He quickly emerged as a starter in his rookie season and became renowned during his Giants career for his blocking, toughness, and receiving skills.
[5] He played behind star tight end Tony Hunter as a freshman, then missed all but three minutes of his sophomore season due to a hand injury.
[5] He established himself as a starter as a junior, but grew home-sick and briefly contemplated quitting the team to move back home following the season.
[9] He earned the nickname "Rambo" early in his rookie season due to his intense playing style, quiet personality, and physical resemblance to Sylvester Stallone.
[11] He also set a team record with 12 receptions in one game during quarterback Phil Simms' 513 yard passing effort against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 13, 1985.
[12] After the game, which the Giants lost 35–30, Bavaro responded in the low-key manner that would typify his career, "[i]t was nothing special, the plays were the same stuff.
Here is a description of the play taken from a Monday Night Football broadcast in 2005: "On Dec. 1 1986, New York Giants tight end Mark Bavaro cements his reputation as one of the toughest men in the NFL.
It takes nearly seven 49ers defenders to finally drag him down, some of which are carried for almost 20 yards, including future Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott.
Bavaro's inspiring play jump starts the Giants, who win the game and eventually the Super Bowl.
"[16] This reputation as a tough player was further cemented later in the season when he played for six weeks with a broken jaw that forced him to sip food through a straw.
[17] He continued to establish his reputation as an excellent blocker during the season,[13] and was described as "the premier tight end" in the league by 49ers' coach Bill Walsh before the team's playoff matchup.
During the game Bavaro made two key third down receptions to keep scoring drives alive as the Giants won 20–19.
[22] He spent the season as a tight end coach at Saint Dominic Savio High School in East Boston, Massachusetts.
[3] After his playing career, Bavaro worked as a sales trader for an equity block-trading firm, where he traded large blocks of stocks for institutions and hedge funds.
[3] He pursued a career in this field at the suggestion of his former Giants teammate Phil McConkey, who worked for the same company as Bavaro.
During the 1986 season, when he emerged as a Pro Bowler, The New York Times columnist Frank Litsky described him by saying, "[h]e is a man of few words, even with teammates.
[29] He also befriended and followed the career of Denver Broncos tight end Daniel Graham who idolized Bavaro as a child.
[31] In 2008, Bavaro published his first novel, Rough & Tumble (ISBN 978-0-312-37574-4), a novel describing the fictional life of Dominic Fucillo in the NFL and the trials and tribulations he faced while playing football.