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.
Ryan used to hang with the 1968 team while his father, Buddy, coached the Jets D-line as an assistant coach for the Super Bowl team.
While sacks were not an official statistic until 1982, Philbin unofficially recorded 64.5 sacks, fourth most in Jets history. Philbin and Verlon Biggs are the only players in Jets history with 10-plus sacks in four straight seasons.
Philbin played 110 games, including 106 starts, with the Jets over nine years.before leaving for one final NFL season with the Eagles in 1973.
He ended his playing career with the New York Stars in 1974 as part of the short-lived World Football League.
