From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mark Schlereth
ESPN commentators and former National Football League (NFL) players Mike Golic and Mark Schlereth (blue shirt) and Green Bay Packer fullback William Henderson (yellow shirt, right) and Sailors watch Super Bowl XXXIX in the galley aboard USS Russell (DDG-59). Golic, Schlereth and Henderson were invited for a visit aboard Russell to watch the Super Bowl with the ship's crew, have lunch and tour the ship.
Date of birth	January 25, 1966
Place of birth	Anchorage, Alaska
Position(s)	Offensive guard
College	Idaho
NFL Draft	1989 / Round 10/ Pick 263
Pro Bowls	1992, 1999
Honors	3 Super Bowl rings
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball ESPN
Team(s)
1989-1994 1995-2000	Washington Redskins Denver Broncos

Mark Schlereth (born January 25, 1966 in Anchorage, Alaska) is a former NFL guard and current football analyst for ESPN on NFL Live as well as a frequent guest and occasionally fill-in host on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning.

Mark Schlereth grew up in Anchorage, graduating from Robert Service High School in 1984. He accepted a football scholarship to the University of Idaho from Dennis Erickson, where he played on the offensive line for head coach Keith Gilbertson, blocking for quarterback John Friesz.

Schlereth was selected in the tenth round (#263 overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played twelve NFL seasons; six with Washington (1989-1994), and six with the Denver Broncos (1995-2000). He was a member of three Super Bowl championship teams.

Mark's daughter, Alexandria, is an actress featured on the MyNetworkTV series Desire.

Before his playing career was completed, Schlereth had endured 29 surgeries, 20 on his knees (15 left, 5 right). After the 13th procedure on his left knee on July 24, 2000, Denver head coach Mike Shanahan stated, "He has a great pain threshold. I think the doctors said that it was the worst knee that they've ever seen." Schlereth would have two more procedures on that left knee during the 2000 season, his last in the NFL.

On April 18, 2001, Schlereth announced his retirement. "The reason I came out here today was to announce that I have just signed a six-year, $42 million contract to extend my career with the Denver Broncos. The truth of the matter is, after going through my 15th operation on my left knee last November, it became painfully obvious that I couldn't sign a six-year contract for $42 worth of Tupperware. I started to realize in the last three months of free agency that there is not a lot of market for a 6-foot-3-inch, 245-pound guard that is 35 years old and beat to a pulp." He landed a job with ESPN soon after.

Mark's nickname is "Stink." He revealed the reasoning behind it on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning on November 2, 2006. Schlereth said this nickname originated during his first season with the Broncos in 1995. He told a story about his sister working in an Eskimo town in Alaska, where people cut the heads off of fish and consider the head a delicacy; these heads are known as Stinkheads. Schlereth was called "Stinkhead" that season, later shortened to "Stink." Schlereth also revealed on this same Mike & Mike appearance that due to the lack of restroom facilities on the sideline, he would often urinate in his game pants (originally saying that was the reason for the "Stink" nickname, although he was joking).

Evidence of the nickname "Stinky" exists from Schlereth's pre Denver days in the commentary on CBS by John Madden during Super Bowl XXVI when Schlereth was playing for the Washington Redskins. Upon Schlereth's introduction to the crowd, Madden stated on air that Schlereth's father "loves it when they call him Stinky".

Revealed on Mike and Mike in the Morning on January 11, 2007 that he was dyslexic, and did not learn to read until the age of seven.

Was considering pursuing a career in acting, mainly on soap operas, under the name Rock Hoover.

• Pro football stats Mark Schlereth
• NFL.com - 1989 NFL Draft - Mark Schlereth # 263
• Internet Movie Database - imdb.com - Mark Schlereth

This biographical article relating to an American football offensive lineman is a stub. You can help by adding to it.