Steve Dils
Encyclopedia
Stephen Whitfield "Steve" Dils (born December 8, 1955 in Seattle, Washington
) is a retired American football
quarterback
who played 10 seasons in the National Football League
.
at Fort Vancouver High School
in Vancouver, Washington
, and attended Stanford University
. He was Stanford's starting
quarterback under Bill Walsh
in 1978, and led Stanford to a 25-22 victory over Georgia
in the 1978 Bluebonnet Bowl
, where he was named the game's offensive most valuable player
. That season, Dils won the Sammy Baugh Trophy
, awarded to the top passer in college football.
in the fourth round of the 1979 NFL Draft
. In his second year with the club, he made his first start filling in for an injured Tommy Kramer
and led the Vikings to a win over the Washington Redskins
, a game which proved crucial to Minnesota's playoff run that year. He played six seasons with the Vikings and started most of the 1983 season, where he was paired in the backfield with former Stanford teammate Darrin Nelson
. He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. He spent his final full season with the Atlanta Falcons
before retiring with the Rams before the 1989 regular season began.
office.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
) is a retired American football
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...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
who played 10 seasons in the National Football League
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...
.
College career
Dils played high school footballHigh school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
at Fort Vancouver High School
Fort Vancouver High School
Fort Vancouver High School, known as FVHS, is a public high school located in Vancouver, Washington. It is named after Fort Vancouver, an early trading outpost...
in Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
, and attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. He was Stanford's starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
quarterback under Bill Walsh
Bill Walsh (football coach)
William Ernest "Bill" Walsh was a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford Cardinal football team, during which time he popularized the West Coast offense....
in 1978, and led Stanford to a 25-22 victory over Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference...
in the 1978 Bluebonnet Bowl
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 through 1967, and again in 1985 and 1986. The game was...
, where he was named the game's offensive most valuable player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
. That season, Dils won the Sammy Baugh Trophy
Sammy Baugh Trophy
The Sammy Baugh Trophy is awarded annually to the nation's top college passer. The award is named in honor of former Texas Christian University and Washington Redskins quarterback "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh. The trophy has been given out by the Touchdown Club of Columbus since 1959...
, awarded to the top passer in college football.
NFL career
Dils was drafted by the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the fourth round 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...
. In his second year with the club, he made his first start filling in for an injured Tommy Kramer
Tommy Kramer
Thomas Francis Kramer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL from 1977 to 1990...
and led the Vikings to a win over the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, a game which proved crucial to Minnesota's playoff run that year. He played six seasons with the Vikings and started most of the 1983 season, where he was paired in the backfield with former Stanford teammate Darrin Nelson
Darrin Nelson
Darren Milo Nelson is a former professional American football player in the National Football League....
. He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. He spent his final full season with the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
before retiring with the Rams before the 1989 regular season began.
After football
Dils is currently the managing director of the Canadian commercial real estate company Avison Young's AtlantaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
office.