Chris Zorich is Still One of the Good Guys

Chris "Zorro" Zorich was a three-time All America defensive tackle at Notre Dame from 1987 to 1990. He was also recently selected to the College Football Hall of Fame. There's a nice paean about him written at The Hog on Sports. So, whatever happened to this classic overachiever?

After a successful college career, Zorich's NFL experience was a bit of a frustration.

Zorich's NFL career wasn't what it could have been. He was drafted in the second round by the Bears in a story straight out of a Hollywood movie. He sat a year behind Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael, played part time in 1992 and became a starter in 1993. He had 121 tackles and 7 sacks that year playing defensive tackle. He followed that up with 77 tackles and five sacks in 1994.

Then, Bears coach and resident brainiac Dave Wannstedt got the bright idea to shuffle Zorich in and out of the lineup along with a walking dung pile by the name of Carl Simpson, who couldn't carry Zorich's jock with a wheel barrow. Wannstedt bemoaned Zorich's lack of production and cut him. He was signed by the Saints, hurt his knee and was later cut by them. He hooked up with the Redskins for a year and then retired.

Luckily, there's a happy ending here:

After retiring, the guy who shouldn't have even been at Notre Dame made it into and graduated from the university's law school. He is a practicing attourney in Chicago. He also started the Zora Zorich Foundation in honor of his late mother and does a ton of charity work that goes largely unrecognized.

Looks like things worked out well enough for the big guy who was once center-stage during a pre game melee against one of the 1980's most hated teams.

Against Miami in 1988, the Irish had a big pre-game melee with the Hurricanes. I later found out that Zorich was in the middle of it and had one Miami guy trapped under a portable bleacher and was ready to kick him before some other Irish players intervened and pulled Zorich off him.

Personal story: I met Zorich once when I was maybe six or seven years old. I was dining with my family one night at a well-known Italian establishment in the Chicago suburbs when in walks Zorich. My eyes lit up and somehow my old man flagged him down as he headed towards the kitchen. Zorich was kind enough to chat with us for a few minutes and sign some autographs. I shook his giant paw of a hand and he went on his way but I always remember that moment as he was incredibly gracious and kind.

Although he faced a certain amount of criticism for his on-field ferocity (see quote above) and prop-48 status, Zorich also demonstrated his heart and intellect through his charity work and degree completion that translated into his current legal career. For anyone who followed his athletic career at Notre Dame and with the Bears, that comes as little surprise.

(H/T: SportsByBrooks)