Gerry Philbin, Jets Ring of Honor member and Super Bowl champ, dead at 83
NY Post
Former Jets defensive end Gerry Philbin has died, the team announced Wednesday. He was 83.
The Pawtucket, R.I., native was the Jets’ third-round choice in the 1964 AFL draft out of the University of Buffalo.
He also was a Detroit Lions third-round pick in the NFL draft. At 6-foot-2, 245 pounds, he went on to win a Super Bowl with Gang Green in 1969 when they defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7.
Philbin was also inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2011, and earned two Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods in his career, along with being named to the all-time AFL team.
“I do remember when we played the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoff game [after the 1969 season] — he had a separated shoulder,” said John Schmitt, a Jets center from 1964-1974, on Wednesday, per the Jets. “They made up a leather harness that was a half-inch thick that was wrapped around his chest, and they had chain-link fence holding the leather arm piece to the chest piece. You never saw such a barbaric thing. And he played the whole game against Kansas City. … He was a damn tough player and I loved the man.”
Former head coach Rex Ryan also released a statement after Philbin’s passing. “When you talk about a relentless motor and that Jet mentality, that was Gerry Philbin,” said Ryan, who has Philbin listed as one of his three all-time favorite Jets from that team.
