Matt Birk
Encyclopedia
Matthew Robert Birk is an American football
center
for the Baltimore Ravens
of the National Football League
. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings
in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Harvard
.
Birk is a two-time All-Pro
and six-time Pro Bowl
selection.
in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was an excellent student-athlete, letterman and a standout in football
, basketball
, and track & field
. He was an All-St. Paul Conference honoree, an Academic All-State honoree, and an All-State honoree in both football and basketball. Matt Birk graduated from Cretin-Derham High School in 1994. He recorded a 3.8 GPA and scored a 34 on his ACT, enabling him to attend Harvard.
in 1998 with a degree in Economics
. While playing for the Harvard Crimson, he attained All-Ivy League
, All-New England and Division I-AA All-ECAC
first team football honors.
Birk was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings
in the 6th round (173rd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft
. During his first two seasons with the Vikings, he appeared in 22 games as a back-up offensive lineman. In 2000, he took over the starting center
position for the Vikings, starting all 16 games and was named to his first Pro Bowl
team. Birk started every game for the Vikings at center from 2000-2003.
In 2004, Birk missed the last 4 games of the season due to surgery to treat a sports hernia. He missed the entire 2005 season with a hip injury that required surgery.
Birk returned to form in 2006, again anchoring the Vikings offensive line from the center spot, and earning his fifth career Pro Bowl selection. In 2007, Birk was named Minnesota Vikings Man of the Year for the sixth year in a row. He also earned his sixth Pro Bowl selection, tying Mick Tinglehoff for most Pro Bowl appearances by a Vikings center.
on March 4. The deal included $6 million guaranteed.
Birk is a pro-life
activist. His wife volunteers at a crisis pregnancy center
and he participated in the Maryland March for Life in 2011.
Birk is a Roman Catholic and is currently expecting the arrival of his sixth child.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
for the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft
1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18-19, 1998...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Birk is a two-time All-Pro
All-Pro
All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
and six-time Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
selection.
Early years
Birk attended Cretin-Derham Hall High SchoolCretin-Derham Hall High School
Cretin-Derham Hall High School is a private, co-educational Catholic high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet...
in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was an excellent student-athlete, letterman and a standout in football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and track & field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. He was an All-St. Paul Conference honoree, an Academic All-State honoree, and an All-State honoree in both football and basketball. Matt Birk graduated from Cretin-Derham High School in 1994. He recorded a 3.8 GPA and scored a 34 on his ACT, enabling him to attend Harvard.
College career
Birk graduated from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1998 with a degree in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. While playing for the Harvard Crimson, he attained All-Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
, All-New England and Division I-AA All-ECAC
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
first team football honors.
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the 6th round (173rd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft
1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18-19, 1998...
. During his first two seasons with the Vikings, he appeared in 22 games as a back-up offensive lineman. In 2000, he took over the starting center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
position for the Vikings, starting all 16 games and was named to his first Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
team. Birk started every game for the Vikings at center from 2000-2003.
In 2004, Birk missed the last 4 games of the season due to surgery to treat a sports hernia. He missed the entire 2005 season with a hip injury that required surgery.
Birk returned to form in 2006, again anchoring the Vikings offensive line from the center spot, and earning his fifth career Pro Bowl selection. In 2007, Birk was named Minnesota Vikings Man of the Year for the sixth year in a row. He also earned his sixth Pro Bowl selection, tying Mick Tinglehoff for most Pro Bowl appearances by a Vikings center.
Baltimore Ravens
An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Birk signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Baltimore RavensBaltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
on March 4. The deal included $6 million guaranteed.
Personal
He was recently named the 6th smartest athlete by the Sporting News.Birk is a pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
activist. His wife volunteers at a crisis pregnancy center
Crisis pregnancy center
A crisis pregnancy center , sometimes called a pregnancy resource center , is a non-profit organization established to counsel pregnant women against having an abortion....
and he participated in the Maryland March for Life in 2011.
Birk is a Roman Catholic and is currently expecting the arrival of his sixth child.