by JESSE SHERER
The only Long Islander in this year's ceremony, Fiedler joined fellow inductees Shawn Green, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder, and Shirley Povich, who covered sports for the Washington Post from 1923 to 1973, among others.
Fiedler is no stranger to the hall, having had a long relationship with the Suffolk Y and the hall's director, Alan Freedman. Fiedler represented the Y at the 1988 Maccabi Games in Chicago, helping the basketball team win a bronze medal. He was honored in 1994 with the Outstanding Jewish Scholastic Athlete of the Year Award while he attend Dartmouth, and was also the recipient of the Good Guy Award in 2000.
"We are thrilled," said Freedman. "We consider him to be one of the family. We are thrilled that he is a local person and now a member of a local team."
When reached for comment, Fiedler's father, Ken, asked, "What kind of Jewish mother would let her son play football?" But elated by his son's induction, he added, "We are so happy for him to get this honor."
When Fiedler, 33, attended Oceanside High School, he shined in three sports, lettering in track and earning All-County honors in both football and basketball.
After spending five years as the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, Fielder signed a five-year contract with the Jets on March 11 that included a $1.3 million guarantee and a $500,000 signing bonus.
According to Freedman, the NFL leads professional sports leagues with the highest number of Jewish athletes - it has nine. Fiedler joins NFL Hall of Fame members Sid Luckman and Marv Levy in the Jewish hall, which was founded in 1993 to honor Jewish athletes from Long Island. It has since become a national hall of fame, including athletes from all over the U.S.
The hall also acts as a museum and educational center. Those who have been inducted include baseball greats Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg as well as basketball coach Red Auerbach. "We are trying to show that there are no sports that Jewish men or women cannot be a part of," said Freedman. "There is no reason why someone should think religion should hinder their participation. We are hoping this will break down barriers and hope people will take notice."
Fiedler's parents and brother, Scott, are fixtures at games, traveling to Buffalo, Dallas, Miami, and Jacksonville to watch him play. One of his father's favorite memories is the story behind a Sports Illustrated cover photo of Fiedler that shows him raising his hands toward the stands after a last-minute victory. "He was playing against Oakland after 9/11," Ken recalled. "With about two seconds left he scores the winning touchdown and beat the Raiders. I always said to him, 'When someone scores, they do something. I'm sitting over there, so give me something.' [In that photo] he was actually raising his hands towards us. He called a few days later and said, 'I'm on the cover.'"
Fiedler was the starting quarterback at Dartmouth from 1991 to 1993, compiling a 21-7-1 record and setting career passing records with 456 completions, 813 attempts, 6,684 yards and 58 touchdowns.
But it has been a long road to the Jets. He began his NFL career in 1994, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. Fiedler was the team's third-stringer, but he never played a down. He was released by the Eagles in 1996 and was picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals, but was released during their summer training camp. He played for the Amsterdam Admirals in the NFL's World League in the spring of 1997.
No NFL team took notice of Fiedler, however, and he became an assistant coach at Hofstra, mentoring quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi, who later signed with the San Francisco 49ers.
Fiedler was given another chance in the NFL with the help of Frank Luisi, an English teacher who was Fiedler's head coach at OHS. In 1998 Luisi sent a highlight video and a letter of recommendation to every NFL team. Luisi wrote that Fiedler was "the finest football player and quarterback and human being I have known or seen in 25 years of coaching."
Freedman used similar words to describe Fiedler, who is known for his heart, on and off the field. "He is a very nice guy," said Freedman. "It is thrilling to honor someone like this. It seems you cannot read a paper without hearing about athletes abusing spouses or using steroids. I know he is doing the right thing in the community."
Luisi's highlight video and recommendation of Fiedler caught the eye of Dennis Green, then the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Fiedler was brought in to replace injured quarterback Brad Johnson, and played in five regular-season games.
He signed as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999, and threw his first career touchdown against the Cleveland Browns when he replaced injured starter Mark Brunell. In 2000 Fiedler signed with the Dolphins, taking over for future hall-of-famer Dan Marino - whose last game happened to be a 67-7 playoff lost to the Jaguars in which Fiedler scored two touchdowns.
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
