Professional Football Researchers Association

www.profootballresearchers.com

2020 Player Deaths

Last Updated: January 1, 2021
Compiled By: Ken Crippen

Player Teams Death Age

Herb Adderley 1961-69 Green Bay Packers, 1970-72 Dallas 10/30, 81
Cowboys
Joe Arenas 1951-57 San Francisco 49ers 6/30, TX 94
Bob Atkins 1968-69 St. Louis Cardinals, 1970-76 Houston 9/22, 74
Oilers
Bill Autrey 1953 Chicago Bears 9/12, Waco, TX 87
Joe Beauchamp 1966-75 San Diego Chargers 5/20, 76
Rodger Bird 1966-68 Oakland Raiders 5/16, Henderson, KY 76
Matt Blair 1974-85 Minnesota Vikings 10/22, 70
Sam Boghosian 1976-77 Seattle Seahawks 2/23, Indian Wells, CA 88
Pete Brewster 1952-58 Cleveland Browns, 1959-60 Pittsburgh 1/3, Belton, MO 89
Steelers
Allen Brown 1966-67 Green Bay Packers 1/27, Natchez, MS 76
Barry Brown 1966-67 Baltimore Colts, 1968 New York Giants, 2/6, 76
1969-70 Boston Patriots
Greg Brown 1981-86 Philadelphia Eagles, 1987-88 Atlanta 9/26, 63
Falcons
Rush Brown 1980-83 St. Louis Cardinals 2/6, Cummings, GA 65
Timmy Brown 1959 Green Bay Packers, 1960-67 Philadelphia 4/4, Palm Springs, CA 82
Eagles, 1968 Baltimore Colts
Walter Bryan 1955 Baltimore Colts 3/6, Abilene, TX 86
Hank Burnine 1956 New York Giants, 1956-57 Philadelphia 1/21, Higginsville, MO 87
Eagles
Rich Buzin 1968-70 New York Giants, 1971 Los Angeles Rams, 9/5, Youngstown, OH 74
1972 Chicago Bears
Reche Caldwell 2002-05 San Diego Chargers, 2006 New England 6/6, Tampa, FL 41
Patriots, 2007 Washington Redskins
Al Carapella 1951-55 San Francisco 49ers 10/17, Tuckahoe, NY 93
Louis Carter 1975 Oakland Raiders, 1976-78 Tampa Bay 10/11, 67
Buccaneers
Gene Cockrell 1960-62 New York Titans 5/16, Decatur, TX 85
Arthur Cox 1983-87 Atlanta Falcons, 88-91 San Diego 7/10, 59
Chargers, 1991 Cleveland Browns, 1991 Miami
Dolphins
Paul Crane 1966-1972 New York Jets 10/31, 76
Chuck Crist 1972-74 New York Giants, 1975-77 New Orleans 10/28, Cleveland, OH 69
Saints, 1978 San Francisco 49ers
Phil Croyle 1971-73 Houston Oilers, 1973 Buffalo Bills 5/30, San Jose, CA 70
Tony Curcillo 1953 Chicago Cardinals 12/8, 89
Mike Curtis 1965-75 Baltimore Colts, 1976 Seattle Seahawks, 4/20, St. Petersburg, FL 77
1977-78 Washington Redskins

The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and, in some
cases, reconstructing professional football history. The PFRA is incorporated in the state of Connecticut and has 501(c)(3)
status as an educational organization with the Internal Revenue Service.
 Professional Football Researchers Association
www.profootballresearchers.com

Player Teams Death Age

Willie Davis 1958-59 Cleveland Browns, 1960-69 Green Bay 4/15, Santa Monica, CA 85
Packers
Fred Dean 1975-81 San Diego Chargers 10/14, Jackson, MS 68
Fred DeBernardi 1974 Kansas City Chiefs 12/10, Las Vegas, NV 71
Charles DeJurnett 1976-80 San Diego Chargers, 1982-86 Los Angeles 11/11, 68
Rams
Tom Dempsey 1969-70 New Orleans Saints, 1971-74 Philadelphia 4/4, New Orleans, LA 73
Eagles, 1975-76 Los Angeles Rams, 1977 Houston
Oilers, 1978-79 Buffalo Bills
Charlie Diamond 1960-63 Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs 5/10, Miami, FL 83
Rickey Dixon 1988-92 Cincinnati Bengals, 1993 Los Angeles 8/1, De Soto TX 53
Raiders
Chris Doleman 1985-93 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta 1/28, Duluth, GA 58
Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers, 1999
Minnesota Vikings
Larry Eisenhauer 1961-69 Boston Patriots 1/29, Jupiter, FL 79
Jim Fraser 1962-64 Denver Broncos, 1965 Kansas City Chiefs, 4/18, Lansdale, PA 83
1966 Boston patriots, 1968 New Orleans Saints
Jesse Freitas, Sr. 1946-47 San Francisco 49ers, 1948 Chicago 5/18, San Diego, CA 99
Rockets, 1949 Buffalo Bills
Carl Garrett 1969-72 Boston/New England Patriots, 1973-74 8/24, Denton, TX 72
Chicago Bears, 1975 New York Jets, 1976-77
Oakland Raiders
Nesby Glasgow 1979-87 Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, 1988-92 2/25, Redmond, WA 62
Seattle Seahawks
Kevin Greene 1985-92 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh 12/21, AL 58
Steelers, 1996 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San
Francisco 49ers, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers
Bill Groman 1960-62 Houston Oilers, 1963 Denver Broncos, 6/17, Houston, TX 83
1964-65 Buffalo Bills
Lee Grosscup 1960-61 New York Giants, 1962 New York Titans 6/1, Alameda, CA 83
Carroll Hardy 1955 San Francisco 49ers 8/9, Highlands Ranch, CO 87
Doug Hart 1964-71 Green Bay Packers 1/1, Minneapolis, MN 80
Carlton Haselrig 1990-93 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1995 New York Jets 7/22, Johnstown, PA 54
Conway Hayman 1975-80 Houston Oilers 3/7, La Porte, TX 71
Gary Hayman 1974-75 Buffalo Bills 8/1, New Castle, DE 69
James Haynes 1984-89 New Orleans Saints 11/14, Waxahachie, TX 60
Mario Henderson 2007-10 Oakland Raiders 10/21, 35
Zac Henderson 1980 Philadelphia Eagles 4/19, Oklahoma City, OK 64
Stan Hindman 1966-74 San Francisco 49ers 7/15, Oakland, CA
Mitch Hoopes 1975 Dallas Cowboys, 1976 Houston Oilers, 1976 8/11, Vista, CA 67
San Diego Chargers, 1977 Detroit Lions
Paul Hornung 1957-66 (except 1963) Green Bay Packers 11/13, Louisville, KY 84
Bill Hull 1962 Dallas Texans 5/3, Raleigh, NC 79
Tavaris Jackson 2006-10 Minnesota Vikings, 2011-15 Seattle 4/12, Montgomery, AL 36
Seahawks

The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and, in some
cases, reconstructing professional football history. The PFRA is incorporated in the state of Connecticut and has 501(c)(3)
status as an educational organization with the Internal Revenue Service.
 Professional Football Researchers Association
www.profootballresearchers.com

Player Teams Death Age

Noel Jenke 1971 Minnesota Vikings, 1972 Atlanta Falcons, 7/23, Milwaukee, WI 73
1973-74 Green Bay Packers
Essex Johnson 1968-75 Cincinnati Bengals, 1976 Tampa Bay 10/29, 74
Buccaneers
Les Josephson 1964-74 Los Angeles Rams 1/1, Tucson, AZ 77
Jim Kiick 1968-74 Miami Dolphins, 1976-77 Denver Broncos, 6/20, Wilton Manors, FL 73
1977 Washington Redskins
Jon Kilgore 1965-67 Los Angeles Rams, 1968 Chicago Bears, 4/14, Atlanta, GA 76
1969 San Francisco 49ers
Jack Klotz 1960-62 New York Titans, 1962 San Diego 5/22, Wallingford, PA 87
Chargers, 1963 New York Jets, 1964 Houston
Oilers
Ed Kovac 1960 Baltimore Colts, 1962 New York Titans 3/8, Cincinnati, OH 81
Ken Lawrence 1969 Philadelphia Eagles, 1970 Atlanta Falcons 3/13, Athens, GA 72
Cecil Leonard 1969-70 New York Jets 8/5, Statesboro, GA 74
David Lewis 1977-81 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1982 San Diego 7/14, Tampa, FL 65
Chargers, 1983 Los Angeles Rams
Dick Lucas 1958 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1959-63 Philadelphia 4/29, Philadelphia, PA 86
Eagles
Lew Luce 1961 Washington Redskins 3/22, Apollo Beach, FL 81
Benny Malone 1974-78 Miami Dolphins, 1978-79 Washington 3/19, Tempe, AZ 68
Redskins
Ron Marciniak 1955 Washington Redskins 3/23, The Villages, FL 87
Marv Marinovich 1965 Oakland Raiders 12/3, Mission Viejo, CA 81
Bill Mathis 1960-69 New York Titans/New York Jets 10/20, Marietta, GA 81
Jack McClairen 1955-60 Pittsburgh Steelers 12/28, Daytona Beach, FL 89
Quentin McCord 2001-03 Atlanta Falcons 8/13, Lexington, KY 42
Dave McCurry 1974 New England Patriots 8/13, Coralville, FL 69
Orlando McDaniel 1982 Denver Broncos 3/27, Dallas County, TX 59
Pellom McDaniels 1993-98 Kansas City Chiefs, 1999 Atlanta Falcons 4/19, Atlanta, GA 52
Jim McFarland 1970 Buffalo Bills, 1970-74 St. Louis Cardinals, 11/27, Omaha, NE 73
1975 Miami Dolphins
John Meyer 1966 Houston Oilers 11/4, Chicago, IL 78
Bobby Mitchell 1958-61 Cleveland Browns, 1962-68 Washington 4/5, 84
Redskins
Greg Montgomery 1988-93 Houston Oilers, 1994 Detroit Lions, 1996- 8/23, Grand Rapids, MI 55
97 Baltimore Ravens
Derland Moore 1973-85 New Orleans Saints, 1986 New York Jets 9/24, Mandeville, LA 68
Kyle Morrell 1986 Minnesota Vikings 11/15, Bountiful, UT 57
Fred Morrison 1950-53 Chicago Bears, 1954-56 Cleveland Browns 11/15, Murrieta, CA 94
Howard Mudd 1964-69 San Francisco 49ers, 1969-70 Chicago 8/12, Seattle, WA 78
Bears
Don Mullins 1961-62 Chicago Bears 8/25, Moore, TX 81
Gern Nagler 1953-58 Chicago Cardinals 4/9, Palm Desert, CA 88
George Nock 1969-71 New York Jets, 1972 Washington Redskins 11/22, Snellville, GA 74

The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and, in some
cases, reconstructing professional football history. The PFRA is incorporated in the state of Connecticut and has 501(c)(3)
status as an educational organization with the Internal Revenue Service.
 Professional Football Researchers Association
www.profootballresearchers.com

Player Teams Death Age

Jimmy Orr 1958-60 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1961-70 Baltimore 10/27, Brunswick, GA 85
Colts
Herb Orvis 1972-77 Detroit Lions, 1978-81 Baltimore Colts 8/14, Goodyear, AZ 73
Markus Paul 1989-93 Chicago Bears, 1993 Tampa Bay 11/25, Plano, TX 54
Buccaneers
Ray Perkins 1967-71 Baltimore Colts 12/9, Tuscaloosa, AL 79
Loyd Phillips 1967-69 Chicago Bears 12/27, 75
Preston Powell 1961 Cleveland Browns 8/23, Cleveland, OH 83
Johnny Pyeat 1960-61 Denver Broncos 4/23, Gilbert, AZ 86
Joe Reid 1951 Los Angeles Rams, 1952 Dallas Texans 3/5, Houston, TX 90
Pete Retzlaff 1956-66 Philadelphia Eagles 4/10, Pottstown, PA 88
Ken Rice 1961 and 1963 Buffalo Bills, 1964-65 Oakland 10/14, Canton, GA 81
Raiders, 1966-67 Miami Dolphins
Gloster Richardson 1967-70 Kansas City Chiefs, 1971 Dallas Cowboys, 2/27, Chicago, IL 77
1972-74 Cleveland Browns
Ken Riley 1969-83 Cincinnati Bengals 6/7, Bartow, FL 72
Tootie Robbins 1982-91 St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, 1992-93 8/2, Chandler, AZ 62
Green Bay Packers
Paul Rochester 1960-63 Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, 1963- 6/9, Jacksonville, FL 81
69 New York Jets
Alex Sandusky 1954-66 Baltimore Colts 8/11, Louisville, KY 87
Gale Sayers 1965-71 Chicago Bears 9/23, Wakarusa, IN 77
Jack Scarbath 1953-54 Washington Redskins, 1956 Pittsburgh 12/6, Rising Sun, MD 90
Steelers
Jake Scott 1970-75 Miami Dolphins, 1976-78 Washington 11/19, Atlanta, GA 75
Redskins
Goldie Sellers 1966-67 Denver Broncos, 1968-69 Kansas City 3/28, Golden, CO 78
Chiefs
Del Shofner 1957-60 Los Angeles Rams, 1961-67 New York 3/11, Los Angeles, CA 85
Giants
Don Shula 1951-52 Cleveland Browns, 1953-56 Baltimore 5/4, Indian Creek, FL 90
Colts, 1957 Washington Redskins
Chuck Sieminski 1963-65 San Francisco 49ers, 1966-67 Atlanta 5/16, Upper Chichester, PA 79
Falcons, 1968 Detroit Lions
Dave Smith 1970-72 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972 Houston Oilers, 5/22, 73
1973 Kansas City Chiefs
Mike Stratton 1962-72 Buffalo Bills, 1973 San Diego Chargers 3/25, Knoxville, TN 78
Jerry Sturm 1961-66 Denver Broncos, 1967-70 New Orleans 6/17, Littleton, CO 83
Saints, 1971 Houston Oilers, 1972 Philadelphia
Eagles
Leo Sugar 1954-59 Chicago Cardinals, 1960 St. Louis 9/23, Fort Myers, FL 91
Cardinals, 1961 Philadelphia Eagles, 1962 Detroit
Lions
Milt Sunde 1964-74 Minnesota Vikings 4/21, Bloomington, MN 78
Harland Svare 1953-54 Los Angeles Rams, 1955-60 New York 4/4, Steamboat Springs, CO 89
Giants

The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and, in some
cases, reconstructing professional football history. The PFRA is incorporated in the state of Connecticut and has 501(c)(3)
status as an educational organization with the Internal Revenue Service.
 Professional Football Researchers Association
www.profootballresearchers.com

Player Teams Death Age

Lorenzo Taliaferro 2014-16 Baltimore Ravens 12/16, Williamsburg, VA 28
Terry Tausch 1982-88 Minnesota Vikings, 1989 San Francisco 3/25, Plano, TX 61
49ers
Rosey Taylor 1961-69 Chicago Bears, 1969-71 San Francisco 5/29, 82
49ers, 1972 Washington Redskins
John Teerlinck 1974-75 San Diego Chargers 5/10, 69
Earl Thomas 1971-73 Chicago Bears, 1974-75 St. Louis 7/4, Houston, TX 71
Cardinals, 1976 Houston Oilers
Mike Tilleman 1966 Minnesota Vikings, 1967-70 New Orleans 9/18, Havre, MT 76
Saints, 1971-72 Houston Oilers, 1973-76 Atlanta
Falcons
Max Tuerck 2017 Arizona Cardinals 6/20, San Diego, CA 26
Dick Van Raaphorst 1964 Dallas Cowboys, 1966-67 San Diego 10/3, San Diego, CA 77
Chargers
Tommy Vaughn 1965-71 Detroit Lions 7/5, 77
Russell Wayt 1965 Dallas Cowboys 1/10, White Oak, TX 77
Ryan Wetnight 1993-99 Chicago Bears, 2000 Green Bay Packers 5/1, Simi Valley, CA 49
Bob Whitlow 1960-61 Washington Redskins, 1961-65 Detroit 10/23, Forsyth County, GA 84
Lions, 1966 Atlanta Falcons, 1968 Cleveland
Browns
Ron Widby 1968-71 Dallas Cowboys, 1972-73 Green Bay 12/23,
Packers
Ben Williams 1976-85 Buffalo Bills 5/18, Jackson, MS 65
Larry Wilson 1960-72 St. Louis Cardinals 9/17, Scottsdale, AZ 82
Robert Wilson 1998-99 Seattle Seahawks, 2000-01 New Orleans 9/8, Tallahassee, FL 46
Saints
Gary Wisener 1960 Dallas Cowboys, 1961 Houston Oilers 12/7, Hot Springs, AR 82
Bill Wood 1963 New York Jets 5/28, Cape May Court 81
House, NJ
Willie Wood 1960-71 Green Bay Packers 2/3, Washington, D.C. 83
Sam Wyche 1968-70 Cincinnati Bengals, 1971-72 Washington 1/2, Pickens, SC 74
Redskins, 1974 Detroit Lions, 1976 St. Louis
Cardinals
Tom Yewcic 1961-66 Boston Patriots 10/21, Arlington, MA 88
Mack Yoho 1960-63 Buffalo Bills 9/14, Thousand Oaks, CA 84
Jim Youel 1946-48 Washington Redskins, 1948 Boston Yanks 4/9, Traer, IA 98
Willie Young 1966-75 New York Giants 7/27, 77

Don Zimmerman 1973-76 Philadelphia Eagles, 1976 Green Bay 5/11, 70

Packers
John Zook 1969-75 Atlanta Falcons, 1976-79 St. Louis 6/6, Wichita, KS 72
Cardinals

The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and, in some
cases, reconstructing professional football history. The PFRA is incorporated in the state of Connecticut and has 501(c)(3)
status as an educational organization with the Internal Revenue Service.