a player. After he retired, he and Marty Glickman called Jets games on WOR radio for a few years.
In 2014, Herman was found to have CTE. He is remembered by his wife, Roma, his four children, his four siblings, and his five grandchildren.
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