Dermontti Dawson

Dermontti Dawson

Position(s) Center Jersey #(s) 63
Born	June 17, 1965 (1965-06-17) (age 46) Lexington, Kentucky
Career information
Year(s)	1988–2000
NFL Draft	1988 / Round: 2 / Pick: 44
College	Kentucky
Professional teams
Pittsburgh Steelers (1988-2000)
Career stats
Games played	184
Games started	181
Fumble recoveries	1
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards
7× Pro Bowl selection (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) 6× Associated Press First-team All-Pro selection (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) NFL 1990s All-Decade Team

Dermontti Farra Dawson (born June 17, 1965 in Lexington, Kentucky) is a former American football center in the National Football League. He played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He attended Bryan Station High School in Lexington, where he was a nationally-ranked track and field performer in the discus and shot put. During his junior year, he joined the football team as a favor to his friends, where he was successful as a guard. Although he had still planned to attend college on a track scholarship, recruiters at the University of Kentucky convinced him to attend on a football scholarship.

Dawson was picked by the Steelers in the second round of the 1988 NFL draft, and played on the offensive line alongside Hall of Famer Mike Webster, from whom he took over the role of starting center the next year. He is the only player to have played in the two most lopsided games in the Browns–Steelers rivalry, getting his first career start at center in the Steelers 51-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns at home (still the worst loss for the Steelers in franchise history), but was victorious in the Steelers 43-0 win against the Browns in Cleveland ten years later, in the Browns' first game in four years.

He soon became one of the most respected players among the Steelers, and one of the best in the league at his position. His friendly demeanor earned him the nickname Ned Flanders, after the character from The Simpsons.

Dawson was named to seven straight Pro Bowls from 1992 to 1998 and was a six-time AP First Team All-Pro. In 1993, he was named co-AFC Offensive Lineman of the Year by the NFLPA and in 1996 he was named the NFL Alumni’s Offensive Lineman of the Year. He played in 170 consecutive games, the second most in Steelers history, until severe hamstring injuries forced him to sit out nine games in 1999 and seven more games in 2000. Dawson was released by the Steelers following the 2000 season partly due to these injuries and partly due to salary cap reasons, but opted to retire rather than trying to play for another team.

Dawson lives in Lexington, where he is a real estate developer. He is on the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, the University of Kentucky. He is married, with two children.

Although the Steelers do not officially retire numbers, Pittsburgh has not reissued Dawson's number 63 jersey since his retirement. Dawson was one of twenty-five semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, his first year of eligibility, as well as in 2006, 2007. He was one of seventeen finalists in 2008 and 2009.

External links

• Dermontti Dawson Football Camp at Robert Morris University
• Pro Football HOF 2009 Class Finalist Profile

Persondata
Name	Dawson, Dermontti
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 17, 1965
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death