RIP Dave Jennings

[faba]

Dave Jennings, perhaps the New York Giants best punter ever, died on Wednesday morning after a long bout with Parkinson's disease.

 

Jennings, who turned 61 on June 8, had suffered from Parkinson's since 1996.

 

 

 

 

 

"Dave Jennings was one of the all-time great Giants," said Giants co-owner and team president John Mara in a team release. "He was a valued member of the Giants family for more than 30 years as a player and a broadcaster, and we were thrilled to include him in our Ring of Honor. More importantly, he was an outstanding person who battled his illness with rare courage and dignity. We will miss him dearly."

 

Jennings also played for the New York Jets. He was a four-time Pro Bowler with the Giants from 1974-84 and owns the franchise records for punts (931) and yards (38,792). Jennings punted for 4,000 yards or more in a season from 1979-81 and recorded a career-best 44.8-yard average in 1980.

 

"The Giants were not very good when Dave and I were teammates in the 1970s," linebacker Harry Carson said in a statement. "Dave was one of the few bright lights on those teams as a punter."

 

"Dave was very serious about conditioning," Carson later added. "He was the punter, but he was in great shape. He was a fantastic athlete."

 

"Dave could have participated in different sports, but he had punting down to a science," Carson continued. "He could position the ball where he wanted it to go. He had a terrific sense of placement. He took his job very seriously and he made it his own little science to punt the ball where it needed to be."

 

Jennings punted for the Jets from 1985-87 and was a radio commentator for the team from 1988-2001. Jennings joined the Giants' radio booth in 2002.

 

"Dave was always a guy that I admired from afar, and when we had an opportunity to add him to the Giants' broadcast team –- when John Mara brought him back to the Giants family -– it was a treat to work with Dave," said Giants play-by-play man Bob Papa. "He was meticulous in his preparation and Dave was a leader in rules interpretations. Dave knew all the rules. Whenever something came up, you could always turn to Dave and you knew he would get the rule correct and that was going to serve the audience best."

 

Jennings, who born on June 8, 1952 in New York City, was inducted into the Giants' second Ring of Honor class in 2011.

 

"Dave is and always will be a Giants' Giant," said co-owner Steve Tisch. "He lived his life with class and dignity, and he was the ultimate professional as a player and commentator."

[Green DNA]

Wow, that's a shame, I had no idea he was sick.  RIP.

[faba]

Great punter and broadcaster - sorry to hear this.

[Bugg]

Rest in peace. He was very sick for a long time.

[Klecko73isGod]

Dave was a brutally underrated color commentator. Always felt that if were anything but a punter he would have been one of the network's number one guys. Always had strong opinions and was anything but a homer. 

 

RIP Dave, you're already missed. 

[Gastineau Lives]

That's sad. He seemed like such a genuinely nice person.

[kelticwizard]

Shocked.

 

61 isn't old, and 61 is ridiculously young to even have Parkinsons, let alone die from it.

A good punter and a great broadcaster, he will be missed.  I can still remember his first season when he broke in with Marty Glickman.  They got along fine, but  in the middle of the season Jennings had to hesitate to look up somebody's number.

"You should have these memorized by now" Glickman said openly on-mike.

 

A little embarrassing, but Jennings took Marty's advice and went on to become a great broadcaster in his own right.

[Borgoguy]

RIP.

 

 

[Matt39]

Dave was a brutally underrated color commentator. Always felt that if were anything but a punter he would have been one of the network's number one guys. Always had strong opinions and was anything but a homer. 

 

RIP Dave, you're already missed. 

 

he killed the Jets. Him and Howard David.

 

Great color guy though...Wischusen meh...

 

For how bad the Jets were in the 90's they had a great broadcast team...sorta similar to the Mets now.

[JoeKlecko]

RIP  Very sad.

[Maxman]

I didn't know he was sick, but that makes sense why he wasn't around the Jets scene anymore.  I met him once during a charity high school basketball game at my high school.  It was a few years after I graduated.  I went up to him and talked Jets with him for awhile.  I asked him about Mark Gastineau and I still remember his answer.  He basically said Mark is so fast but he forgets how strong he is.  And he relies on his speed more than he should.

 

Rest in peace Dave.

[JohnJ]

R.I.P. Dave. Sad news for sure