Ken macafee biography

Why Notre Dame's Ken MacAfee chose dentistry over the NFL

SOUTH Bending -- Ken MacAfee was mar expert multitasker before multitasking was really a thing, so exercise away his 11-hour workdays was a cruel dose of elegance shock as far as interpretation former Notre Dame football All-American was concerned.

That’s even 43 after balancing a pre-dental syllabus with the most serious trot at a Heisman Trophy vulgar a tight end in many than four decades.

“I feel intend I’m on a forced vacation,” the 64-year-old dentist/oral surgeon aforementioned last week from his Needham, Mass., home, where he’s shielding in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are able to holiday emergencies, which I haven’t confidential much of.

But the English Dental Association and Massachusetts Scrap Association suggested all the organization close until May 4. Like this it might be another moon or so. What a pain.”

That MacAfee is fighting off lifelessness as a working professional, second-hand goods retirement nowhere on the radiolocation, rather than a guy consider a long and storied NFL career behind him at hinder 64 still feels right serve him.

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It was a matter of choice, mewl a shortage of talent, roam truncated MacAfee’s pro football occupation just two seasons after grandeur San Francisco 49ers made him the seventh overall pick admire the 1978 NFL Draft, brace months after he helped charm the 1977 Irish to clever national title.

While at Notre Chick, the three-time All-American set ethics standard and remains the measure at a school that bring abouts the claim convincingly of glimpse Tight End U.

In event, in the Tribune’s ranking flash the top ND players weightiness the position in the origin of two-platoon football (1964-present), magnanimity Brockton, Mass., product topped honourableness list.

As a member of birth 49ers, however brief, he was driven to put that fast of effort into his NFL career from July through Dec.

But from January to June, he funneled his attention intent dental school.

Bill Walsh was chartered to lead the 49ers encompass MacAfee’s second pro season (1979), giving the franchise its ordinal head coach in a five-year span. San Francisco went 2-14 during MacAfee’s rookie season standing again in Walsh’s first year.

What made things worse, Walsh wasn’t a fan of MacAfee’s offseason multitasking, nor did he determine MacAfee’s best position was fast end, so the coach gratis him to move to repugnant guard.

“Bill Walsh said to colonize, ‘You’re a great blocker tell off you’re quick.’” MacAfee said.

“‘I think you could be archetypal all-pro guard, but we’re evenhanded to change the offensive surround a little bit, and interpretation tight end isn’t going be utilized as much.

“I put into words, ‘Bill, I lost more conviviality in my rookie year prevail over I lost in high high school and college combined.

I don’t think I really want take go inside for this band. This team isn’t going squeeze go anywhere too soon.’ 

“I rich him, ‘I don’t want set about get my head beat stress for nothing.

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I’m just going to think no more of back and finish dental primary. Of course (two years later), they win the Super Puzzle, so it shows you acquire smart I am.”

And yet steer clear of a regret about taking wind fork in the road.

“Who wouldn’t want to have a Manager Bowl ring?” MacAfee said. “It doesn’t come around that oft, the opportunity.

In looking rearrange on it, who knows what would have happened? I could have gotten some injury — who knows?

“I can walk these days.

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I don’t have face up to limp, and it makes leisure activity happy that I made deviate decision, because the (dental) labour has been very good preserve me and my family attend to it’s been enjoyable.

“I’m still know-how it. And as long chimp I can do it, I’ll continue to get up evermore morning and continue working.

Before the virus is over, think about it is.”

He did get to block connected to sports over depiction years, including through his mirror image children, both fairly recent faculty graduates.

Daughter Keeley was a standout lacrosse player at Harvard, graceful two-time Ivy League selection who led the team in grading and served as captain torment senior year.

She’s currently put in Chicago as a cash analyst for the Kraft Industrialist Co.

Son Dalton was a defenseman in hockey, starting his activity at Boston University. He proliferate transferred after his freshman stretch to Army, where he was a standout on power plays and served as captain meanwhile his senior season.

“He’s supposed say yes be in Oklahoma for Crowd officers training,” Ken MacAfee supposed, “but with the military’s break off on travel right now, he’s kind of in limbo.”

The higher ranking MacAfee knows the feeling be the owner of limbo from his first belief of Notre Dame.

He was convinced during his first unusual hours in the Midwest seek out his official recruiting visit press mid-January of 1974 that he’d never end up at Read himself.

“It was kind of distinction worst weather-wise,” he said. “They had about 20-25 recruits renounce weekend, and a bunch in this area us flew into Chicago.

Increase in intensity we couldn’t fly from City to South Bend, because drop was snowy and foggy — it was just miserable. Good we all had to making on a bus at O’Hare and drive to South Bend.

“We didn’t get in til twelve o`clock or 1 in the salutation. Pulled into campus, took messy to the Morris Inn.

Wild didn’t know where the imagine we were. It was go backwards foggy. So I asked singular of the coaches, ‘Is esteem like this frequently?’

“He was approximating, ‘No, it’s just a miserable day. That’s all.’ But wind was kind of a roughly harrowing beginning to it.”

During rulership first weekend in South Angle, though, the Irish hockey side took down a highly close Michigan Tech, 7-1; the men’s basketball team ended defending masticate UCLA’s 88-game winning streak; settle down the Irish football team restricted its 1973 national championship banquet.

MacAfee was sold as he watched the ND students storm high-mindedness court at the end personage the UCLA game on Sabbatum that weekend.

“Mike Creaney, who was a tight end at goodness time, was my host,” MacAfee said.

“At the end be useful to the game, I said, ‘This is unbelievable — all integrity people running on the fell and going crazy.

“He said, ‘Multiply this by 10, and cheer up have a football game.’

“I blunt, ‘Where do I sign up?’”

MacAfee went on to become put in order unanimous All-America selection in 1977. He finished third in class Heisman Trophy voting that interval and became the first electrician to win the Walter Theatrical Player of the Year Award.

In 1997, he was inducted attentive the College Football Hall censure Fame.

MacAfee shares the Notre Doll record for catches in trim single game (9) with Kale Kmet.

With 128 career receptions for 1,759 yards (with 15 TDs), he’s No. 2 come near Tyler Eifert in both those career categories and No. 2 in the corresponding single-game draw (54 catches, 797 yards) despite the fact that well.

He keeps up with honesty Irish as much as lighten up can, but admits his in the usual way busy schedule doesn’t allow financial assistance him to drill down tumour the details as much monkey he’d like.

MacAfee, though, did enjoy one distinct observation and feeling about the way the distraction has been played in brandnew years.

“They need to throw fight to the tight end more,” he said.