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{{Short description|American football player and coach (1958–2009)}}
{{for|the American ragtime piano composer|Mel B. Kaufman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Mel Kaufman
| position = [[Linebacker]]
| number = 55
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1958|2|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2009|2|7|1958|2|24}}
| death_place = [[San Luis Obispo, California]], U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 221
| high_school = [[Santa Monica High School|Santa Monica]]<br/>([[Santa Monica, California]])
| college = [[Cal Poly Mustangs football|Cal Poly]]
| undraftedyear = 1981
| pastteams =
* [[Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|1981}}–{{NFL Year|1988}})
| pastcoaching =
* [[Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|1989}}–{{NFL Year|1998}})<br>Scouting advisor
* [[Cal Poly Mustangs football|Cal Poly]] (2007–2008)<br>Linebackers coach
| highlights =
* 2× [[Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl XVII|XVII]], [[Super Bowl XXII|XXII]])
* Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame (1993)
| statlabel1 = [[Quarterback sack|Sacks]]
| statvalue1 = 19.0
| statlabel2 = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue2 = 7
| statlabel3 = [[Touchdown]]s
| statvalue3 = 2
| pfr = KaufMe20
}}
'''Melvin Kaufman''' (February 24, 1958 – February 7, 2009) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player who spent his entire eight-year career as a [[linebacker]] for the [[Washington Redskins]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[Cal Poly Mustangs football|Cal Poly Mustangs]].
Kaufman was born in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] and attended [[Santa Monica High School]] in [[Santa Monica, California]],<ref>{{Cite
Kaufman played four seasons of [[college football]] at [[
During Cal Poly's [[1980 Cal Poly Mustangs football team|1980 national championship season]], Kaufman returned an interception 79 yards for a [[touchdown]] against [[Cal State Northridge Matadors football|Cal State Northridge]].<ref name="calpoly">{{cite web |title=Cal Poly Hall of Famer, Super Bowl Winner Mel Kaufman Dies |url=http://www.gopoly.com/index.php?p=sports&id=29891&article_id=65081 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214234951/http://www.gopoly.com/index.php?p=sports&id=29891&article_id=65081 |archivedate=2009-02-14 |accessdate=2009-02-10 |work=Cal Poly Athletic Site}}</ref>
Kaufman earned his bachelor's degree in social science and industrial relations at Cal Poly in 1984.
Starting ahead of the 2010 season, [[Cal Poly Mustangs|Cal Poly]] created the Mel Kaufman Award, presented annually to the team's player who most exemplified Kaufman's virtues.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aird |first=Donovan |date=December 25, 2009 |title=The Tribune's Top Local Sports Stories of 2009 - 9. Former Poly Star, Coach Kaufman Dies at 50 |pages=S2 |work=San Luis Obispo Tribune}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Collegiate Statistics
!
!Tackles
!INT
!LG Ret.
!TD
|-
!Career
|146
|4
|79t
|1
|}
==
Kaufman was signed as an [[undrafted free agent]] by the [[Washington Redskins]] in [[1981 Washington Redskins season|1981]], along with former Cal Poly teammate [[LeCharls McDaniel]], by Redskins [[General manager#Sports teams|general manager]] [[Bobby Beathard]].<ref name=calpoly /> A defensive team leader and team captain with the Redskins from 1981–88, Kaufman was a starting linebacker on three [[National Football Conference|NFC]] [[NFC Championship Game|championship teams]] (1982, 1983 and 1987). He played in three [[Super Bowl]]s with the Redskins, winning [[Super Bowl XVII]] and [[Super Bowl XXII|XXII]], and losing [[Super Bowl XVIII]]. Kaufman also was a scout for the Redskins in [[Super Bowl XXVI]].<ref name=calpoly />
Kaufman announced his retirement from football on July 5, 1989. He started 78 of 91 career NFL games, recording 18.5 sacks, seven interceptions, 586 total tackles<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 5, 1989 |title=Mel Kaufman retires from Redskins |work=UPI |publisher=UPI Archives}}</ref> and five fumble recoveries.<ref name=calpoly />
==
After his playing career, Kaufman was a scouting supervisor for the Redskins from [[1989 Washington Redskins season|1989]] through [[1998 Washington Redskins season|1998]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wallner |first=Peter J. |date=October 8, 1993 |title=Kaufman will never forget day he got his big break |pages=C-1 |work=San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune}}</ref> He then became a mental health counselor and [[high school football|football]], [[Basketball#U.S. high school basketball|basketball]] and [[baseball]] coach at Masada High School in [[Gardena, California]] from 2000–05 and a football official (youth and high school games) in the Pacific Coast Conference in 2006 and 2007.
Kaufman had been out of football at the college and professional levels for about 10 years before he was hired as [[linebackers coach]] at Cal Poly in Spring 2008. He helped guide the Mustangs to an 8-3 record, a [[Great West Conference]] title and a berth in the [[2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season#Postseason|2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs]].<ref name=calpoly />
==
Kaufman served as an assistant manager at Blue Sky's, a moving and storage company in Los Angeles, in 1998 and 1999. As a volunteer, he was director of the minority internship program and a training camp director for the Redskins, worked with [[Big Brothers Big Sisters of America|Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington, D.C.]], served on the board of directors for the Northern Virginia chapter of the [[American Lung Association]] as well as the board of advisors for Virginia Commerce Bank. Kaufman was also a spokesperson for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] and the [[United States Armed Forces|United States military]], working with and speaking to children and adults.<ref name=calpoly />
==
Kaufman died in his [[Santa Margarita, California|Santa Margarita]] home<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 9, 2009 |title=Ex-Redskin Kaufman, 50, dies |agency=Associated Press |publisher=ESPN}}</ref> about three weeks shy of his 51st birthday. An autopsy performed by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office revealed the cause of death as an intra-abdominal hemorrhage due to hemorrhagic [[pancreatitis]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sanchez |first=Omar |date=February 24, 2009 |title=Kaufman's impact reached beyond the gridiron |pages=12 |work=Mustang Daily}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Super Bowl XVII}}
{{Super Bowl XXII}}
{{1980 Cal Poly Mustangs football navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufman, Mel}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:American football linebackers]]
[[Category:Cal Poly Mustangs football coaches]]
[[Category:Cal Poly Mustangs football players]]
[[Category:California Polytechnic State University alumni]]
[[Category:Washington Redskins players]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Players of American football from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Sports coaches from Los Angeles]]
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