Dan Bunz

Biography

Born October 7, 1955, in Roseville, California, Dan Bunz attended Oakmont High School before playing college football at the University of California, Riverside, and California State University, Long Beach, where he earned first-team All-Coast honors in 1977. The San Francisco 49ers selected Bunz in the first round with the twenty-fourth overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft. The linebacker was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in his debut season, immediately establishing himself as a key defensive contributor. Bunz played seven seasons with the 49ers from 1978 to 1984 before finishing his career with the Detroit Lions in 1985, retiring at age thirty after a contract dispute. Strengths included exceptional speed for a linebacker at six feet four inches and 226 pounds, superior tackling technique emphasizing leverage and body control, outstanding pursuit angles, and the football intelligence to diagnose plays quickly. His versatility allowed him to excel at multiple linebacker positions including middle linebacker and both inside and outside linebacker roles. Bunz's defining moment came in Super Bowl XVI on January 24, 1982, when he made one of the most famous tackles in NFL history. On a critical third-and-goal from the one-yard line against the Cincinnati Bengals, quarterback Ken Anderson threw to running back Charles Alexander in the right flat. Bunz came up fast, grabbed Alexander around the waist, and hurled him backward before he could break the plane of the goal line. Had Bunz tackled Alexander low, his momentum would have carried him into the end zone. Known simply as "The Stop," the play was followed by another defensive stand on fourth down, preserving San Francisco's lead and propelling the 49ers to their first Super Bowl championship with a 26-21 victory. During the 1979 season, Bunz recovered five fumbles, ranking sixth in the NFL and demonstrating his knack for creating turnovers. In 1980, he forced four fumbles, tied for sixth in the league. Bunz accumulated eighty-eight career games with sixty-two starts, recording 6.0 sacks, four interceptions, fourteen fumble recoveries, and ten forced fumbles. He won two Super Bowl championships with the 49ers. After retiring, Bunz taught physical education at Sutter Middle School (renamed Miwok Middle School in 2023) in Sacramento for over twenty-five years. He and his wife operate a lavender farm on the Placer County Wine Trail.