Mitch Berger
 Berger in 2009. | |||||||||
| No. 17 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Punter | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | June 24, 1972 Kamloops, British Columbia | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Colorado | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1994 / round: 6 / pick: 193 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Mitchell Shannon Berger (born June 24, 1972) is a former Canadian-born American football punter. He played college football at Colorado and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft.
Berger has also been a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos. He won Super Bowl XLIII with the Steelers against the Cardinals.
Early years
Berger attended North Delta Senior Secondary School in Delta, British Columbia and was a letterman in football and basketball. In football, as a senior, he won All-Provincial honours as both, a kicker and as a punter, and was also the team's starting quarterback. In basketball, he won All-Provincial honours. Mitch Berger graduated from North Delta Secondary School in 1990.
College career
Berger attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas and won honourable mention All-American honours as a sophomore. He finished his college career by transferring to the University of Colorado.
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
Berger was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL Draft.
Minnesota Vikings
Perhaps Berger's best seasons came as a member of the Minnesota Vikings in the late 1990s. He was most noted for his booming kickoffs, which often sailed into the end zone for touchbacks; afterwards, he would take a bite of a Snickers bar that he would keep in his spare shoe on the sideline.[1]
Pittsburgh Steelers
Berger was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers after an injury to punter Daniel Sepulveda to compete with signing Paul Ernster. Berger won the job as Paul Ernster was released on August 30 during final cuts.[2] After experiencing hamstring problems, Berger was released by the Steelers on November 5 and the team re-signed Ernster.[3] Following three poor performances by Ernster, Berger was re-signed by the Steelers on November 24. Berger developed into a great tackling punter, as evidenced by his five tackles in the 2008 season. He has two key touchdown-saving tackles.
Berger won his first Super Bowl with the Steelers at Super Bowl XLIII in which he had three punts for a 46.3 yard average and one inside the 20 yard-line.
Denver Broncos
Berger signed with the Denver Broncos on October 26, 2009, after they waived Brett Kern. He was released after the 2009 season.
Personal life
Berger owns a set of nightclubs and restaurants in his hometown of Vancouver.[4] He appeared on Millionaire Matchmaker on March 12, 2013 and is now married to Bambi.
References
- ^ New Punter Has Hold On Job
- ^ Brown, Scott (August 10, 2008). "Steelers' Hampton practicing". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
- ^ http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/news/news.aspx?id=4189288
- ^ NFL Journeyman Berger Eyes Super Bowl, Winter Olympics Yahoo Sports, January 29, 2009
External links
- 1972 births
- Living people
- American football punters
- Arizona Cardinals players
- Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States
- Canadian players of American football
- Chicago Bears players
- Cincinnati Bengals players
- Colorado Buffaloes football players
- Denver Broncos players
- Green Bay Packers players
- Indianapolis Colts players
- Minnesota Vikings players
- National Conference Pro Bowl players
- New Orleans Saints players
- People from Delta, British Columbia
- Philadelphia Eagles players
- Pittsburgh Steelers players
- Sportspeople from Kamloops
- St. Louis Rams players
- Super Bowl champions
- Tyler Apaches football players