When Max Unger hung up the No. 60 jersey after the NFC Championship game and announced his retirement from the New Orleans Saints over the weekend, it marked more than just the conclusion to a celebrated career.
It is also likely signalled the end of a remarkable 37-year streak in which at least one graduate of a Hawaii high school has regularly crouched down at center each season in the NFL.
Unger’s 10-year career looks to be the last link in a formidable, unbroken chain dating to the early 1980s with Kani Kauahi (Kamehameha) and Jesse Sapolu (Farrington). It carried on with Bern Brostek (‘Iolani) and Olin Kreutz (Saint Louis) in the 1990s through Dominic Raiola (Saint Louis), Samson Satele (Kailua) and Unger (Hawaii Prep) in the 2000s.
All of them played eight seasons or more, and among them they established a long-running excellence and tenacity, playing more than 1,000 games in the NFL, starting more than 800 at center, amassing 11 Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections, and compiling five Super Bowl victories.
Unger, a 6-foot, 5-inch, 305-pounder from the slopes of Mauna Loa ranch lands on Hawaii Island, was a fitting guardian of the legacy and perpetuated the long-haul consistency of performance and resilience that has distinguished the group. An All-Pro in 2012 and two-time Pro Bowl selection, Unger started 130 career games over 10 seasons for the Seahawks and Saints.
But the ironman existence in the trenches — he missed just one game in five seasons for New Orleans — eventually took its toll, and it was recommended that he have what Unger termed as lower body surgery this offseason. “That would take pretty much all of the offseason, and going into Year 11, I couldn’t do that,” Unger said on a media conference call Monday. “I’ve known about this for a little while, it’s just kind of been a maintenance issue. But at the end of the day, I’ve done a surgery (a foot in 2017) which took me out for the whole offseason. It didn’t go very well — not the surgery, just my play. To do that going into Year 11, I didn’t think was going to work out.”
Unger, who turns 33 next month, said, “Just looking back, I’m getting older. There’s no way for me to replicate the play of mine five years ago, or a couple of years ago, and that’s just the reality of life. And that’s a tough pill to swallow, too. But that factors in. Was I playing badly? No. Was I playing up to my standard? I don’t think so, either. So that was a factor.”
Unger’s standards were lofty as a captain and offensive line foundation for the Saints. In New Orleans he started 63 regular-season and four playoff games. He was only penalized four times as a Saint and wasn’t whistled for any infractions in 2017, the team said. In his four seasons he gave up an average of one sack per year.
Telling teammates, especially quarterback Drew Brees, whom he started 61 games with, that he was retiring was difficult, Unger acknowledged. “That was obviously a hard call.”
Harder still, perhaps, is the task of succeeding generations eventually picking up for an equally long haul where Unger and those who preceded him have left off.
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
Line of NFL centers from Hawaii high schools
PLAYER / YEARS / HIGH SCHOOL / COLLEGE(S) / NFL
Kani Kauahi 1982-93 Kamehameha Arizona State/ Seahawks, Packers, Hawaii Cardinals, Chiefs
Jesse Sapolu 1983-97* Farrington Hawaii 49ers
Bern Brostek 1990-97* ‘Iolani Washington Rams
Olin Kreutz 1998-11 Saint Louis Washington Bears, Saints
Dominic Raiola 2001-14 Saint Louis Nebraska Lions
Samson Satele 2007-14 Kailua Hawaii Dolphins, Raiders, Colts
Max Unger 2009-18 Hawaii Prep Oregon Seahawks, Saints
* Also played some at guard.
Source: Pro-Football-Reference
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
