He played college football for the Yale Bulldogs and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the tenth round of the 1976 NFL draft.
John Madden once said in a broadcast that "Gary Fencik played football at Yale; that is like saying clean dirt".
In his senior season, Fencik caught 42 passes and led the Ivy League with 729 receiving yards.
His picture also appeared on the reverse side of a Playboy centerfold, showing him and the December 1982 Playmate Charlotte Kemp, shopping at the Old Town Art Fair.
During Fencik's final NFL season, he was widely speculated as a potential candidate in the then-upcoming 1987 Chicago mayoral election.
"[7] In a 2022 radio interview, Fencik said while he believes he would be able to impact positive change if he were to become mayor of Chicago, he currently held no intention of seeking that office.