Ken Fantetti
Encyclopedia
Ken Fantetti is a former American football
linebacker
who played in the NFL
for the Detroit Lions
from 1979 through 1985.
Fantetti was born in Toledo, Oregon
, in 1957 and played college football
at the University of Wyoming
from 1975 to 1978. As a senior in 1978, he had 124 tackles, including 73 unassisted tackles, and was selected as an All-American by the Football Writers Association of America
. He had 15 unassisted tackles and nine assists in a 1978 game against Utah. He was also selected as the Western Athletic Conference
Defensive Player of the Year in 1978.
He was drafted by the Detroit Lions
in the second round (37th overall pick) of the 1979 NFL Draft
. At the time, Lions head coach Monte Clark
called Fantetti "a deluxe hitter -- which means he's something special. He's an old fashioned, rough and tough, hard-nosed football player." Fantetti played in 95 games for the Lions from 1979 to 1985.
In 2008, Fantetti opened a barbecue restaurant called Big Ken's BBQ in Portland, Oregon
.
He was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. Fantetti's biography at the Hall of Fame describes him as one of "greatest impact players" and "devastating linebackers" in Wyoming history.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
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 in the 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...
for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
from 1979 through 1985.
Fantetti was born in Toledo, Oregon
Toledo, Oregon
Toledo is a city located on the Yaquina River and along U.S. Route 20 in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 3,472...
, in 1957 and 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 the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
from 1975 to 1978. As a senior in 1978, he had 124 tackles, including 73 unassisted tackles, and was selected as an All-American by the Football Writers Association of America
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA...
. He had 15 unassisted tackles and nine assists in a 1978 game against Utah. He was also selected as the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
Defensive Player of the Year in 1978.
He was drafted by the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in the second round (37th overall pick) of the 1979 NFL Draft
1979 NFL Draft
The 1979 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 3–4, 1979...
. At the time, Lions head coach Monte Clark
Monte Clark
Monte Dale Clark was an American football player who served as head coach for two National Football League teams: the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.-College career:...
called Fantetti "a deluxe hitter -- which means he's something special. He's an old fashioned, rough and tough, hard-nosed football player." Fantetti played in 95 games for the Lions from 1979 to 1985.
In 2008, Fantetti opened a barbecue restaurant called Big Ken's BBQ in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
He was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. Fantetti's biography at the Hall of Fame describes him as one of "greatest impact players" and "devastating linebackers" in Wyoming history.