Where are they now: Dan Pastorini By Lisa Zimmerman Special to NFL.com (Oct. 20, 2003) -- In 1968 the New York Mets drafted several young players to join their organization, including pitchers Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan and shortstop Dan Pastorini. The baseball careers of Seaver and Ryan have been well-documented. However, Pastorini took another road. The native of Sonora, California elected to go to Santa Clara University, which offered him the opportunity to play both baseball and football. While he excelled at both, it was football that proved to hold his future. In spite of not one, but two MCL injuries, Pastorini was selected to play in the East-West Shrine game and the Senior Bowl. It was there that the NFL got a good look at the young quarterback, and in 1971 the Houston Oilers made him their first-round draft pick. In addition to serving as the team's signal-caller, Pastorini spent a number of years as the punter as well. "It was just something I did," he said. "In college I kicked off. Coming into the pros I was the best punter on the team, but then Bum Phillips came along and he didn't want to subject me to any further injury." The arrival of the now-legendary Phillips changed things in more ways than just that one. The team had struggled during Pastorini's first few years, but things went on an upswing almost immediately when Phillips took the helm in 1975. "He turned things around," Pastorini said, "and we went to the AFC championship games in 1978 and 1979. Unfortunately we lost to the Steelers in both games, but brought some respectability to the team." As far as his affiliation goes these days, now that the original Oilers have transformed into the Tennessee Titans, Pastorini still follows them, but admits it's not the same. "When the Oilers left, the Oilers died. We're the forgotten bunch," he said. "You talk Oilers to anyone 20 or younger and they say, 'Who?' But, what's amazing is the Internet. I'm getting more fan mail now than when I played. I guess we're sort of cult heroes now. I'm grateful and thankful. It's very flattering." In addition to a lot of the team movement, there have been some significant changes to the game itself since he retired following the 1983 season. "They protect the quarterbacks tremendously now," he commented. "We never could throw the ball away. Also, they put a lot of emphasis on the running quarterback now and I was never a scrambler. I was one of those guys who couldn't get out of his own way. Back when they drafted guys like (Jim) Plunkett, me and Archie Manning, they wanted the big, tall pocket-passers; Roman Gabriel types who could stay in the pocket and hum the ball. Now they seem to want quarterbacks who can move in the pocket and have the mobility to move around and escape some of the pressure." Although they took the Oilers out of Houston, they didn't take Pastorini completely out of football or the city. He still lives in the area and co-hosts a weekly show on KHOU-TV in Houston called "Quarterback", along with his former back-up, Gifford Nielsen, now the station's sports director. The program, which focuses on the Houston Texans, airs every Saturday evening during football season. Pastorini also has a full-time job working for DataWorks Plus, a digital photo system solution company for law enforcement. "We do digital photo management for crime scene photos, mug shots and figure print archiving," he explained. "Instead of storing photographs in 35mm and files, you can do it on the computer with a server and a network. It makes police agencies much more efficient. It's one of the leading companies in the business and I'm enjoying it." And, as if he didn't already have enough on his resume, Pastorini continues to pursue drag racing, something he got involved in as a teenager and started participating in seriously during his NFL playing days. "Racing is something that I've always liked, ever since I was a kid," he said. "I had a (Chevrolet) SS 396. I used to go up to the Freemont Drag Strip every Wednesday and Saturday." For six years Pastorini was a regular on the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) circuit finishing as high as seventh in points two years in a row. Eventually, his team lost their sponsorship, but he remains passionate about the sport and is looking to race again. "I've got a little '76 Porsche that I'm rebuilding that I'm going to mess around with and see where we are in about a year," he said. "I'd like to put a team together and go run one more time at Daytona 24-hour in Sebring and possibly, if we got the right amount of money, to go and race the GT 1 or 3 Class in Le Mans." Scrambling may not have been his forte on the field, but in his life after football, Pastorini is clearly not letting any grass grow under his feet. ____________________________________________________ I am on a roll
