Howard Michael "Howie" Long (born January 6, 1960 in Somerville, Massachusetts) is a former American football player who played as a defensive end. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
He attended Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts, and is a member of the Milford Hall of Fame. Long was an all-around athlete, playing football (lettered three years and was named to the Scholastic Coach All-America team as a senior), basketball (lettered three years as a forward), and track (lettered three years, competing in the shot-put, discus and javelin). Long also set state records in both the shot put and discus.
Long played college football and earned a degree in communications at Villanova University. He turned down an offer to play at Boston College to attend Villanova. He was a four-year letterman at Villanova and was selected to play in the Blue-Gray game and was named the MVP in 1980. As a sophomore and as a senior Long led Villanova in sacks. He began as a tight end but was moved to the defensive line playing mostly noseguard his first two seasons. After moving to defensive end he earned All-East honors and honorable mention All-American by his senior year. Long also boxed at Villanova and was the Northern Collegiate boxing champion.
Drafted in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, Long would play 13 seasons for the club wearing the number 75. He was a fearsome force on the Raiders defensive line and utilized his quickness and strength to earn eight Pro Bowl selections. Along the way, he was also named All-Pro three times (in 1983, 84, and 85) and second team All-Pro twice (in 1986 and 1989). He was selected by John Madden to the All-Madden teams in 1984 and 1985 and was named to the 10th Anniversary All-Madden team in 1994.
Long was voted both the NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year and the NFLPA AFC Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1985. He capped off a stellar 1985 season earning the George S. Halas Trophy for having been voted the NEA's co-NFL Defensive Player of the Year (along with Andre Tippett).
Long collected 91.5 sacks during his career (7.5 are not official, as sacks were not an official statistic during his rookie year). His career high was in 1983 with 13 sacks, including a career-high 5 against the Washington Redskins on October 2, 1983. He also intercepted 2 passes and recovered 10 fumbles during his 13-year career. At the time of his retirement, he was the last player still with the team who had been a Raider before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. He won a Super Bowl title with the Raiders in 1984 (following the 1983 season). Long's signature defensive move was the "rip," which employed a quick, uppercut-like motion designed to break an opposing blocker's grip.
Pro Football Weekly (PFW) named Long as one of the ends on its All-time 3-4 defensive front, along with Lee Roy Selmon, Curley Culp, Lawrence Taylor, Andre Tippett, Randy Gradishar, and Harry Carson. PFW based its "Ultimate 3-4" team on the vote of over 40 former NFL players, coaches, and scouts.
After his retirement from the NFL following the 1993 season, Long pursued an acting career, focused mainly on action films, including Firestorm, a 1998 film in which he starred. He also appears in the movie Broken Arrow alongside John Travolta. He played a minor role in the movie 3000 Miles to Graceland, alongside Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, and Courtney Cox. Long also made numerous cameo appearances on TV shows and commercials. He was a spokesman for Radio Shack, making commercials with actress Teri Hatcher. (Some mistakingly believe that Long and Hatcher are married, likely as a result of the playful behavior and closeness they display in the widely circulated Radio Shack commercials). He has also been featured in many other national commercials and advertising campaigns including those of Coors Light, Nike, Campbell's Chunky Soup, Hanes, Frito Lay, both Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Nabisco, Kraft, and the Bud Bowl campaign.
Currently Long works as a studio analyst for the FOX Network's NFL coverage, where he often plays the "straight man" to the comic antics of co-host Terry Bradshaw as well as writing a column for Foxsports.com . In addition, he hosts an annual award show on FOX, Howie Long's Tough Guys, which honors the NFL players whom he deems the toughest and gives "the toughest" a Chevrolet truck. Long won an Emmy Award in 1997 as "Outstanding Sports Personality/Analyst."
He is an alumnus of, and volunteers his time for, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He was named Walter Camp Man of the Year in 2001.
Long has been married to Diane Addonizio since June 27, 1982, and they have three sons, two of whom, Christopher, was drafted as a defensive end for the St. Louis Rams]; another son, Kyle, is a prospect for the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. The family currently resides in Ivy, Va., near Charlottesville, Virginia.
