Mike Fanning
| No. 79,74 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | February 2, 1953 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1975 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Games: | 137 |
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| Sacks: | 42½ |
| Safeties: | 1 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Michael LaVern Fanning (born February 2, 1953 in Mount Clemens, Michigan) is a retired American football player. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame. He was a defensive tackle for ten seasons in the National Football League. He started in Super Bowl XIV for the Los Angeles Rams.
A rough competitor who puts out the kind of pursuit that upsets running backs and terrorizes quarterbacks. At Notre Dame, Fanning accounted for 164 tackles. Fanning was a starter at defensive tackle in 1973 and 1974. He was an 1974 All-America selection by the Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, NEA, Time and was a Second-team All-America selection by the AP. In his years at Notre Dame he shared the practice field with Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger whose saga was made into a Hollywood film, "Rudy."
Notre Dame ranked 2nd in the nation in total defense in 1973 and the Irish claimed the National Championship with an 11-0 record. In 1974 the defense ranked first in the nation, allowing only 195.2 yards per game and were ranked 6th in the nation in the final AP poll.
Fanning was drafted on the First round (9th selection) of the 1975 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He was touted to be the successor of Merlin Olsen who was entering his 14th season in 1975. In 1976, in spot duty for Olsen, Fanning recorded 4 sacks.
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