Back to Articles Menu

Prominent Football Deaths in 2019

by Randy Snow

Original to www.theworldoffootball.com, Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Once again, we take a moment at the end of the year to honor those football players, coaches and others who passed away during the previous 12 months. This year’s list features 99 individuals and includes seven members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, eight members of the College Football Hall of Fame and three Heisman Trophy winners. May their contributions to The World of Football never be forgotten.

January (12)

January 2 - Jim Margraff, the winningest head coach ever at Division III Johns Hopkins University, dies at the age of 58. The cause of death was not immediately given, but he did undergo open-heart surgery in 2005. Margraff was a record setting quarterback when he played at the school. He graduated in 1985 and became the head coach in 1990. He was still coaching the team this past season, losing in the semi-final round of the playoffs. Margraff posted a record of 221-89-3 in his 29 seasons at the school. 

January 2 – George Welsh, a Hall of Fame coach in college football, dies at the age of 85. Welsh was a quarterback for Navy from 1953-1955. He then served in the Navy for eight years before getting into coaching. Welsh started out as an assistant coach at Penn State before becoming the head coach at Navy in 1973. He coached the Midshipmen for nine seasons, from 1973-1981. He then became the head coach at Virginia, where he coached from 1982-2000. His overall coaching record was 189-132-4 and be became the winningest head coach at both schools. Welsh was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

January 6 – Kwamie Lassiter, who was a safety in the NFL for 10 seasons, dies of a heart attack while working out. He was 49 years old. Lassiter played college football at Butler County Community College and at Kansas. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals and played for the Cardinals for eight seasons, from 1995-2002. He also played for the San Diego Chargers in 2003 and the St. Louis Rams in 2004.

January 8 – Roy Hilton, a defensive end in the NFL for 11 seasons, dies at the age of 75. Hilton played college football at Jackson State and was drafted in the 15th round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. He was also selected that same year in the eighth round of the American Football League Draft by the Houston Oilers. He signed with the Colts and played in Baltimore for nine seasons, from 1965-1973. He helped lead the Colts to a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V. Hilton finished his playing career with the New York Giants in 1974 and the Atlanta Falcons in 1975.

January 9 – Rick Forzano, a former head coach in college and in the NFL, dies at the age of 90. Forzano began his coaching career in college at Wooster College in Ohio in 1956. He was also an assistant coach at Kent State in 1957 and 1958 and at Navy from 1959-1963. He was also a head coach at Connecticut in 1964 and 1965 and Navy from 1969-1972. In the NFL, he spent time as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals before becoming the Detroit Lions head coach in 1974. He coached in Detroit in 1974 and 1975 before being fired four games into the 1976 season. While in Detroit he hired a young unknown coach named Bill Belichick, who would go on to lead the New England Patriots to five Super Bowl wins. (so far)  

January 10 – Arnold Tucker, who won two national championships in college, dies at the age of 95. Tucker played quarterback for Army share the backfield with Heisman Trophy winners “Doc” Blanchard and Glenn Davis. The Heisman duo was known as Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. Tucker was known as Mr. Topside and won back-to-back Associated Press national championships, leading West Point to a 27-0-1 record. Tucker never played pro football. He spent time as an assistant coach at West Point along with Vince Lombardi. He served 31 years in the military, retiring in 1974. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Tucker is also a member of the United States Military Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and the Miami High School Hall of Fame.  

January 10 – John Michels, who played and coached in the CFL and the NFL, dies at the age of 87. Michels played college football at Tennessee and was selected in the 25th round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He played guard for one season with the Eagles in 1953 before serving in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956. Michels then played one season in the CFL for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1957 where he played for head coach Bud Grant. Michels then joined the Blue Bombers coaching staff and when Bud Grant was hired by the NFL Minnesota Vikings in 1967, Michels joined the Vikings coaching staff as well. He coached offensive line and running backs in Minnesota for 27 seasons, from 1967-1993. Michels was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He is also a member of the All-Time Cotton Bowl Team.    

January 12 - Bob Kuechenberg, who played guard in the NFL for 14 seasons, dies at the age of 71. Kuechenberg played college football at Notre Dame and was selected in the fourth round of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. However, he did not want to sign with the Eagles so he played the 1969 season for the Chicago Owls of the Continental Football League. He then signed with the Miami Dolphins in 1970 and played for the team through 1983. Kuechenberg won back-to-back Super Bowls and was a member of the 1972 undefeated Dolphins team. He was known as one of the toughest players in the NFL, playing at different times with a broken back, broken ankle and a fractured forearm. He was named to the Dolphins Honor Roll in 1995.

January 17 – Joe O’Donnell, a lineman in the American Football League and the World Football League, dies at the age of 77. O’Donnell played college football at the University of Michigan and was selected in the third round of the 1964 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was also selected in the 13th round of the 1964 American Football League Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He signed with the Bills and played in Buffalo from 1964-1971, winning back-to-back AFL titles in 1964 and 1965. He missed the 1968 season due to a knee injury. The Bills traded O’Donnell to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972, but he decided to retire rather that join the Cardinals. O’Donnell came out of retirement in 1974 to play in the World Football League for the Birmingham Americans. He won the only WFL title game ever played with the Americans. O’Donnell then returned to his home town of Milan, Michigan where he was a long-time assistant high school football coach. The football field at Milan High School was named after him in 2009.    

January 18 – Dan Orlich, the last surviving player from the Curley Lambeau coaching era, dies at the age of 94. Orlich played college football at Northwestern, Penn State and at the University of Nevada-Reno. Orlich played defensive end as well as offensive end. He was selected in the eighth round of the 1949 NFL Draft by Lambeau and the Green Bay Packers. He played three seasons in Green Bay, 1949-1951, but only one season under Lambeau as Gene Ronzani took over as the Packers head coach in 1950. After his short NFL career was over, he returned to Reno and went to work in the casino industry. He also took up trapshooting as a sport. Orlich won 13 major championships and was inducted into the National Trapshooting Hall of Fame in 1979.

January 21 – Tony Flynn, a radio play-by-play announcer who broadcast NFL and college football games, dies at the age of 92. Flynn was on the broadcast team of the Green Bay Packers from 1951-1957. In 1961, he went to work for his brother, who owned a radio station in Hillsdale, Michigan. Flynn eventually bought the radio station himself. He did play-by-play on radio broadcasts of Hillsdale College football games for 38 years, from 1961-1998. He was inducted into the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

January 26 – Duane Benson, a linebacker in the NFL for 10 seasons, dies at the age of 73. Benson played college football at Hamline College and was selected in the 11th round of the 1967 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He played for Oakland from 1967-1971 and was on the Raiders team that lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. He went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons from 1972-1973 and the Houston Oilers from 1974-1976. After his playing career was over, Benson went on to serve in the Minnesota Senate from 1980-1994 and spent time as the Senate Minority Leader. More recently, he was also a member of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which oversaw construction of the Minnesota Viking new home, U.S. Bank Stadium, which was completed in 2016.    

February (2)

February 1 – Wade Wilson, who played and coached in the NFL, dies at the age of 60. Wilson played college football at Division II Texas A&M–Commerce and was selected in the eighth round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He played quarterback for the Vikings for 10 seasons, in 1981 and from 1983-1991. He also played for the Atlanta Falcons in 1992, the New Orleans Saints in 1993 and 1994, the Dallas Cowboys from 1995-1997 and the Oakland Raiders in 1998, for a total of 17 seasons in the NFL. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Cowboys as the backup quarterback to Troy Aikman in Super Bowl XXX. When his playing career was over, Wilson went into coaching. He was the quarterback’s coach for the Cowboys from 1999-2001 and for the Chicago Bears from 2002-2004. He then returned to the Cowboys as quarterback’s coach from 2005-2015.  

February 10 – Mason “Red” Cashion, an NFL official for 25 years, dies at the age of 87. Cashion began his NFL officiating career in 1972 as a line judge. He was promoted to referee in 1976 and was the referee in Super Bowl XX and Super Bowl XXX. He worked almost 500 NFL games during his career including 18 post-season games and one Pro Bowl.

March (11)

March 5 – Tom Davis, who was a center in the CFL and the USFL, dies at the age of 63. Davis played college football at Nebraska and was selected in the sixth round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He never played for the Raiders, however. Instead, he played two seasons in the CFL from 1978-1979, with the Toronto Argonauts and the Ottawa Roughriders. Davis also played for the USFL Denver Gold from 1983-1985.

March 7 – Dan Jenkins, a sports writer who covered golf and football for Sport Illustrated, dies at the age of 89. Jenkins began working for Sports Illustrated in 1962. He wrote a number of books over the years, both fiction and non-fiction, on the subject of sports. In 1972, he wrote the book, “Semi-Tough,” a fictional tale of life in pro football. The book was made into a movie in 1977 starring Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson. In 2017, the football stadium press box at Texas Christian University was named in his honor. Jenkins graduated from TCU in 1953.   

March 8 – Cedrick Hardman, who played defensive end in the NFL for 12 seasons, dies at the age of 70. Hardman played college football at North Texas State and was selected in the first round (ninth overall) of the 1970 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He played in San Francisco from 1970-1979. He then moved across the bay and played his final two season with the Oakland Raiders in 1980 and 1981. He won a Super Bowl with the Raiders when Oakland beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV. He also played briefly for the Oakland Invaders of the USFL in 1983. After he retired from football he became an actor. He appeared in the movies "House Party" with Kid and Play and "Stir Crazy" with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryer Hardman also appeared on television shows such as "Police Woman" and "The Fall Guy."

March 9 – Joe Auer, a running back who scored the first points in Miami Dolphins history, dies at the age of 77. Auer played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the 5th round of the 1963 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He was also selected that year in the 15th round of the AFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He signed with the Chiefs but was traded to the Buffalo Bills during the preseason. Auer played for the Bills in 1964 and 1965, winning back-to-back AFL titles in Buffalo. In 1966, he signed with the AFL expansion Miami Dolphins. In the team’s first regular season game on September 2, 1966, against the Oakland Raiders in the Orange Bowl in Miami, Auer received the opening kickoff and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown! He also led the team in rushing that season with 416 yards and was named the team’s first MVP. Auer played in Miami in 1966 and 1967. He finished his playing career with the Atlanta Falcons in 1968. After his playing career was over, Auer founded RaceCar Engineering, a company which built NASCAR racing cars.

March 10 – Al Silverman, a magazine editor and publishing executive, dies at the age of 92. Silverman collaborated with Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers to write the book, “I am Third,” which was an autobiography of Sayers. It was published in 1970. One chapter in the book became the basis for the 1971 made-for-TV movie, “Brian’s Song,” starring Billy Dee Williams and James Caan. The movie won an Emmy in 1972 and told the true story of Sayers and his relationship with a dying team mate, Brian Piccolo.   

March 10 – Eric Moss, the older, half-brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, dies at the age of 44. The cause of death was not immediately known. Eric played college football at Ohio State. He was with the Minnesota Vikings in 1997 and 1998 as an offensive lineman, but never played in an NFL game due to injuries. He did play one season in NFL Europe with the Scottish Claymores in 1999.

March 15 – Johnny (Lam) Jones, an Olympic gold medalist who also played wide receiver in the NFL, dies of cancer at the age of 60. Jones won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay during the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. He then went on to play college football at the University of Texas and was also a record setting All American sprinter on the Longhorns track team. There was another player on the Texas football team also named Johnny Jones, so coach Darrel Royal gave them the nicknames Ham and Lam, based on their respective hometowns. Lam Jones was selected in the first round, second overall, of the 1980 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He played in New York from 1980-1984, and signed a $2.1 million, six-year contract. At the time, it was the first million-dollar contract in the pro football history. However, Jones was injured for most of his career and never lived up to his first-round status. He spent the 1985 and 1986 seasons on injured reserve. The Jets traded him to the San Francisco 49ers in 1987, but they cut him in training camp. He then signed with the Dallas Cowboys and was also cut by the team shortly thereafter, thus ending his pro football career.  

March 21 – Mike Cofer, who played in the NFL for 10 seasons, dies at the age of 58. Cofer played college football at the University of Tennessee and was selected in the third round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played his entire career in Detroit as a defensive end and linebacker from 1983-1992. A torn ACL ended his playing career. After his NFL career, Cofer became a day trader in the stock market.  

March 23 – Clem Daniels, a running back who was the AFL MVP in 1963, dies at the age of 81. Daniels played college football at Prairie View A&M and signed as a free agent with the Dallas Texans in 1960. He played just one season for the Texans and was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 1961. Daniels played in Oakland through 1967. Oakland won the AFL championship in 1967, but lost in Super Bowl II to the Green Bay Packers. He finished his playing career with the San Francisco 49ers in 1968.

March 25 – Ordell Braase, a defensive end who won three championships in the NFL, dies at the age of 87. Braase played college football at the University of South Dakota and was selected in the 14th round of the 1954 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. After college, he spent three years in the Army before joining the Colts. While in the Army, he spent time serving in Japan and Korea and even played in the 1955 Rice Bowl, a football All-Star game played in Tokyo that was made up of service members. Braase played 12-seasons with the Colts from 1957-1968 and won NFL titles in 1958, 1959 and 1968, but lost to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III. After his playing career was over, he spent time as a radio sideline reporter and color commentator for Colts games. He also co-hosted a local Baltimore TV show called, “Braase, Donovan and Fans,” with his former Colts team mate, Art Donovan. Braase is a member of the South Dakota Sport Hall of Fame.

March 28 – Joe Bellino, the 1960 Heisman Trophy winner, dies at the age of 81. Bellino played halfback in college at the Naval Academy. His nickname was the “Winchester Rifle” because he was born and raised in Winchester, New York. His jersey number 27 has been retired by the Academy. He was selected in the 19th round of the 1961 AFL Draft by the Boston Patriots. He was also selected in the 17th round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. After serving four years in the Navy, he chose to play for the Patriots and was with them for three seasons, from 1965-1967. Bellino was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

April (4)

April 12 – Forrest Gregg, who played and coached in the NFL, dies at the age of 85. Gregg played college football at SMU and was selected in the second round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He played offensive tackle and guard in Green Bay in 1956 and from 1958-1970. He finished his playing career with the Dallas Cowboys in 1971. He was also a head coach in the NFL for 11 seasons. He coached the Cleveland Browns from 1975-1977, the Cincinnati Bengals from 1980-1983 and the Packers from 1984-1987. He also coached the CFL-USA Shreveport Pirates in 1994 and 1995. Gregg was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1977.

April 20 – Reggie Cobb, who was a running back in the NFL for seven seasons, dies at the age of 50. The cause of death was not immediately known. Cobb played college football at Tennessee and was selected in the second round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played for the Bucs for four season, from 1990-1993, and also played for the Green Bay Packers in 1994, the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995 and the New York Jets in 1996. After his playing career was over, he worked as a player scout for several NFL teams.

April 28 – Dan Conners, who played middle linebacker for 11 seasons in the NFL, dies at the age of 78. Conners played defensive tackle at Miami and was selected in the second round of the 1964 American Football League Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He was also selected in the fifth round of the 1964 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Conners played his entire career in Oakland from 1964-1974. He won an AFL title in 1967 and was on the Raiders team that lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. After his playing career was over, he spent time as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers and also as a player scout with the Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Conners was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1977.

April 30 – Gino Marchetti, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, dies at the age of 93. Marchetti played college football at San Francisco and was selected in the second round (14th overall selection) of the 1952 NFL Draft by the Dallas Texans. The Texans played only one season in Dallas and then the team and Marchetti moved to Baltimore where they became the Baltimore Colts. Marchetti played in Baltimore from 1953-1966 and won two NFL titles in 1958 and 1959. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of fame in 1972.

May (8)

May 4 – MacArthur Lane, a running back in the NFL for three different teams, dies at the age of 77. Lane, who was called “Mac the Truck” by his team mates, played college football at Utah State and was selected in the first round of the 1968 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played in St. Louis from 1968-1971. He was then traded to the Green Bay Packers and played there from 1972-1974. The Packers then traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs where he finished his playing career from 1975-1978.

May 10 – Dick Tomey, a college football head coach for 29 seasons, dies at the age of 80. Tomey was the head coach at Hawaii from 1977-1986, Arizona from 1987-2000 and San Jose State from 2005-2009. His overall record as a head coach was 183-145-7. Over the course of his coaching career, he also spent time as an assistant coach at Kansas, UCLA, Davidson, Miami of Ohio and Northern Illinois.

May 11 – Gunther Cunningham, who coached in the NFL for 34 years, dies at the age of 72. Cunningham was born in Germany and did not even speak English when he moved to the United States shortly after World War II. From 1969-1980, he was a college football assistant coach at Oregon, Arkansas, Stanford and California. He spent the 1981 season with the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaching the defensive line and linebackers. Cunningham then became an NFL assistant coach with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. He was also the head coach of the Chiefs in 1999 and 2000 posting a 16-16 record. He then became an assistant coach with the Tennessee Titans, the Chiefs again and finally, the Detroit Lions. In all, Cunningham was a coach for 48 years (1969-2017).

May 14 – Ezra Castro, also known as Buffalo Bills Super Fan Pancho Billa, dies of cancer at the age of 39. Castro lived in Dallas, Texas where he was a mortician, but he had been a Bills fan since the age of seven. He traveled to Bills home games and many away games dressed in a sombrero, luchador mask, sarape poncho, a bandolier and leather arm guards, all in team colors. Castro announced the Bills third round pick during the 2018 NFL Draft when it was held in Dallas. In November 2018, he became the first Bills fan to be inducted into the team’s Fan Wall of Fame. He was also the president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Bills Backers Club. During this year's NFL Draft in Nashville, TN, former Bills player Coy Wire had Castro live on his phone via Face Time from the hospital as he announced the Buffalo third round draft pick.

May 18 - John Payne, a head coach for three teams in the Canadian Football League, dies at the age of 86. His first head coaching job was with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1973 to 1976. He then became an assistant coach with the NFL Detroit Lions in 1977. Payne returned to Canada as head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1978-1980 and the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1996.

May 20 – Carl Paganelli, Sr., a longtime football official in pro and college football, dies at the age of 82. Paganelli officiated game in the World Football League in the 1970s, the United States Football League in the 1980s and in the Arena Football League, as well as various college games. He also spent time as the head of officials for the Mid-American Conference. His three sons, Carl Jr., Dino and Perry, also became football officials. Perry and Carl Jr., officiated Super Bowl 41 together in 2007. Carl Sr. was inducted into the Grand Rapids Sport Hall of Fame in 2008. His three sons were also inducted in 2018. Carl Paganelli Sr. was also inducted into the Arena Football League Hall of Fame in 2013.

May 25 - Rod Bramblett, the long-time radio voice of Auburn football, baseball and basketball, dies at the age of 53. Bramblett, along with his wife, Paula, 52, both died in an auto crash near the Auburn campus. They were waiting to make a turn at an intersection in their SUV when they were hit from behind by a 16-year-old in another SUV. Bramblett had been the radio play-by-play voice of Tigers football and men’s basketball since 2003. He started out calling Auburn baseball games in 1993. Bramblett was names Sports Illustrated Play-by-Play Announcer of the Year in 2013.

May 26 – Bart Starr, who was a quarterback and a head coach in the NFL, dies at the age of 85. Starr played college football at Alabama and was selected in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. As a Packers player from 1956-1971, Starr led the team to six division titles, five NFL championships and wins in the first two Super Bowls, where he was named MVP of both games. After his playing career was over, he was the head coach in Green Bay for nine seasons, from 1975-1983. Starr was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

June (3)

June 13 – Pat Bowlen, the owner of the Denver Broncos, dies at the age of 75. Bowlen bought the team in 1984. During his time as the team owner, the Broncos won three Super Bowls, XXXII, XXXIII and 50. The Broncos also won seven AFC championships in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2013 and 2015. Bowlen was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 2015 and is also a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. He was part owner of the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League along with current Broncos GM and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway as well as the Denver Outlaws, a Major League Lacrosse team. Bowlen was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past February and will be enshrined posthumously With the Class of 2019 on August 3.

June 22 – Vince Costello, a former NFL player and coach, dies at the age of 86. Costello played his college football at Ohio University. He played linebacker for the Cleveland Browns from 1957-1966 and the New York Giants in 1967 and 1968. He won an NFL title with the Browns in 1964. Costello then went into coaching as an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1969-1973, the Miami Dolphins in 1974 and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1975-1976.    

June 23 – Jack Rudolph, a linebacker in the American Football League, dies at the age of 81. Rudolph played college football at Georgia Tech. He was drafted in the 17th round of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. However, he signed with the Boston Patriots of the new American Football League in 1960 and played for the Patriots from 1960-1965. He finished his playing career with the Miami Dolphins in 1966. Rudolph then went on to be a high school football assistant coach at teacher in Valdosta, Georgia for 31 years.

July (10)

July 3 – Jared Lorenzen, a quarterback in the NFL whose nickname was The Hefty Lefty, dies of liver and heart issues at the age of 38. Lorenzen played college football at Kentucky and still holds the school record for most career passing yards with 10,354. He signed with the New York Giants in 2004 as an unrestricted free agent. He was the backup to Eli Manning in 2006 and 2007 and was on the Giants team that won Super Bowl XLII in 2008 when they defeated the New England Patriots. Lorenzen returned to football briefly in 2014 as the quarterback of the Northern Kentucky River Monsters of the Continental Indoor Football League. He struggled with his weight for most of his life, weighing around 300 pounds when he played in the NFL. He weighed as much as 500 pounds in 2017 and had recently lost 100 pounds through diet and exercise. 

July 4 - Wayne Mass, an offensive tackle in the NFL, dies at the age of 73. Mass played college football at Clemson and was selected in the fourth round of the 1968 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played for the Bears from 1968-1970, the Miami Dolphins in 1971 and spent the 1972 season with the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. Mass was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

July 4 – Bill Thorpe, the son of legendary NFL star and Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe, dies at the age of 90.

July 7 - Bob Fouts, a longtime radio and TV broadcaster, dies at the age of 97. Fouts began calling games of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1940s when the team was a member of the All America Football Conference. He also worked minor league baseball games as well as college basketball. He was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2008. Bob Fouts was the father of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts.

July 10 - Walt Michaels, a player and head coach in the NFL, dies at the age of 89. Michaels played linebacker in college at Washington and Lee University. He was selected in the seventh round of the 1951 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. The Browns then traded him to the Green Bay Packers where he played during the 1951 season. The Packers traded him back to the Browns and he played in Cleveland from 1952-1961. He won two NFL titles with the Browns in 1954 and 1955. Michaels then went into coaching. He was an assistant coach with the Oakland Raiders in 1962 and also with the Jets from 1963-1971. He was on the coaching staff of the Jets team that won Super Bowl III. Michaels was an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1972-1975 before becoming the head coach of the Jets from 1977-1982. Michaels was also the head coach of the New Jersey Generals of the USFL in 1984 and 1985.

July 18 – Mitch Petrus, a Super Bowl winning offensive lineman in the NFL, dies of heat stroke at the age of 32. He had been working outside at his family’s business in Arkansas in extremely hot temperatures. Petrus played college football at the University of Arkansas and was selected in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He was on the Giants team that won Super Bowl XLVI (46) in 2012. Petrus was released by the Giants in 2012 and spent his last season in the NFL with the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans.

July 19 - Bert Rechichar, a defensive back, halfback and kicker in the NFL for 10 seasons, dies at the age of 89. Rechichar played college football at the University of Tennessee and was selected in the 1st round (10th overall) of the 1952 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He played just one season in Cleveland and then was traded to the Baltimore Colts where he spent the next seven seasons (1953-1959). On September 27, 1953, against the Chicago Bears, he kicked a 56-yard field goal on his first field goal attempt in the NFL. It was an NFL record at the time and stood until 1970 when Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints broke the record with a 63-yard field goal. Rechichar won two NFL titles with the Colts in 1958 and 1959. He spent the last two year of his playing career with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1960 and the New York Titans of the AFL in 1961.

July 27 - Keith Lincoln, a fullback in the American Football League for eight seasons, dies at the age of 80. Lincoln played college football at Washington State and was selected in the fifth round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He was also selected in the second round of the 1961 AFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. He played for the Chargers from 1961-1966 and won an AFL title in 1963 when the Chargers defeated the Boston Patriots 51-10. Lincoln then played for the Buffalo Bills in 1967 and part of 1968, then finished his playing career that season when he returned to the Chargers. He went on to be an assistant college football coach at Idaho and at Washington State before spending many years as the Director of Alumni Relations at Washington State. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1979.

July 27 - Tom Bass, an assistant coach in college and in the NFL, dies at the age of 83. Bass played college football at San Jose State but was diagnosed with polio, which ended his playing career. He was an assistant coach in college at San Diego State University under head coach Don Coryell. In the NFL, he was the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1978-1981 and the San Diego Chargers from 1982-1985. While he was with Chargers, he again served under head coach Don Coryell. Bass also spent the 1992 season as a team executive with the New England Patriots. Bass wrote a number of books on coaching including “Play Football the NFL Way” and “Pro Football from the Inside.”

July 31 - Nick Buoniconti, who was a linebacker in the NFL for 14 seasons, dies at the age of 78. Buoniconti played college football at Notre Dame and was selected in the 13th round of the 1962 AFL Draft by the Boston Patriots. He played in Boston from 1962-1968. He then played for the Miami Dolphins from 1969-1974 and in 1976. He was a part of the Dolphins “No-Name Defense” that won two Super Bowls including a perfect season in 1972. Buoniconti was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

August (10)

August 3 – Cliff Branch, a wide received in the NFL for 14 years, dies at the age of 71. Branch played college football at Colorado. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He played his entire career with the Raiders, first in Oakland from 1972-1981, and then in LA when the team became the Los Angeles Raiders from 1982-1985. Branch won three Super Bowls with the Raiders in 1976, 1980 and 1983.

August 11 - Darryl Drake, the wide receivers coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, dies at the age of 62. Drake played college football at Western Kentucky. He played one season as a wide receiver in the CFL for the Ottawa Rough Riders and was in training camps with the Washington Redskins and Cincinnati Bengals. He began his college coaching career in 1983 at Western Kentucky and also spent time coaching at Georgia, Baylor and Texas. He got his first NFL coaching job with the Chicago Bears from 2004-2012. He also was the receivers coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2014-2017 before joining the Steelers coaching staff in 2018.

August 16 – Mike McGee, best known as a college football coach, dies at the age of 80. McGee played college football at Duke and won the Outland Trophy in 1959 as the country’s best interior lineman. He was selected in the second round of the 1960 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played guard for the Cardinals from 1960-1962. He then went into coaching. He was the head coach at East Carolina in 1970 and was also the head coach at Duke from 1971-1978. McGee went on to be a college athletic director at Cincinnati from 1980-1984, at USC from 1984-1993 and at South Carolina from 1993 to 2005.  

August 16 – Jim Hardy, a quarterback in college and in the NFL, dies at the age of 96. Hardy played college football at USC. He was named the MVP of the 1945 Rose Bowl after beating Tennessee 25-0. He also led the Trojans to a 29-0 win over Washington in the 1944 Rose Bowl. Hardy was the eighth overall selection in the 1945 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. However, he signed with the Los Angeles Rams and played in LA from 1946-1948. He also played for the Chicago Cardinals from 1949-1951 and ended his playing career with the Detroit Lions in 1952. He won an NFL title in 1952 with the Lions. From 1973-1986, he was the general manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Hardy was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1994 and the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. He was the oldest living former player from USC and the Los Angeles Rams.

August 17 – Cedric Benson, a former running back in the NFL, dies in a motorcycle accident at the age of 36. Benson played college football at Texas and was the fourth overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played in Chicago from 2005-2007, then played for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2008-2011 and finally the Green Bay Packers in 2012.

August 19 – Barry Bennett, who was a defensive lineman in the NFL for 11 seasons, dies at the age of 63. He and his wife, Carol, also 63, were found shot to death in their home in Long Prairie, MN. Their 22-year-old son, Dylan Bennett, was arrested in Mexico and charged with their murders. Barry Bennett played college football at Division III Concordia-Moorhead in Minnesota and was selected in the third round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played in New Orleans from 1978-1981, then for the New York Jets from 1982-1987 and finished his playing career with the Minnesota Vikings in 1988.  

August 22 – Bobby Dillon, a safety in the NFL for eight years, dies at the age of 89. Dillon played college football at Texas and was selected in the third round of the 1952 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He played in Green Bay from 1952-1959, leading the Packers in interceptions in seven of his eight seasons. Dillon was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1974.

August 24 – Dick Woodard, who played linebacker in the All America Football Conference and in the NFL, dies at the age of 93. Woodard played college football at Iowa and was selected in the 21st round the 1948 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC and played one season with the team in 1949. He then played in the NFL for the Giants in 1950 and 1951, the Washington Redskins in 1952 and he finished his playing career back with the Giants in 1953. Woodard was the uncle of current Minnesota Vikings quarterback, Kirk Cousins.

August 28 – Donnie Green, an offensive tackle in the NFL for eight seasons, dies at the age of 71. Green played college football at Purdue and was selected in the fifth round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He played in Buffalo from 1971-1976. He was a member of the Bill’s famed “Electric Company” offensive line in the 1970s that enabled O.J. Simpson to become the first running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in 1973. Green finished his playing career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977 and the Detroit Lions in 1978.   

August 29 – Jim Langer, who was a center in the NFL for 12 years and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, dies at the age of 71. Langer played college football at Division II South Dakota State and was an undrafted free agent. He signed with the Miami Dolphins and played for the team from 1970-1979. He won two Super Bowls with the Dolphins and was a member of their perfect season in 1972. He finished his playing career with the Minnesota Vikings in 1980 and 1981. Langer was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He is also a member of the Dolphins Honor Roll and the Dolphins Walk of Fame. Today, the Jim Langer Award is handed out each year to the best lineman in Division II football.

September (10)

September 7 – Al Carmichael, a halfback and kick returner who scored the first touchdown ever in the American Football League, dies at the age of 90. Carmichael played college football at USC and was the seventh overall selection in the 1953 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He played in Green Bay from 1953-1958 and set an NFL record with a 106-yard kick return in 1956. He also recorded a 100-yard kick return in 1955. Carmichael also played for the Denver Broncos from 1960-1961. He scored the first touchdown in AFL history on a 59-yard pass play from quarterback Frank Tripuka in a game against the Boston Patriots on September 9, 1960. After his playing career was over, Carmichael became an actor and appeared in many movies and TV series. He was a stunt double for Kirk Douglas in the movie, “Spartacus.” Carmichael is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

September 10 – Sam Davis, a four-time Super Bowl champion in the NFL, dies at the age of 75. Davis was a guard and played college football at NAIA Allen University in South Carolina. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent and played his entire 13-year NFL career with the Steelers from 1967-1979. He was a part of the team’s four Super Bowl victories in the 1970s.

September 13 - Larry Garron, a running back in the NFL for 9 seasons, dies at the age of 82. Garron played college football at Western Illinois. He signed with the Boston Patriots and played for the team from 1960-1968. He still holds the team record for the longest run in team history, 85 yards, in a game against the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 22, 1961. He was named a member of the Patriots' All-1960s Team.

September 14 – John Ralston, a head coach in college and in the NFL, dies at the age of 92. Ralston played linebacker in college at California and began is college head coaching career at Utah State from 1959-1962. He was also the head coach at Stanford from 1963-1971 and led the school to back-to-back Rose Bowl wins in 1970 and 1971. Ralston then went on to be the head coach of the NFL Denver Broncos from 1972-1976 and spent the 1978 season as the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. He coached the USFL Oakland Invaders 1983-1984 and finished his coaching career back in college at San Jose State from 1993-1996. 

September 19 – Barron Hilton, the founder of the Hilton Hotel chain and an original team owner in the American Football League, dies at the age of 91. Hilton was the owner of the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 and moved the team to San Diego the following season. The San Diego Chargers won the AFL championship in 1963 defeating the Boston Patriots 51-10. He sold the team after the 1965 season and was the last surviving member of The Foolish Club, the original eight owners in the AFL. Hilton’s Chargers were in five of the first six AFL title games.

September 20 – Howard “Hop Along” Cassady, a Heisman Trophy winner, dies at the age of 85. Cassidy was a halfback and played college football at Ohio State. He led the school to a 10-0 record and a national championship in 1954 and then won the Heisman Trophy in 1955. He was the third overall selection in the 1956 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Cassady played in Detroit from 1956-1961, winning an NFL championship in 1957. He spent the 1962 season splitting time with the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles before returning to Detroit for one final season in 1963. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

September 21 – Emil Holub, a linebacker and center in the American Football League for 10 seasons, dies at the age of 81. Holub played college football at Texas Tech and was selected in the second round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He was also selected as the sixth overall pick in the 1961 AFL Draft by the Dallas Texans. He won an AFL title with the Texans in 1962 and then the team moved and became the Kansas City Chiefs. He won two more AFL titles as a member of the Chiefs in 1966 and 1969 including a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl IV before he retired as a player.  

September 21 – Tommy Brooker, who was an end and a kicker, dies at the age of 79. Brooker played college football at Alabama and was a part of the school’s 1961 national championship team. He was selected in the 16th round of the 1962 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He was also selected in the 17th round of the 1962 AFL Draft by the Dallas Texans. In his rookie season with the Texans, he kicked the game winning field goal in the second overtime period to give Dallas a 20-17 win over the Houston Oilers in the AFL title game. He stayed with the team when it moved and became the Kansas City Chiefs the following year in 1963. Brooker continued to play for the Chiefs through 1966 and won a second AFL title with the team that year. He also played in Super Bowl I against the Green Bay Packers. Brooker was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

September 22 – Wally Chambers, a defensive tackle in the NFL for seven seasons, dies at the age of 68. Chambers played college football at Eastern Kentucky and was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played in Chicago from 1973-1977 and was named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1973. He was also named NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1976. Chambers finished his playing care with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978 and 1979. After that, he went into coaching. He spent time as a college football assistant coach at Northern Iowa and East Carolina and in 1989 he was a defensive coach in the NFL with the New York Jets. Chambers was elected to the Eastern Kentucky Hall of Fame in 2006. 

September 30 – Harvey Wylie, a two-way player in the CFL for nine seasons, dies at the age of 85. Wylie played college football at Montana State. He signed with the Calgary Stampeders and played his entire career in Calgary from 1956-1964. Wylie also played junior hockey in Canada for the Calgary Buffaloes and had a tryout with the MLB Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1980. He was also inducted into the Stampeders Wall of Fame in 1988 and is a member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

October (8)

October 2 – Bill Bidwell, the owner of the Arizona Cardinals, dies at the age of 88. Bidwill’s father, Charles, who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, purchased the Chicago Cardinals in 1932. Charles Bidwell ran the club until his death in 1947. After that, his wife, Violet, ran the team for 15 years before Bill and his brother, Charles Jr., became co-owners of the team. She moved the team to St. Louis in 1960. Bill Bidwell became the sole owner of the Cardinals in 1972 and moved the team to Arizona in 1988.

October 12 – Gordon Staseson, a former executive in the Canadian Football League, dies at the age of 93. Staseson served as team president of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1979-1981. He was also the chairman of the CFL Board of Governors in 1982. Staseson was instrumental in creating the Roughriders’ Plaza of Honour in 1987. The team returned the honor by inducting him into the Plaza of Honour in 1993, which is located on Gordon Staseson Boulevard in Regina, He was also inducted into the Regina Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He was even recognized with the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2004 and appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2005.  

October 22 – Willie Brown, a defensive back in the NFL for 16 seasons, dies at the age of 78. Brown played college football at Grambling State. He signed as a free agent with the Houston Oilers in 1963, but was released during training camp. He then signed with the Denver Broncos where he played from 1963-1966. Brown then signed with the Oakland Raiders and played in Oakland from 1967-1978. He will always be remembered for intercepting a pass from Fran Tarkenton in the Raiders’ victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI and returning it for a touchdown. The film of him running in slow motion after the interception will forever be remembered thanks to NFL Films. After he retired as a player, he became the defensive backfield coach of the Raiders from 1979-1988, earning two more Super Bowl rings. He held the position of the Raiders Director of Staff Development at the time of his death. Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984. He was also inducted into the Grambling State University Hall of Fame in 1983, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, Black College Hall of Fame in 2012, the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Southwest Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.

October 22 – George Brancato, a halfback and defensive back and later a head coach in the Canadian Football League, dies at the age of 88. Brancato played college football at LSU. He went on to play for the Chicago Cardinals in 1954 before heading to Canada where he played for the Montreal Alouettes in 1956 and the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1957-1962. He won a Grey Cup title in 1960 with the Rough Riders. Brancato then went into coaching. He started out as an assistant coach in Ottawa in 1970 then was the head coach there from 1974-1984, leading the team to a Grey Cup title in 1976. He was named the CFL Coach of the Year in 1975. He also coached the Chicago Bruisers of the Arena Football League in 1989. In 1994, he was the offensive coordinator for the CFL Shreveport Pirates and in 1999 he was the defensive coordinator for the Arena Football League’s Florida Bobcats. Brancato was inducted into the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame in 2002.

October 22 – Bill Maskell, a high school football coach in Michigan, dies at the age of 96. Maskill coached at Galesburg-Augusta High School for 39 years and retired in 1991. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest high school football coach in the state. He won 18 league titles and four state championships. He is a member of the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame and the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. His son, Bill Maskill, Jr., is the head football coach at Division II Midwestern State University.

October 23 – Bernie Parrish, a defensive back in the NFL for eight seasons, dies at the age of 83. Parrish played college football at Florida and was selected in the ninth round of the 1958 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He spent two seasons playing minor league baseball as a member of the Cincinnati Reds before signing with Cleveland. Parrish played for the Browns from 1959-1966 and spent part of his final season with the Houston Oilers. He won an NFL title with the Browns in 1964. After he retired as a player, he spent time as the vice president of the NFL Players Association and also wrote a book called, “They Call it a Game,” which was published in 1971 and was very critical of the NFL for the way it treated its players.

October 24 - George Tarasovic, a defensive end in the NFL for 13 seasons, dies at the age of 89. Tarasovic played college football at Boston College and at LSU. He was selected in the second round of the 1952 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in Pittsburgh from 1952-1953 and also from 1956-1963. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 1963 season and played there through 1965. He ended his playing career with the Denver Broncos in 1966. After he retired, he helped create an annual celebrity golf tournament that raised money for the Special Olympics.

October 30 – Sam Jankovich, dies at the age of 84. Jankovich was the athletic director at the University of Miami from 1983-1990. The school won three football national championships during that time; 1983, 1987 and 1989, all under different head coaches. He also spent time as the athletic director at Washington State prior to coming to Miami and was the CEO of the New England Patriots from 1991-1993. He was inducted into University of Miami’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

November (10)

November 4 – Jim LeClair, a linebacker in the NFL and the USFL, dies at the age of 69. LeClair played college football at the University of Minnesota-Crookston in 1968, then University of North Dakota. He was selected in the third round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He played in Cincinnati from 1972-1983 and was on the team that lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI. He finished his playing career with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL in 1984 and 1985. LeClair was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, the University of Minnesota-Crookston Hall of Fame in 1999, the University of North Dakota Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985 and the South St. Paul High School Hall of Fame in 2007.

November 8 – Billy Ray Locklin, who played in the NFL and the CFL, dies at the age of 83. Locklin played linebacker in college at New Mexico State. He played for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League for one season in 1960 and then went to Canada. He played for the Montreal Alouettes from 1961-1964 and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1965-1970. He won two Grey Cup titles with the Tiger-Cats in 1965 and 1967.  

November 9 – Yusuf Scott, an offensive lineman who played in the NFL, NFL Europe and the Arena Football League, dies at the age of 42. The cause of death was not immediately identified. Scott played college football at Arizona and was selected in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He played for Arizona from 1999-2001. He also played for the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe in 2003. Scott went on to play for two teams in the Arena Football League, the Carolina Cobras in 2004 and the Grand Rapids Rampage in 2006.

November 11 – Charles Rogers, a wide receiver in the NFL, dies of liver failure at the age of 38. He had also been battling cancer. Rogers played college football at Michigan State and was the second overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played in Detroit from 2003-2005 but was often injured and also had problems with substance abuse.   

November 11 – Zeke Bratkowski, a quarterback in the NFL for 14 seasons, dies at the age of 88. Bratkowski played college football at Georgia and was selected in the second round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played in Chicago from 1954-1960 and then signed with the Los Angeles Rams, playing in LA from 1961-1963. He was then traded to the Green Bay Packers during the 1963 season and finished his playing career with the Packers in 1971. He was the backup quarterback to Bart Starr and won three consecutive NFL titles including Super Bowls I and II. After his playing career was over, Bratkowski had a long career as an assistant coach in the NFL, retiring in 1996. He started out coaching with the Packers and went on to coach for the Baltimore Colts, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles.   

November 20 – Terry Glenn, a wide receiver in the NFL for 10 seasons, dies in a car crash at the age of 43. Glenn played college football at Ohio State and was the seventh overall selection in the 1996 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Glenn caught Tom Brady’s first career touchdown pass in 2001. He played for New England from 1996-2001, the Green Bay Packers in 2002 and the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-2007.

November 20 – Fred Cox, a kicker in the NFL for 15 seasons, dies at the age of 80. Cox played running back in college at the University of Pittsburgh and was selected in the eighth round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He was also selected in the 28th round of the 1961 American Football League Draft by the New York Titans. He chose to sign with the Browns but did not make the team. A back injury caused him to switch position and become a kicker. Two years later, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings and spent his entire career as the Vikings kicker from 1963-1977. He never missed a game. Cox played in four Super Bowls with the Vikings, all losses. When he retired as a player, he was the Vikings all-time leading scorer with 1,365 points. In 1972, he helped invent the Nerf football. After his playing career was over, Cox became a chiropractor in Minnesota.  

November 20 - George Springate, a kicker in the Canadian Football League, dies at the age of 81. Springate played college football at McGill University. He then played for the Montreal Alouettes for three seasons from 1970-1972. He won a Grey Cup title in his rookie season when Montreal beat the Calgary Stampeders 23-10 in 1970. Springate went on to be a television sportscaster for CBC Montreal in the 1980s and later, a judge.   

November 24 – Hank Bullough, a long-time assistant coach in college and in the NFL, dies at the age of 85. Bullough was a guard and linebacker in college at Michigan State and was a member of the 1952 national championship team. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1955 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He played one season for Green Bay in 1955, then spent two years in the Army before returning to play for the Packers again in 1958. He then returned to Michigan State as an assistant coach from 1959-1969. He also spent many years as an NFL assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. He retired from coaching in 1994 and spent his final season as an assistant coach at Michigan State. Bullough was also the head coach of the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL in 1984 and the Buffalo Bills in 1985 and 1986. He had two sons and three grandsons who followed in his footsteps and played linebacker for Michigan State.

November 29 – R-Kal Truluck, a defensive end who played in the CFL, NFL and the Arena Football League, dies after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease at the age of 45. Tuluck played college football at Division III Cortland State. He started his professional playing career in the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1998-2000 and the Montreal Alouettes in 2001. He then played in the Arena Football League with the Detroit Fury in 2001 and 2002. After that, he spent four seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals between 2002 and 2005. He returned to the Alouettes of the CFL in 2006 and 2007 and finished his playing career in the Arena Football League playing for the Georgia Force in 2008 and the Orland Predators in 2013. He was named AFL Rookie of the Year in 2001 and AFL Lineman of the Year in 2002. Truluck had been running his own real estate business in Orlando.

December (11)

December 1 – Pat Sullivan, a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, dies at the age of 69. Sullivan played college football at Auburn and won the Heisman Trophy in 1971. He was also named the SEC Player of the Year in 1970 and 1971. Sullivan was selected in the second round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and played for Atlanta through 1975. After the NFL, he worked as a radio color commentator for Auburn, and was also the quarterback’s coach for the team. Sullivan served as the head coach of Texas Christian University from 1992 to 1997. He led the team to an appearance in the Independence Bowl in 1994, losing to Virginia 20-10. He was also the head coach at Samford University from 2007-2014.

December 4 – Casimir Banaszek, a tackle in the NFL for 11 seasons, dies at the age of 74. Banaszek played college football at Northwestern and the 11th over selection in the 1967 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He played his entire career with the 49ers from 1967-1977. He also spent one season as an assistant coach with the team in 1981 and won a title when the team defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. Banaszek is a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.

December 4 – Don Chiodo, the radio voice of Central Michigan University football, dies in a car crash at the age of 54. Chiodo graduated from Central Michigan in 1990. He was the radio pregame and halftime host from 1996-99, and again in 2009, before he took over the play-by-play duties in 2010. He also did the Chippewas’ basketball broadcasts as well.

December 5 – Sherman Howard, one of the last African-Americans to integrate the professional football in the 1940s, dies at the age of 95. Howard played halfback and defensive back in college at the University of Iowa and the University of Nevada. After serving in the Army during World War II, Howard signed with the New York Yankees of the All America Football Conference in 1949. He played one season for the Yankees and then the league folded. He then played for the New York Yanks of the NFL in 1950 and 1951 and finally the Cleveland Browns in 1952 and 1953. Howard went on to start the football program at Harlan High School in Chicago and was the coach of the team. He was also a teacher at the school and the athletic director.  

December 7 – Bump Elliott, who played and coached in college, dies at the age of 94. Elliott played college football at Purdue and Michigan. He was an All-American halfback at Michigan and also played quarterback. His brother, Pete Elliott, was also a quarterback at Michigan. The brothers were assistant coaches at Oregon together before Bump, whose real name was Chalmers, became the head coach of the Wolverines from 1959-1968. He was succeeded by Bo Schembechler as the Wolverines’ head coach in 1969. He then served as the athletic director at Iowa for the next 21 years. Bump Elliott was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.   

December 12 – Vaugh Johnson, who played in the USFL and NFL, dies after a battle with kidney disease at the age of 57. Johnson played linebacker in college at North Carolina State. He began his pro career with the Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL in 1984 and 1985. He was then selected in the 15^th round of the 1986 NFL Supplemental Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He played in New Orleans from 1986-1993 and finished his playing career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995. He was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2000. Johnson is also a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.

December 17 – Hayden Fry, a college football head coach for 37 years, dies at the age of 94. Fry played quarterback at Baylor before going into coaching. He started out as the head coach at SMU from 1962-1972. He then coached at North Texas from 1973-1978 and finished his coaching career at Iowa, spending 20 years at the school, from 1979-1998. He led his teams to 17 bowl games. His overall coaching record was 230-180-10. Fry was the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1981, 1990, 1991. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. 

December 18 – Herman Boone, a high school football coach in Virginia, dies at the age of 84. Boone was portrayed by Denzel Washington in the 2000 movie, “Remember the Titans” when he was the head coach at T.C. Williams High School. He took over a racially divided team and led them to a state title in 1971. Boone earned two degrees at North Carolina Central University and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2004.

December 20 – Lance McDowdell, dies at the age of 25. He was found in the driveway of his apartment building in Phoenix with a gunshot wound. He died later at the hospital. McDowdell played college football at Central Florida and had been a defensive lineman for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League since 2018.

December 21 – Jimmy “Spiderman” Allen, dies at the age of 67. Allen played college football at UCLA and was selected in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in Pittsburgh from 1974-1977 and the Detroit Lions from 1978-1981. He is best remembered as the lead singer on the Lions’ 1980 recording of “Another One Bites the Dust,” the team’s theme song that season which was a parody adopted from the song of the same name by the rock group Queen.

December 26 – Elbert “Golden Wheels” Dubenion, a wide receiver in the American Football League for nine seasons, dies at the age of 86. Dubenion played college football at Division III Bluffton University and was selected in the 14th round of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. However, and injury kept him from trying out for the Browns. The following year, he signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills and played his entire career in Buffalo from 1960-1968. He won back-to-back AFL titles with the Bills in 1964 and 1965. After he retired as a player, he became a player scout and worked for the Bills, the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins. Dubenion was inducted into the Bills Wall of Fame in 1993. That same year, he was also named to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.

Back to Articles Menu