Birthdate:
February 27, 1976
Height: 6-5
Weight: 251
Hometown:
Huntington Beach, CA
Years Pro: 12
College: California
Ethnic Background:
Hispanic, African American,
Indian, Jamaican, and Cape
Verdian |
Tony's goal is to do a 360o
slam-dunk under the goal-post after a touchdown.
CLICK HERE TO SEE TONY'S TOUCHDOWN DANCE
In every game Tony wears a very special necklace that his mom gave him
before he went into the pros. Inscribed with Chinese characters, the front
says Protection and on the back - Longevity. Tony never takes it off.
HONOR ROLL:
Pro Bowls (9)- 1999-07
AP First-Team All-Pro (4) - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
Mack Lee Hill Award: Chiefs Rookie of the Year Award (1) - 1997
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Tony Gonzalez
TIGHT END - 6-5 - 251
CALIFORNIA
DRAFT (No. 1 - 1997)
GP/GS (Playoffs): 174/158 (3/2)
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Pro Career:
In October of 2008, Tony broke the NFL's career record for yards received by a tight end.
Nine-time Pro Bowl tight end enters his 12th season in Kansas City … Is unquestionably the league's most accomplished player at his position … Owns the most receptions (820) and TD catches (66) by a tight end in NFL history … Has 9,882 receiving yards and needs just 179 more to overtake TE Shannon Sharpe (10,060) for the NFL's all-time lead among tight ends in that category (Tony broke the record on October 5, 2008!) … Will undoubtedly be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday after establishing a new standard for excellence at the tight end position … Has been elected to more Pro Bowls than any tight end in NFL history … No other active tight end can come close to the consistency he has displayed over the past decade … Remarkably consistent and durable performer has missed just two starts over the past 10 seasons, averaging 78.7 receptions, 951.4 receiving yards and 6.4 TDs per season since he became an NFL starter in '98 … Is the most prolific pass catcher in Kansas City history … Recorded the third 1,000-yard campaign of his distinguished NFL tenure last season, a mark that ties Sharpe, Kellen Winslow and Todd Christensen as the most ever by an NFL tight end … Winslow (24) is the only tight end in league annals to accumulate more 100-yard receiving games than Gonzalez (23) ... Is the only tight end to ever register six 100-yard receiving games in a single season, a feat he accomplished both in 2000 and 2004 … Has racked up more consecutive 70-catch seasons (five), 60-catch seasons (nine) and 50-catch campaigns (10) than any other tight end in NFL history … Has the opportunity in 2008 to become just the fifth player and first tight end in league history to produce 11 consecutive seasons with 50 or more catches. That illustrious list of WRs includes: Jerry Rice (1986-96), Cris Carter (1991-01), Tim Brown (1993-03) and Marvin Harrison (1996-06) ... His 820 career receptions are 14th in NFL history and rank fifth among players who saw duty in 2007 … Needs 80 more catches to become just the eighth player in league history to post 900 or more receptions … Ranks 31st in NFL annals with 9,882 career receiving yards and needs 118 more yards to hit the 10,000-yard plateau, a figure eclipsed by only seven active NFL players … Has 66 career TD catches and needs nine more to become the 25th player in the NFL record book with 75 or more receiving scores … Continued his torrid pace in 2007, registering 99 catches for 1,172 yards, marking the seventh season he has posted 900 or more receiving yards and the fifth consecutive season he has accomplished that feat … Is the only tight end in NFL history to record 900 or more receiving yards in six campaigns … Joins Sharpe (Denver) and Ozzie Newsome (Cleveland) as just the third tight end in NFL annals to hold the title of his franchise's all-time leading receiver … His 66 total TDs rank second in club annals behind only RB Priest Holmes (83) ...
No Chiefs player can top his 9,896 career yards from scrimmage, while only WR Dante Hall (10,694) accumulated more combined net yards … Ranks fifth in club history with 400 points … Has started 158 games in a Kansas City uniform, tying Hall of Fame QB Len Dawson for the fourth-highest tally in franchise history … Should he open at least 14 games in 2008, would vault into second on that list behind only 12-time Pro Bowl G Will Shields (223) ... Has caught a pass in a franchise-record 115 consecutive games, trailing Newsome (150) for the longest streak by a tight end in league history … That 115-game receiving streak is the fifth-longest string among active players … Continued to pile up numbers at a prolific rate in 2007 as his 99 catches were the second-highest seasonal tally ever amassed by a tight end. His league-high 102 receptions in 2004 established that standard … Became just the second player in Chiefs history to lead the NFL in receptions, joining RB MacArthur Lane who did it with 66 catches in '76 … One of just three tight ends to pace the league in catches since the AFL-NFL merger in '70 along with Kellen Winslow (89 in '80) and Todd Christensen (95 in '86) ... His 1,258 receiving yards in 2004 were the second-highest tally ever assembled by a tight end in NFL ledgers, coming just 32 yards shy of the 1,290 yards accumulated by Winslow in '80 … His 2004 yardage tally also ranked as the fourth-best seasonal figure in Chiefs history … Owns nine career games with double-digit receptions, the most of any player in franchise annals … Capped off the 2004 campaign with a 14-catch effort at San Diego (1/2/05), the second-best single-game performance by an NFL tight end. Those 14 receptions surpassed the previous Chiefs single-game record of 12 catches set by RB Ed Podolak vs. Denver (10/7/73) ... Has played through a myriad of injuries, including a stress fracture in his left foot, but has missed just two regular season games during his prolific NFL career … Sat out the '99 season opener at Chicago (9/12/99) due to a preseason knee injury … Also missed a starting assignment vs. Oakland (11/19/06) after suffering a left shoulder sprain at Miami (11/12/06), an injury that was expected to keep him out multiple weeks. Returned only 11 days after the injury to open a contest vs. Denver (11/23/06) in the first-ever Thanksgiving Night game at Arrowhead Stadium … Owns at least one catch in 159 of his last 160 regular season outings. The last time he was held without a catch was at San Diego (11/26/00) ... Poses match-up problems for defensive backs and linebackers alike with his combination of speed, size and athleticism … Can stretch a defense vertically with his speed, but also takes great pride in his blocking skills … Endowed with outstanding leaping ability, which, combined with an amazingly flexible six-foot, four-inch frame, permits him to stretch out to make some sensational snags … Credits many of his moves on the gridiron to his basketball background, which included a stint on Cal's '97 "Sweet 16" NCAA Tournament team during his collegiate career …
Typically celebrates TD receptions by emphatically slam-dunking the pigskin over the crossbar … Became the first Pro Bowl tight end in Chiefs history following the '99 season and has earned a spot in that game for nine consecutive years … Was a consensus first-team All-Pro selection from 1999-01 and in 2003 … Possesses an unquenchable thirst to be considered the very best at his position, which helps explain his relentless work ethic … Takes extra repetitions after practice and is almost always the last member of the squad off the field … Has recorded 820 receptions for 9,882 yards (12.1 avg.) with 66 TDs and a long reception of 73 yards … Attempted one pass for a 40-yard completion and has rushed two times for 14 yards … Recovered an onside kick in '98 and blocked a punt in '97 … Owns three career postseason appearances (two starts), getting 11 catches for 106 yards (9.6 avg.) with two TDs … Has caught his 66 career TDs courtesy of four QBs: Trent Green (34), Elvis Grbac (23), Damon Huard (seven), Rich Gannon (one) and Brodie Croyle (one) ... Owns two separate streaks of four straight games with a TD catch, both of which are just one game shy of the team record of five … Currently ranks fifth on the franchise's career scoring list with 400 points … Dating back to '90, no Chiefs player owns more receptions of 20+ yards than Gonzalez (120) ... Gonzalez's stats from his first 11 NFL seasons stack up very favorably against the seven tight ends currently enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Charlie Sanders, Jackie Smith, Mike Ditka, John Mackey, Ozzie Newsome, Kellen Winslow and Dave Casper) ... Gonzalez already has more receptions, receiving yards and TDs than all of those Hall of Fame enshrinees … Based on career per-game averages, Winslow is the only Hall of Fame tight end who has averaged more catches, receiving yards and TD catches per game than Gonzalez. In 109 career regular season contests, Winslow averaged 5.0 catches, 61.8 yards, 12.5 yards-per-catch and 0.41 TDs per game. In 174 career regular season games, Gonzalez has averaged 4.7 catches, 56.8 yards, 12.1 yards per catch and 0.38 TDs per game … Bypassed Chiefs Hall of Fame inductee Fred Arbanas (198 receptions for 3,101 yards) as the most prolific tight end in franchise history in 2001 … His 173 catches in 2003-04 were the highest two-year tally of any player in Chiefs annals … No player in Kansas City history reached the 300-catch plateau quicker than Gonzalez, who got there in 71 games, breaking the previous standard of 76 set by E Chris Burford … Registered his 500th career reception in his 118th game, the second-fastest pace by a tight end in NFL history. Only Winslow (101 games) did it faster … Only four other Chiefs players (Burford, Taylor, Stephone Paige and Fred Arbanas) amassed 25 TD receptions quicker than Gonzalez, who did it in his 66th career game … Racked up 20 TD catches from '99-00, a two-year mark topped in team history only by the total of 21 amassed by Burford ('62-63) and Paige ('85-86) ... Firmly established himself as the league's finest tight end with a spectacular '99 campaign which saw him catch 76 passes for 849 yards in 15 games, totals which ranked higher than any player at his position in the NFL that year … Moved into the starting lineup in '98 after an impressive rookie campaign in '97 … Received the club's prestigious Mack Lee Hill Award bestowed annually to Kansas City's top rookie or first-year player after compiling 33 catches for 368 yards and two TDs during his initial pro season.
Personal:
- Lettered in both football and basketball at Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, California.
- Caught 62 passes for 945 yards and 13 TDs as a senior, earning first-team All-America selection as a tight end and a linebacker.
- Orange County & Sunset League MVP in basketball as he averaged 26.0 ppg and shot 65 percent from the field (234 of 365) in his final year.
- Was named the Co-Orange County High School Athlete of the Year along with Tiger Woods.
- Inducted into the Boys & Girls Club National Hall of Fame in Boston in May of 2006.
- Spent April of 2006 studying Spanish in the Dominican Republic. He previously studied abroad in Costa Rica in 2005 and San Miguel De Allende, Mexico in 2004. The four-week courses entailed six hours of classes each day with a special emphasis on learning the dialect.
- Was invited to the Laureus Sports Awards in Estoril, Portugal in 2006 and 2005.
- Was featured speaking Spanish in a "Fútbol Americano" ad produced by the NFL in 2005.
- Was named the "2004 NFL Good Guy" by The Sporting News for his charitable efforts.
- Authored a book for adolescents in 2005 entitled Catch & Connect, giving practical advice on growing up based on Tony's experiences.
- Is partners with Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon in "Sutra," a restaurant in Newport Beach, California.
- Promoted American football on behalf of the NFL in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in April of 2003 and was on hand for a game featuring teams from the Brazilian Carioca League which was aired on ESPN.
- Formed the "Tony Gonzalez Foundation" in '98 which supports the Shadow Buddies program, as well as the Boys & Girls Clubs. Shadow Buddies are smiling dolls given to ill individuals - particularly children and the elderly - in order to help speed their recovery. Gonzalez is the only NFL player or athlete of any kind to have his own Shadow Buddy, which comes complete with a Chiefs hospital gown with "Gonzalez #88" on it. Over 35,000 Tony Gonzalez Shadow Buddies have been distributed to date in all 50 states and internationally, including 5,400 Senior Buddies. Tony has personally delivered Shadow Buddies in Missouri, Kansas, California, New York, Texas and Hawaii. Expanded his involvement with Shadow Buddies in 2001 by providing 295 "Know Your Buddy Book" kits to schools, reaching over 219,500 children. This educational program teaches students about the diversity of medical challenges and encourages kids to increase their compassion and understanding of others' differences. His foundation donated 195 books to Child Life Specialists at pediatric facilities in 2006. He plans to reproduce this book in Spanish later.
- Developed the "Elite 88" program based on his TD catches to benefit the Shadow Buddies program in 2003.
- Spokesman for "Operation Shadow Buddies" in 2003, helping military kids whose parents were participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- Introduced his "Books and Buddies" program in 2003, to help bridge the gap between teenagers and senior citizens. This program received the Presidential Volunteer Award in 2004.
- In recognition of his Hispanic heritage, paired with the Shadow Buddies Foundation to serve a holiday meal for 156 families from El Centro, Inc., a social service agency serving families in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods in the Kansas City area. Each family received a $75 Price Chopper gift certificate and every child received a new toy. El Centro received new classroom materials and toys. Upgrades to the school included fresh paint, a new clothes dryer, as well as a full cleaning of the floors and windows.
- Hosts an annual "Shop with a Jock" holiday shopping spree for 75 children.
- "Flipped the switch" for both Kansas City's Plaza Lights and the Mayor's Christmas Tree in 2001.
- Served as the Chiefs United Way spokesperson from 2000-02.
- Was the NFL Spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer in '99 and 2000.
- Has served as a spokesperson for the Midwest Organ Donor Bank.
- Served as a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation Safety Campaign and the state of Kansas School Safety Hotline.
- Appeared in a series of "Buckle Up: Football is a Game, Your Life is Not" ads promoting seat belt usage in memory of the late Derrick Thomas.
- Named to Ingram's prestigious "40 Under 40" list which annually honors Kansas City's most influential and accomplished leaders under 40 years of age, becoming the youngest individual ever named to that list.
- Named 2000 Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City "Role Model of the Year" as selected by the children.
- Donated 200 flag football uniforms to the Kansas City Boys & Girls Clubs in '99 and was instrumental in helping the club receive a $75,000 NFL/LISC grant to construct a flag football field in Kansas City's Cleveland Park and also provides 10 season tickets for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City.
- The owner of Xtreme Clean 88, a Kansas City-based window cleaning service that won the contract to handling the duties of cleaning the 2,204 12-foot high glass windows at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
- In 2008, launched MVPspot.com, an online community that provides amateur athletes to showcase their talents to the world. MVPspot.com offers a "Team Give" contest that gives teams a chance to win $500 to $2,500 towards the purchase of new athletic equipment.
- Full name: Anthony Gonzalez.
- Married, wife Toby with a daughter, Malia born in May of 2008. Gonzalez also has a son Nikko (6).
- Splits his time between Kansas City, Missouri and Huntington Beach, California.
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