Mark Anthony Bavaro (born April 28, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the New York Giants (1985–1990), Cleveland Browns (1992), and Philadelphia Eagles (1993–1994) in the National Football League (NFL). Bavaro was selected to the Pro Bowl for his performances in the 1986 and 1987 seasons and was a member of the Giants teams that won Super Bowls XXI and XXV.
After an All-American career at the University of Notre Dame, Bavaro was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round (#100 overall) in the 1985 NFL draft. He quickly emerged as a starter in his rookie season and became renowned during his Giants career for his blocking, toughness, and receiving skills. After a degenerative knee condition forced him to sit out the 1991 season, he returned to play three seasons for the Browns and Eagles before retiring in 1995. Since retiring, Bavaro has done work as an anti-abortion activist. His brother David also played in the NFL for four seasons.
Early life and college
Bavaro was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, as the second of three children to Wally, a track coach at Chelsea High School, and Christine, who studied to be a marriage and family therapist when her children were in school. Both of his grandfathers came from Italy. His younger brother David also played football professionally as a linebacker for four NFL teams over the course of four seasons. He attended Danvers High School in Danvers, Massachusetts, where he was a high school football All-American. After being intensively recruited by several colleges, He played behind star tight end Tony Hunter as a freshman, then missed all but three minutes of his sophomore season due to a hand injury. After Faust talked him into staying, Bavaro developed a reputation for playing through injuries while at Notre Dame.
Professional career
Coming out of college, Bavaro was known mostly for his blocking ability and was expected to play the role of a run blocking tight end as a professional. He earned the nickname "Rambo" early in his rookie season due to his intense playing style, quiet personality, and physical resemblance to Sylvester Stallone. Bavaro finished his rookie season with 37 receptions, 511 yards, and 4 touchdowns. He also set a team record with 12 receptions in one game during quarterback Phil Simms' 513 yard passing effort against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 13, 1985. After the game, which the Giants lost 35–30, Bavaro responded in the low-key manner that would typify his career, "[i]t was nothing special, the plays were the same stuff. I don't know what they did. I just caught a lot of balls. I'd rather win, that's all." He finished the season with 66 receptions, 1,001 yards, and 4 touchdowns Perhaps the most well-known play of Bavaro's career occurred in a Monday Night Football game in 1986. Here is a description of the play taken from a Monday Night Football broadcast in 2005: "On Dec. 1 1986, New York Giants tight end Mark Bavaro cements his reputation as one of the toughest men in the NFL. With the Giants trailing, Bavaro catches an innocent pass from Phil Simms over the middle. It takes nearly seven 49ers defenders to finally drag him down, some of which are carried for almost 20 yards, including future Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. Bavaro's inspiring play jump starts the Giants, who win the game and eventually the Super Bowl." This reputation as a tough player was further cemented later in the season when he played for six weeks with a broken jaw that forced him to sip food through a straw. He continued to establish his reputation as an excellent blocker during the season, and was described as "the premier tight end" in the league by 49ers' coach Bill Walsh before the team's playoff matchup. The Giants finished the regular season 14–2 and defeated the Denver Broncos 39–20 in Super Bowl XXI. Bavaro's third quarter touchdown gave the Giants the lead which they would never relinquish. After the season Bavaro was chosen to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated's NFL preview issue for the 1987 season. Bavaro was pictured on the cover in a cutoff shirt holding his shoulder pads over his shoulder, the caption reads "The Living End: Mark Bavaro of the New York Giants". The cover also featured Bavaro celebrating a touchdown in the trademark manner of his career. Bavaro, a Roman Catholic, would genuflect in the end zone and motion the sign of the cross after each touchdown.
Bavaro performed well during the 1987 season and was again selected to the Pro Bowl. He finished the season with 55 receptions, 867 yards, and 8 touchdowns. He followed that season with 53 receptions, 672 yards, and 4 touchdowns in 1988 The Giants cut him in July 1991 because of the injury. After some initial dispute, the Giants signed him to a one-year US$310,000 contract and placed him on the physically unable to perform list.
Despite being advised to retire several times by the doctor who worked on his knee, He played in all 16 games again and had 43 receptions, 481 yards, and 6 touchdowns in 1993.
His career was so influential that ESPN's Mark Bavaro Fantasy Football league is named after him.
In 2022, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Bavaro to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2022.
NFL career statistics
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Won the Super Bowl
|-
| Bold
| Career high
|}
Regular season
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team
!colspan="2"| Games
!colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! GP !! GS !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! 1985 !! NYG
| 16 || 16 || 37 || 511 || 13.8 || 32 || 4
|-
! 1986 !! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| NYG
| 16 || 15 || 66 || 1,001 || 15.2 || 41 || 4
|-
! 1987 !! NYG
| 12 || 12 || 55 || 867 || 15.8 || 38 || 8
|-
! 1988 !! NYG
| 16 || 15 || 53 || 672 || 12.7 || 36 || 4
|-
! 1989 !! NYG
| 7 || 7 || 22 || 278 || 12.6 || 29 || 3
|-
! 1990 !! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| NYG
| 15 || 15 || 33 || 393 || 11.9 || 61 || 5
|-
! 1992 !! CLE
| 16 || 16 || 25 || 315 || 12.6 || 39 || 2
|-
! 1993 !! PHI
| 16 || 16 || 43 || 481 || 11.2 || 27 || 6
|-
! 1994 !! PHI
| 12 || 11 || 17 || 215 || 12.6 || 27 || 3
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 126 !! 123 !! 351 !! 4,733 !! 13.5 !! 61 !! 39
|}
Playoffs
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team
!colspan="2"| Games
!colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! GP !! GS !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! 1985 !! NYG
| 2 || 2 || 9 || 103 || 11.4 || 18 || 1
|-
! 1986 !! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| NYG
| 3 || 3 || 8 || 134 || 16.8 || 30 || 2
|-
! 1990 !! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| NYG
| 3 || 3 || 13 || 129 || 9.9 || 19 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 8 !! 8 !! 30 !! 366 !! 12.2 !! 30 !! 3
|}
Personal life
Bavaro married Susan Downes in 1987. The couple have three children. His wife attended Seton Hall Law School for one year, but later transferred to Harvard Law School, where she achieved a degree in Law, Bavaro is also an avid golfer who considers the sport his favorite pastime. During his NFL career and since his retirement Bavaro has done work as a member of the LifeAthletes organization which promotes abstinence; Bavaro was vice chairman of the group during his playing career. Bavaro’s son Lucas also played football being a top player for Dartmouth college.
In 2008, Bavaro published his first novel, Rough & Tumble (), a novel describing the fictional life of Dominic Fucillo in the NFL and the trials and tribulations he faced while playing football.
There is a street named after Bavaro in his hometown of Danvers.