Bill Romanowski

Bill Romanowski epitomized relentless intensity and durability throughout a 16year NFL career that produced four Super Bowl championships Born April 2 1966 in Vernon Connecticut Romanowski graduated from Rockville High School in 1984 before attending Boston College As a fouryear starter for the Eagles he earned secondteam AllAmerican honors in 1987 three Firstteam AllEast selections 19851987 and the Scanlan Award for academic achievement He won Defensive MVP at the Cotton Bowl his senior year Selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round 80th overall of the 1988 NFL draft Romanowski played for four teams during his career 49ers 19881993 Philadelphia Eagles 19941995 Denver Broncos 19962001 and Oakland Raiders 20022003 He became one of only three players to win backtoback Super Bowls with two different organizations earning championships with San Francisco XXIII XXIV and Denver XXXII XXXIII and was the only linebacker to start five Super Bowls Romanowski earned two Pro Bowl selections 1996 1998 and PFWA AllRookie Team honors in 1988 He finished his career with 1118 tackles 395 sacks 18 forced fumbles 18 interceptions 98 return yards one touchdown and 18 fumble recoveries across 243 games Romanowskis playing strengths defined extreme dedication exceptional durability playing 243 consecutive games an NFL record for linebackers at the time that stood until 2006 fanatical commitment to training and recovery spending up to 100000 annually on nutrition supplements hyperbaric chambers and deep tissue massage aggressive hardhitting intensity combined with strategic mind games and remarkable versatility as both a pass rusher and coverage linebacker His greatest moments showcased championship impact 1 Super Bowl XXIIIintercepted Cincinnati quarterback Boomer Esiason in the third quarter turning momentum in the 49ers favor during their 2016 victory 2 1996 Pro Bowl seasonposted 77 tackles three interceptions three sacks and three fumble recoveries helping Denver reach Super Bowl XXXII 3 Historic consecutive games streakplayed every game from 19882003 never missing a contest despite the physical toll demonstrating unmatched durability and commitment Following retirement Romanowski coauthored the New York Times bestselling autobiography Romo My Life on the Edge Living Dreams and Slaying Dragons 2005 He founded Nutrition53 a nutritional supplement company 2006 and appeared in several films including The Longest Yard and The Benchwarmers