Gary Spani is a former NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 who played for the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

 from 1978-1986. He has worked for the Chiefs' front office since 1989, and is currently the director of tickets and events marketing for the Chiefs.

Spani was born in Satanta, Kansas

Satanta, Kansas

Satanta is a city in Haskell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,133. The town is named after Kiowa Chief Satanta. Every year there is a celebration of Satanta's Indian Heritage called Satanta Day.-Geography:...

, but raised in Manhattan

Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, and graduated from Manhattan High School

Manhattan High School

Manhattan High School is a fully accredited public high school in Manhattan, Kansas, serving students in grades 9-12. It is part of the Unified School District No. 383. For the 2010–2011 school year, Manhattan High had an enrollment of 1,984 students....

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

. At Kansas State

Kansas State Wildcats football

The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference...

, he was a three-time All Big Eight Conference

Big Eight Conference

The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...

 selection, was conference defensive player of the year in 1977, and was named the school's first consensus All American in 1977. He still holds the all-time tackles record for Kansas State University. Following graduation, Spani was named MVP of the East-West Shrine Game

East-West Shrine Game

The East–West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners...

.

The Chiefs selected Spani in the third round of the 1978 NFL Draft

1978 NFL Draft

The 1978 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978...

. As a pro, Spani was a hardnosed and tenacious player. He was a team captain for the Chiefs in 1983. He still holds the all-time tackles record for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he registered 999 career stops. His single-season record of 157 tackles with the Chiefs, set in 1979

1979 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 1979 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 7–9 record and fifth place finish in the AFC West. The Chiefs missed the playoffs due to the four other teams ahead of them in their division all finishing with winning records....

, stood until 2002

2002 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 2002 Kansas City Chiefs season marked the franchise's 40th season in Kansas City, Missouri and ended with an 8–8 record and a tie for third place in the AFC West....

 when it was broken by Mike Maslowski

Mike Maslowski

Michael John Maslowski is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs. He attended the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.-Amateur career:...

.

Spani was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

in 2002 and the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2003.

Daughter Shalin Spani played college basketball for the Kansas State University Wildcats from 2007-2010. Daughter Taber Spani plays college basketball for the Tennessee Lady Vols.