Daily Dawg Tags: Dan Fike was the best No. 69 you could find
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns are 69 days away from the start of the NFL regular season, which is also the uniform number of talented offensive lineman Dan Fike.
The calendar has finally turned to July, which means that we are now that much closer to the opening of the 2017 NFL regular season.
The Cleveland Browns will kick off the campaign in just 69 days as they host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, and No. 69 was once worn quite well by offensive lineman Dan Fike, a member of the Browns from 1985 through 1992.
Fike made 102 starts for the Browns, mostly at right guard but he also made starts at right tackle during his final two years with the team. He was one of several players, along with kick returner Gerald McNeil, cornerback Frank Minnifield and linebacker Mike Johnson, who joined the Browns after the USFL fell apart, forming the backbone of a team that made the playoffs from 1985 to 1990.
He played so well that he was named one of the Browns Top 100 players by cleveland.com in 2012:
"The Browns often took advantage of Fike’s powerful straight-ahead blocking by running behind him in short-yardage situations. The 6-7 Fike could also run interference for the outside ground game and was a solid pass blocker. His versatility was never more evident than in his final Browns’ season, when — though most often starting at right tackle — he played all four guard and tackle positions."
Unfortunately for Fike he had to finish his career in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, but he will always be a Brown.
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