Mark Rypien

Lore & Background

Born in Calgary, Alberta, on October 2, 1962, Rypien's family moved to the United States when he was three, settling in Spokane, Washington. He was a star three-sport athlete at Shadle Park High School. All three of his varsity numbers (football, basketball, and baseball) were later retired by the school. He earned Parade All-American honors as a high school senior and received scholarship offers from across the country before accepting a football scholarship to Washington State University in Pullman, and joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. A knee injury in spring drills in 1982 redshirted him for that season and he nearly left football and WSU in November 1983 but stayed and earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in 1984 and first-team All-Pac-10 in 1985, leading WSU's fabled RPM offense. He was inducted into WSU's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. He played in the 1986 Senior Bowl.

Reader's Guide

Rypien was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round (146th overall) of the 1986 NFL draft. He spent his first two years as a professional on the injured reserved list, first with a bad knee in 1986, then a bad back in 1987. He watched from the sidelines as the Redskins won Super Bowl XXII under coach Joe Gibbs in January 1988 behind the quarterbacking of veteran Doug Williams. Rypien became the second stringer after Jay Schroeder, who lost his job to Williams late in the 1987 season, was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders. In Week 4 against the newly relocated Phoenix Cardinals, Rypien got his first chance to start for an injured Williams and threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns in a 30–21 loss. In six starts, he went 3–3 and he appeared in nine games overall, including a four-touchdown game in a rematch against the Cardinals. He threw for 1,730 yards in those games and finished with three more touchdowns than Williams had, by a count of 18–15. Rypien was named the starter for 1989 ahead of the injured and aging Williams. Rypien emerged as a star quarterback as he threw for 3,768 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading the Redskins to a 10–6 record. The team missed the playoffs but Rypien received a bid as an injury replacement for Joe Montana and Don Majkowski in that year's Pro Bowl (NFC coach John Robinson elected to bring only one injury replacement for his intended starter and #2 quarterback). Rypien was best known for his phenomenal accuracy as a deep passer. He made the Pro Bowl in his first full season as a starter, doing so as an injury replacement. The 1991 season was Rypien's best: he threw for 3,564 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, leading the Redskins to Super Bowl XXVI after recording a 14–2 regular season record. He was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the game, passing for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns and leading his team to a 37–24 win over the Buffalo Bills. Rypien, a native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, became the first foreign-born player to earn the honor. Rypien was named to the Pro Bowl in both 1989 and 1991. Rypien was one of several players to benefit from the team's success following their championship season. The Redskins signed him to a 3-year, $9 million deal entering the 1992 season. However, the team battled age and injuries and finished the regular season with a 9–7 record, barely making the playoffs.

Did You Know?

• Rypien was named Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXVI, but he was not the first foreign-born player to earn the honor; Franco Harris (born in Germany) was Super Bowl IX MVP.
• His cousins include NHL players Rick Rypien and Shane Churla.
• Rypien won the inaugural American Century Championship in 1990 and won his second crown 24 years later in 2014.