Where Are They Now: Former Chicago Bear Dan Peiffer

Similar to the Coach’s Corners I had in the fall, this interview with Dan will be in question and answer format.

Jared Larson: Very simply, where are you now, life wise?

Dan Peiffer: I live down in southeast Missouri, close to Cape Girardeau–actually, closer to Jackson, Missouri. I’ve been retired for about five years. I worked at Lone Star, which is a cement plant, for 30 years and finally retired.

Larson: Tell me about the cement business?

Peiffer: It was hard work. It was a job. I played in a time when you didn’t get rich and set yourself up for life just by playing football. So, like everybody else of my time, I had to work. Overall, it was a good job, as it was considered one of the better paying jobs for this area. I was there for 30 years, so it couldn’t’ve been too bad!

Larson: Have you been back to the Sigourney/Keota area recently?

Peiffer: I don’t make it back very often because both of my parents have passed away, but I was up last August (2019) for a 50th high school reunion. I tell you what, I enjoyed that more than I thought I ever would. 

Larson: Could you tell me about your experience at Keota, and did that set you foundation for wanting to continue your career at Southeast Missouri?

Peiffer: First of all, I spent nine years of school at Harper at the Catholic school (St. Elizabeth, they were known as the Comets). It closed after my freshman year, that’s when all of us transferred to Keota. Keota gave me my first ever exposure to sports. I didn’t know anything about sports so I signed up for them. I went to Ellsworth Junior College after graduating from Keota. Some scouts came out during my junior year at SEMO and that was the first time I ever thought about pro football. I thought “man, it would be bragging rights just to get drafted.”

So my senior year, that was my goal, to get drafted. I got drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14th Round–they went to 17 rounds back in those days. I got cut during training camp on Friday, the Friday before the season opener on Sunday. If I remember right, the season opener was on Sept. 9 and I was cut on Sept. 7.

After I got cut I went “damn, I think I can actually play in this league.”

Larson: I saw you played in the World Football League, what do you have to say about that experience?

Peiffer: Yep, that’s where I went next. Drafted in ‘73, went to the WFL in ‘74 for their first season. Joe Sullivan, the general manager over at St. Louis hooked me up with Jack Pardee in the World Football League because they had a history together at the Washington then-Redskins 

I played for Pardee for a year with the understanding that in 1975 I would go back to St. Louis. He instead got a job with the Bears so I followed him to Chicago instead. I thought “Why would I want to go back to the team that cut me once, when a guy I’ve played 23 games for is going to Chicago?”

That’s how I ended up in Chicago.

Larson: You joined the Chicago Bears the same year Walter Payton was drafted, do you have any memories of Sweetness?

Peiffer: One of my highlights, if someone were to ask me “What was one of your highlights of playing?” one of those highlights would be being a starting offensive lineman for Walter. I tell people, “You know how great of a football player Walter was?” I say “He was a better person than he was a football player.” He was just a genuine good person. He was also a helluva ball player and he worked hard. He set a work ethic for everybody.

Larson: So, SEMO inducted you into their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 and then your son carried on the Redhawk legacy from 2008-2012. Tell me what it means to you to have a legacy like that?

Peiffer: I’m pretty proud of him (Blake). My daughter (Amanda) also excelled in sports, so it’s funny to see how people go from “you’re Dan Peiffer!” to “you’re Blake’s dad” or “you’re Amanda’s dad.”

Larson: What was it like playing for in the nation’s capitol for the then-Redskins in 1980 and 1981?

Peiffer: We weren’t really downtown Washington except for playing the games and I didn’t get down there much but it was an exciting time, a good experience. The difference between Chicago and D.C., I never felt like I identified with the team. I started several games for them that first year (1980). I was a Chicago Bear. Washington felt different, despite playing and starting games for them.

Larson: Do you have any other memories you’d like to share?

Peiffer: One of the big memories I had came from my first season in Chicago. George Halas called me into his office, it was just a one-on-one talk, just a bullsh*t session. We talked about the past season, he congratulated me on the year I had and we talked about everything from when the league was formed to the day he retired as a coach up until the day we were talking. I never forgot that day, I was so impressed by having him call me into his office. I couldn’t believe he even knew my name!

Big thanks to Dan for talking to me, I hope you all enjoyed catching up with him as much as I did learning about him!