Matt Birk

Birk during the Ravens' training camp in August 2009.

No. 75, 78, 77

Position:

Center

Personal information

Date of birth:

July 23, 1976 (age 40)

Place of birth:

St. Paul, Minnesota

Height:

6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

Weight:

310 lb (141 kg)

Career information

High school:

St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham Hall

College:

Harvard

NFL Draft:

1998 / Round: 6 / Pick: 173

Career history

Minnesota Vikings (1998–2008)
Baltimore Ravens (2009–2012)

Career highlights and awards

6× Pro Bowl (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007)
2× All-Pro (2000, 2003)
Super Bowl champion (XLVII)
Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (2011)
6× Minnesota Vikings Man of the Year Award (2002–2007)

Career NFL statistics

Games played:	210
Games started:	187
Player stats at NFL.com

Games played:	210
Games started:	187
Player stats at NFL.com

Matthew Robert "Matt" Birk (born July 23, 1976) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft, and later played for the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Harvard. Birk is a two-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowl selection, and one-time Super Bowl champion.

Birk attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was a letterman and standout in football, basketball, and track & field. He was an All-St. Paul Conference honoree, an Academic All-State honoree, and an All-State honoree in both football and basketball. In 1994, Birk proudly proclaims that he was able to hold Sam Jacobson (Minnesota Mr. Basketball of that year) to 29 points in the section basketball finals. Birk graduated from Cretin-Derham in 1994.

Birk graduated from Harvard University in 1998 with a degree in economics. While playing for the Harvard Crimson, he attained All-Ivy League, All-New England and Division I-AA All-ECAC first team football honors.

Ranked as the No. 16 offensive tackle available, Birk was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 6th round (173rd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was described by Sports Illustrated as "maybe the best Ivy League prospect to come along in several years", who "could be a nice developmental type pick". Birk was the first Harvard Crimson lineman to be selected in an NFL draft since Roger Caron in 1985.

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Wikipedia