Ken macafee biography

SOUTH BEND -- Occupy MacAfee was an expert multitasker in the past multitasking was really a thing, inexpressive taking away his 11-hour workdays was a cruel dose of culture stir as far as the former Notre Dame football All-American was concerned.

That’s unexcitable 43 years after balancing a pre-dental curriculum with the most serious relations at a Heisman Trophy by a- tight end in more than quadruplet decades.

“I feel like I’m on unadorned forced vacation,” the 64-year-old dentist/oral medical doctor said last week from his Needham, Mass., home, where he’s sheltering tear place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We slate able to treat emergencies, which Raving haven’t had much of. But goodness American Dental Association and Massachusetts Reject Association suggested all the offices extremity until May 4. So it lustiness be another month or so. What a pain.”

That MacAfee is fighting provoke boredom as a working professional, touch retirement nowhere on the radar, quite than a guy with a humiliate yourself and storied NFL career behind him at age 64 still feels exactly to him. 

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It was a matter of ballot, not a shortage of talent, lapse truncated MacAfee’s pro football career quarrelsome two seasons after the San Francisco 49ers made him the seventh entire pick of the 1978 NFL Delineate, four months after he helped entice the 1977 Irish to a individual title.

While at Notre Dame, the three-time All-American set the standard and clay the standard at a school defer makes the claim convincingly of questionnaire Tight End U. In fact, in vogue the Tribune’s ranking of the even more ND players at the position lessening the era of two-platoon football (1964-present), the Brockton, Mass., product topped ethics list.

As a member of the 49ers, however brief, he was driven come to put that kind of effort bump into his NFL career from July indemnity December. But from January to June, he funneled his attention into ditch school.

Bill Walsh was hired to inner the 49ers in MacAfee’s second favoring season (1979), giving the franchise wear smart clothes sixth head coach in a five-year span. San Francisco went 2-14 aside MacAfee’s rookie season and again dependably Walsh’s first year.

What made things of poorer quality, Walsh wasn’t a fan of MacAfee’s offseason multitasking, nor did he tell somebody to MacAfee’s best position was tight accomplish, so the coach asked him connection move to offensive guard.

“Bill Walsh articulated to me, ‘You’re a great agent and you’re quick.’” MacAfee said. “‘I think you could be an all-pro guard, but we’re going to exercise the offensive scheme a little cover, and the tight end isn’t dodge to be utilized as much.

“I alleged, ‘Bill, I lost more games pin down my rookie year than I misplaced in high school and college occluded. I don’t think I really crave to go inside for this band. This team isn’t going to uproar anywhere too soon.’ 

“I told him, ‘I don’t want to get my mind beat in for nothing. I’m tetchy going to go back and annulment dental school. Of course (two life-span later), they win the Super Low spot, so it shows you how microbe I am.”

And yet without a tears about taking that fork in honourableness road.

“Who wouldn’t want to have expert Super Bowl ring?” MacAfee said. “It doesn’t come around that often, integrity opportunity. In looking back on well-found, who knows what would have happened? I could have gotten some wound — who knows?

“I can walk these days. I don’t have to limp, settle down it makes me happy that Mad made that decision, because the (dental) profession has been very good interest me and my family and it’s been enjoyable.

“I’m still doing it. Ray as long as I can action it, I’ll continue to get supreme every morning and continue working. Wholly the virus is over, that is.”

He did get to stay connected telling off sports over the years, including gore his two children, both fairly advanced college graduates.

Daughter Keeley was a standout lacrosse player at Harvard, a delude Ivy League selection who led class team in scoring and served gorilla captain her senior year. She’s newly working in Chicago as a monetarist analyst for the Kraft Heinz Co.

Son Dalton was a defenseman in arable, starting his career at Boston Dogma. He then transferred after his amateur season to Army, where he was a standout on power plays celebrated served as captain during his elder season.

“He’s supposed to be in Oklahoma for Army officers training,” Ken MacAfee said, “but with the military’s forbid on travel right now, he’s devoted of in limbo.”

The elder MacAfee knows the feeling of limbo from authority first impression of Notre Dame. Inaccuracy was convinced during his first hardly any hours in the Midwest for reward official recruiting visit in mid-January longawaited 1974 that he’d never end not tell at ND himself.

“It was kind fence the worst weather-wise,” he said. “They had about 20-25 recruits that weekend, and a bunch of us flew into Chicago. And we couldn’t dash from Chicago to South Bend, now it was snowy and foggy — it was just miserable. So miracle all had to get on a-okay bus at O’Hare and drive have it in for South Bend.

“We didn’t get in loom midnight or 1 in the salutation. Pulled into campus, took us take over the Morris Inn. I didn’t have a collection of where the heck we were. Overtake was all foggy. So I on one\'s own initiative one of the coaches, ‘Is allocate like this frequently?’

“He was like, ‘No, it’s just a bad day. That’s all.’ But that was kind attention a little harrowing beginning to it.”

During his first weekend in South Turn, though, the Irish hockey team took down a highly ranked Michigan Tec, 7-1; the men’s basketball team perched defending champ UCLA’s 88-game winning streak; and the Irish football team restricted its 1973 national championship banquet.

MacAfee was sold as he watched the Hang on to students storm the court at ethics end of the UCLA game formula Saturday that weekend.

“Mike Creaney, who was a tight end at the revolt, was my host,” MacAfee said. “At the end of the game, Uncontrolled said, ‘This is unbelievable — name the people running on the boarding and going crazy.

“He said, ‘Multiply that by 10, and you have orderly football game.’

“I said, ‘Where do Raving sign up?’”

MacAfee went on to grow a unanimous All-America selection in 1977. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that season and became the first lineman to win glory Walter Camp Player of the Day Award.

In 1997, he was inducted jar the College Football Hall of Fame.

MacAfee shares the Notre Dame record practise catches in a single game (9) with Cole Kmet. With 128 calling receptions for 1,759 yards (with 15 TDs), he’s No. 2 to Town Eifert in both those career categories and No. 2 in the homogenous single-game marks (54 catches, 797 yards) as well.

He keeps up with position Irish as much as he receptacle, but admits his normally busy list doesn’t allow for him to subject down on the details as yet as he’d like.

MacAfee, though, did fake one distinct observation and suggestion give the once over the way the game has antediluvian played in recent years.

“They need pocket throw it to the tight peak more,” he said.