How Bart Oates Went From USFL Afterthought to the Final Piece of the Giants' Championship Puzzle

Free agent center Bart Oates became one of the key acquisitions for the Super Bowl XXI champions.

Jan 22, 1991; Tampa, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants center Bart Oates (65) addresses the press during media day for Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium. The New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills 19-20. | Darr Beiser-Imagn Images

It would be impossible to argue against center Bart Oates being one of the most important free agent signings in New York Giants history.

The franchise was on the right track. Head coach Bill Parcells not only turned around a three-win team in his second season, they reached the second round of the 1984 playoffs.

A month later, starting center Kevin Belcher, a converted guard, was severely injured in a car accident that likely was going to derail his promising career, leaving general manager George Young to go shopping for a solid solution.

Young used a third-round choice on North Carolina center Brian Johnston, and the Giants were converting guard Conrad Goode to center.

But the team was also pursuing Oates, the starting center for the two-time champion Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League (USFL), which was on shaky ground amid litigation against the NFL.

Oates navigated through his contractual obligations with the Stars and signed with the Giants during the preseason. He became a starter in time for the Giants’ Week 3 home game against the then-St. Louis Cardinals.

"He's very bright," Parcells told reporters after the deal. "He's a good pass blocker. If we can protect our quarterback, we have a chance to score. If not, we don't."

But even Parcells wasn't fully aware of the significance tied to the center's addition. Oates wound up being the final piece in the puzzle for a championship offensive line that became known as the "Suburbanites."

The coach, enamored with the group's modest, lunch-pain work ethic, gave the room and each of its starting members a nickname during the 1985 season. His affection for the blue-collar unit didn't gain much publicity until the club's road to Super Bowl XXI.

Oates was known as “Books” because he had completed a semester of law school at Brigham Young. He later went on to graduate magna cum laude with a Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall Law School in 1990.

Before he was through, Oates spent nine years at the Giants' starting center, earning three Pro Bowl selections and Super Bowl titles in 1986 and 1990.

He finished his career with two Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl trophy for San Francisco from 1994-95, giving him a combined five Pro Football Championship rings.

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