Ron Essink was a wrestling and football standout at then Zeeland High School and Grand Valley State University before being the first GVSU football player to be drafted by an NFL team.
He was the starting left tackle for five of his seven seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before injuries forced his retirement.
The Zeeland native played tight end in football in high school and tried wrestling his senior year. He went undefeated that year and won the Class B state championship at heavyweight.
Then Grand Valley coach Jim Harkema offered him a football scholarship at the urging of then wrestling coach Jim Scott. He became a tackle as a sophomore and as a junior helped the Lakers to a 9-3 record, which at that point was the best in school history. It was also Grand Valley’s first playoff team (NAIA playoffs). As a senior he was an NCAA Division II and NAIA All-American selection.
He also earned All-American status from multiple sources in wrestling after compiling a 91-10 career record and claiming national titles in Division II and NAIA. He was allowed to compete in the NCAA Division I championships as a senior and placed seventh.
The Seahawks drafted him in the tenth round of the 1980 NFL Draft as the 265th pick overall. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound lanky tackle worked his way into the starting lineup during his rookie season for three games and took over at left tackle for the next five seasons.
During his rookie year he scored his only NFL touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Jim Zorn via a tackle-eligible play, and helped the Seahawks reach the 1982 AFC Championship game.
He would miss the 1986 season with elbow injuries and suffered a groin muscle pull on the second day of training camp in 1987. A few weeks later he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, but he never suited up for Dallas and announced his retirement citing six surgeries on his elbows in the previous two years. In all, he played 83 NFL games, started 70 of them and had two fumble recoveries and a touchdown.
He returned to Zeeland after his career, did some teaching and coaching and worked with the Zeeland Street Department. He is a member of the Grand Valley State University Athletics Hall of Fame.