Jerry Sherk

Jerry Sherk

Jerry Sherk during a Cleveland Browns game circa 1972
No. 72
Position:	Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1948-07-07) July 7, 1948 (age 68)
Place of birth:	Grants Pass, Oregon
Career information
College:	Oklahoma State
NFL Draft:	1970 / Round: 2 / Pick: 47
Career history
Cleveland Browns (1970–1981)
Career highlights and awards
4× Pro Bowl (1973–1976) NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1976) All-Pro (1976) 2× All-AFC (1975, 1976)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 147 Fumbles recovered: 12 Player stats at NFL.com

Jerry Martin Sherk (born July 7, 1948) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons between 1970 until 1981. He made the Pro Bowl lineup for four straight years from 1973 through 1976, and is widely considered to be among the best defensive players in Cleveland Browns history.

Jerry Sherk was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended Grants Pass High, where he joined the school's wrestling and football teams.

Sherk attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. As during high school, he played on both the football and wrestling teams in both his junior and senior years. He was an All-Big Eight selection on the gridiron in 1969 and an All-American as a Cowboy grappler in 1969. He was inducted to the Oklahoma State Hall of Honor in 2000.

Sherk was selected in the second round (47th overall) of the 1970 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. His first game was on September 21, 1970, the first regular edition of Monday Night Football. He became a starting player immediately, and soon became noted as having a knack for getting to the quarterback. Sherk was part of an AFC Central Division in which each team boasted All-Pro quality defensive tackles: the Pittsburgh Steelers' Joe Greene, the Cincinnati Bengals' Mike Reid, and the Houston Oilers' Curley Culp.