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Football News / Obituaries 2025 NOTE: The intent of the News Section is not to dwell on negative stories that are more suited to be found in the Police and Crime Section of your local newspaper, but to report and document stories that cover the entire realm of The World of Football. Chances are, you may not have seen some of these stories before.
News Archives
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February (Obituary) February 8, 2025 – Dick Jauron, a defensive back and a head coach in the NFL, dies at the age of 74. Jauron played college football at Yale and was selected in the fourth round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played for the Lions from 1973-1977 and finished his playing career with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1978-1980. He then went into coaching in the NFL. From 1985-1998, he was an assistant coach with the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars. He was the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 1999-2003 and then spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Lions. He was also the interim head coach of the Lions for the last five games of the 2005 season. Jauron was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2006-2009 and finished his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns in 2011 and 2012. (Obituary) February 6, 2025 – Virginia McCaskey, principal owner of the Chicago Bears, dies at the age of 102. Mrs. McCaskey was the daughter of team founder and longtime head coach, George Halas. She took over ownership of the Bears after her father died in 1983. McCaskey was a toddler when she accompanied her father and the Bears during the Red Grange barnstorming tour in 1925-26. Grange would carry her in front of him through train stations on the tour so that fans wouldn't recognize him and mob him for autographs. In 1932, she attended the NFL's first indoor game, watching the Bears capture the league championship by blanking the Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 at Chicago Stadium. She attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she studied business management and met her future husband, Ed McCaskey, who was a student at the University of Pennsylvania. The two were married on Feb. 2, 1943, her father's 48th birthday. They were married for 60 years and raised 11 children. Ed passed away April 8, 2003, at the age of 83. In 1985, the Bears won Super Bowl XX defeating the New England Patriots 46-10. Mrs. McCaskey attended her final Bears game, on her 102nd birthday, January 5. It was a victory over the rival Green Bay Packers in Green Bay. (Obituary) February 5, 2025 – Ernest Kellermann, a defensive back in the NFL for eight seasons, dies at the age of 81. Kellerman played college football at Miami (OH) and was selected in the 12th round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. However, he was cut by the Cowboys and signed with the Cleveland Browns where he played for six seasons, from 1965-1971. He finished his playing career with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1972 and the Buffalo Bills in 1973. (Obituary) February 5, 2025 – Howard Twilley, Jr., a wide receiver in the NFL for 11 seasons, dies at the age of 81. Twilley played college football at Tulsa and was selected in the 14th round of the 1966 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He was also selected in the 12th round of the 1966 American Football League Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He signed with the Dolphins and played his entire career in Miami from 1966-1976. He won Super Bowls VII and VIII with the Dolphins and was a part of the team’s perfect season in 1972. Twilley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. January (Obituary) January 2, 2025 – Morris Bradshaw Jr., a wide receiver in the NFL for nine seasons, dies at the age of 72. Bradshaw played college football at Ohio State and was selected in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He played for the Raiders from 1974-1981 and finished his playing career with the New England Patriots in 1982. He won two Super Bowls with the Raiders in 1976 and 1980. He went on to work for the Raiders in the front office for nearly thirty years. (Obituary) January 7, 2025 – Cleveland “Chick” Harris, a longtime assistant coach in college and the NFL, dies at the age of 79. Harris played wide receiver in college at Northern Arizona and began his college coaching career at Colorado State, Long Beach State and Washington from 1970-1980. He then moved on to the NFL where he was an assistant with the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans from 1981-2013. (Obituary) January 8, 2025 - Paul Vellano, a defensive tackle in the World Football League for two seasons, dies at the age of 72. Vellano played college football at Maryland and was selected in the 14th round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. However, he signed with the WFL Florida Blazers and played one season with the team in 1974. The Blazers lost to the Birmingham Americans 22-21 in the 1974 World Bowl championship game. He was playing for the WFL San Antonio Wings in 1975 when the league folded due to financial issues. (Obituary) January 10, 2025 –Bill McCartney, a college football head coach for 13 seasons, dies at the age of 84. McCartney began his college coaching career as an assistant coach at Michigan for eight and a half years under Hall of Fame Coach Bo Schembechler before becoming the head coach at Colorado in 1982. He led the team from 1982-1994 and won a national championship in 1990. He posted a record of 93-55-5 and took the team to nine bowl games. McCartney was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. (Obituary) January 17, 2025 – Don McCall, a running back in the NFL and the World Football League, dies at the age of 80, McCall played college football at USC and was selected in the fifth round of the 1967 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played for the Saints in 1967 and 1968, then played one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 before returning to the Saints for one final season in 1970. McCall finished his playing career in the WFL with the Southern California Sun in 1974 and the San Antonio Wings in 1975. (Obituary) January 18, 2025 – Herschel Turner, an offensive lineman in the NFL for x seasons, dies at the age of 82. Turner played college football at Kentucky and was selected in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was also selected in the ninth round of the 1964 American Football League Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He signed with the Cardinals and played two seasons with the team in 1964 and 1965. His playing career was cut short due to a knee injury. (Obituary) January 18, 2025 – Jerry Mazzanti, a defensive end in the NFL for three seasons, dies at the age of 84. Mazzanti played college football at Arkansas and was selected in the 16th round of the 1962 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was also selected in the 25th round of the 1963 American Football League Draft by the San Diego Chargers. He signed with the Eagles and played for the team for one season in 1963. He also played for the Detroit Lions in 1966 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1967. After football he became a lawyer and received an appointed as a circuit judge for Arkansas's 10th Judicial District by then-Governor Bill Clinton, a position he held for two decades until his retirement. (Obituary) January 20, 2025 – Tommy Brasher, an assistant football coach in college and in the NFL, dies at the age of 84. Brasher was an offensive lineman and linebacker in college at Arkansas and went on to be an assistant coach at Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe) and SMU between 1970 and 1981. He also spent a season as defensive coordinator for the Shreveport Steamers of the World Football League in 1975. He spent another 27 seasons, between 1982 and 2015, as an assistant coach in the NFL with the New England Patriots (1982-1984), Philadelphia Eagles (1985; 1999-2005; 2012), Atlanta Falcons (1986-89), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1990), Seattle Seahawks (1992-1998) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013-2015). In 2015, he was the NFL's oldest assistant coach at the age of 75. He also spent two more seasons with the Chiefs working Special Projects. Brasher was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. (Obituary) January 22, 2025 – Calvin Jones, a running back in the NFL for three seasons, dies at the age of 54. Jones played college football at Nebraska and was selected in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Raiders. He played two seasons for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders in 1994-1995 and finished his playing career with the Green Bay Packers in 1996, winning Super Bowl XXXI with the Packers. After that, He played for an indoor football team called the Omaha Beef. Jones was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. (Obituary) January 26, 2025 – William 'Bill' Gaspard de Coligny, who played tackle for one season in the Canadian Football League, dies at the age of 87. De Coligny played college football at Trinity College in Massachusetts and spent one season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1960. (Obituary) January 28, 2025 – Bruce Gossett, a kicker in the NFL for 11 seasons, dies at the age of 78. Gossett played college football at the University of Richmond and signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Rams in 1964. He played for the team through 1969 then signed with the San Francisco 49ers where he played from 1970-1974. (Obituary) January 29, 2025 – Gene Schroeder, a wide receiver and safety in the NFL for six seasons, dies at the age of 95. Schroeder played college football at Virginia and was the 12th overall pick in the 1951 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played his entire career with the Bears. He played for the team in 1951 and 1952, then spent time in the Navy before returning to the team in 1954. His finished his playing career with the Bears in 1957. (Obituary) January 29, 2025 - John Huard, a linebacker in the NFL, the American Football League and the Canadian Football League, dies at the age of 80. Huard played college football at Maine and was selected in the fifth round of the 1967 NFL Draft by the AFL Denver Broncos. He played for the Broncos from 1967-1969 and the NFL New Orleans Saints in 1971. Huard finished his playing career in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes from 1972-1973. Huard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014. He was the first played ever inducted to the HOF from the University of Maine. |