Pro Football Player Deaths in 2011

Here is a list of the 126 pro football players that died in 2011.  The average age of death was 73.6 years. There were 15 players that died before age 55, the normal retirement age.

Let’s keep their “Legacy” alive in our hearts and minds!

I would like to thank Ken Crippen, the Executive Director Professional Football Researchers Association for supplying the information on player deaths. The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and, in some cases, reconstructing professional football history.

You can see their website at this link:  http://www.profootballresearchers.org/

Player	Teams	Death	Age
Ray Abruzzese	1962-64 Buffalo Bills, 1965-66 New York Jets	8/22, Ft. Lauderdale, FL	73
Tom Addison	1960-67 Boston Patriots	6/14, Bluffton, SC	75
Houston Antwine	1961-70 Boston Patriots, 1971 New England Patriots, 1972 Philadelphia Eagles	12/26, Memphis, TN	72
Ricky Bell	1996 Jacksonville Jaguars, 1997-98 Chicago Bears	2/17, Columbia, SC	36
Marv Berschet	1954-55 Washington Redskins	7/12, South Charleston, OH	81
Forrest Blue	1968-74 San Francisco 49ers, 1975-78 Baltimore Colts	7/16, Carmichael, CA	65
Chuck Boerio	1952 Green Bay Packers	9/30, Boulder, CO	81
Reed Bohovich	1962 New York Giants	10/1, Richmond, TX	69
Danny Brabham	1963-67 Houston Oilers, 1968 Cincinnati Bengals	1/23, Baton Rouge, LA	69
Johnny Brewer	1961-67 Cleveland Browns, 1968-70 New Orleans Saints	5/27, Madison, MS	74
Paul Briggs	1948 Detroit Lions	2/14, Santa Ana, CA	90
Bill Brown	1943-44 Brooklyn Dodgers	4/29, Moon Township, PA	92
Orlando Brown	1994-95 Cleveland Browns, 1996-98 Baltimore Ravens, 1999 Cleveland Browns, 2003-05 Baltimore Ravens	9/23, Baltimore, MD	40
George Buksar	1949 Chicago Hornets, 1950 Baltimore Colts, 1951-52 Washington Redskins	2/22, Solon, OH	84
Lewis Bush	1993-99 San Diego Chargers, 2000-02 Kansas City Chiefs	12/8, Tucson, AZ	42
Bob Callahan	1948 Buffalo Bills	3/10, Laguna Woods, CA	87
Len Calligaro	1944 New York Giants	6/15, Ironwood, MI	89
Justin Canale	1965-68 Boston Patriots, 1969 Cincinnati Bengals	10/11, Memphis, TN	68
Whit Canale	1966 Miami Dolphins, 1968 Boston Patriots	9/17, Memphis, TN	69
Ken Carpenter	1950-53 Cleveland Browns, 1960 Denver Broncos	1/28, Seaside, OR	84
Preston Carpenter	1956-59 Cleveland Browns, 1960-63 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1964-66 Washington Redskins, 1966 Minnesota Vikings, 1967 Miami Dolphins	6/30, Tulsa, OK	77
Don Chandler	1956-64 New York Giants, 1965-67 Green Bay Packers	8/11, Tulsa, OK	76
Lynn Chandnois	1950-56 Pittsburgh Steelers	4/19, Flint, MI	86
Lloyd Colteryahn	1954-56 Baltimore Colts	5/2, Dundin, FL	79
Clyde Conner	1956-63 San Francisco 49ers	12/12, Los Altos, CA	78
Terry Crouch	1982 Baltimore Colts	5/8, Dallas, TX	51
Doug Davis	1966-72 Minnesota Vikings	2/10, Brandon, FL	66
Hal Dean	1947-49 Los Angeles Rams	2/12, Midland, TX	88
Sam DeLuca	1960 Los Angeles Chargers, 1961 and 1963 San Diego Chargers, 1964-66 New York Jets	9/13, Pelham, NY	75
Paul Dickson	1959 Los Angeles Rams, 1960 Dallas Cowboys, 1961-70 Minnesota Vikings, 1971 St. Louis Cardinals	6/7, Minneapolis, MN	74
Dave Duerson	1983-89 Chicago Bears, 1990 New York Giants, 1991-93 Phoenix Cardinals	2/17, Sunny Isles Beach, FL	50
Jim Duncan	1950-53 New York Giants	1/5, Sunset Beach, NC	85
Pete Duranko	1967-74 Denver Broncos	7/8, Windber, PA	67
Gene Fekete	1946 Cleveland Browns	4/28, Columbus, OH	88
Ralph Felton	1954-60 Washington Redskins, 1961-62 Buffalo Bills	1/22, Midway, PA	78
Bernie Flowers	1956 Baltimore Colts	4/14, Bonita Springs, FL	81
Sid Fournet	1955-56 Los Angeles Rams, 1957 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1960-61 Dallas Texans, 1962 New York Titans, 1963 New York Jets	4/23, Slidell, LA	78
George Franck	1941, 1945-47 New York Giants	1/19, Rock Island, IL	92
Ben Fricke	1999-2001 Dallas Cowboys	2/21, Frisco, TX	35
Ed Frutig	1941 and 1945 Green Bay Packers, 1945-46 Detroit Lions	2/26, Vero Beach, FL	92
Greg Gantt	1974-75 New York Jets	10/26, Birmingham, AL	59
Peter Gent	1964-68 Dallas Cowboys	9/30, Bangor, MI	69
Cookie Gilchrist	1962-64 Buffalo Bills, 1965 Denver Broncos, 1966 Miami Dolphins, 1967 Denver Broncos	1/10, Penn Hills, PA	75
Gale Gillingham	1966-74, 1977 Green Bay Packers	10/20, Little Falls, MN	67
Ralph Goldston	1952, 1954-55 Philadelphia Eagles	7/9, Columbus, OH	82
Gene Gossage	1960-62 Philadelphia Eagles	5/1, Old Saybrook, CT	76
Otis Grant	1983-84 Los Angeles Rams, 1987 Philadelphia Eagles	5/29, Roswell, GA	49
Bill Gray	1947-48 Washington Redskins	8/18, Portland, OR	88
Garland Gregory	1946-47 San Francisco 49ers	4/28, Ruston, LA	92
George Groves	1947 Buffalo Bills, 1948 Baltimore Colts	7/23, Mexico, MO	90
Billy Hardee	1976 Denver Broncos, 1977 New York Jets	7/4, Phoenix, AZ	56
Jimmy Harris	1957 Philadelphia Eagles, 1958 Los Angeles Rams, 1960 Dallas Texans, 1961 Dallas Cowboys	8/9, Shreveport, LA	76
Richard Harris	1971-73 Philadelphia Eagles, 1974-75 Chicago Bears, 1976-77 Seattle Seahawks	7/26, Winnipeg, Manitoba	63
Joe Heap	1955 New York Giants	4/6, Covington, LA	79
Drew Hill	1979-84 Los Angeles Rams, 1985-91 Houston Oilers, 1992-93 Atlanta Falcons	3/19, Atlanta, GA	54
Glen Holloway	1970-73 Chicago Bears, 1974 Cleveland Browns	12/20, Corpus Christi, TX	64
Ron Holmes	1985-88 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1989-92 Denver Broncos	10/27, DuPont, WA	48
Kent Hull	1986-1996 Buffalo Bills	10/18, Greenwood, MS	50
Gerry Huth	1956 New York Giants, 1959-60 Philadelphia Eagles, 1961-63 Minnesota Vikings	2/11, Las Vegas, NV	77
Duke Iversen	1947 New York Giants, 1948-49 New York Yankees, 1950-51 New York Yanks	5/20, Petaluma, CA	91
Bill Johnson	1948-56 San Francisco 49ers	1/7, Ft. Myers, FL	84
John Henry Johnson	1954-56 San Francisco 49ers, 1957-59 Detroit Lions, 1960-65 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1966 Houston Oilers	6/3, Tracy, CA	81
Andre Jones	1992 Detroit Lions	6/22, Roswell, GA	42
Terry Joyce	1976-77 St. Louis Cardinals	6/17, St. Louis, MO	57
Jim Keane	1946-51 Chicago Bears, 1952 Green Bay Packers	3/8, McHenry, IL	87
Joe Krupa	1956-64 Pittsburgh Steelers	9/13, Chicago, IL	78
Ted Lapka	1943-44 and 1946 Washington Redskins	12/1, Naperville, IL	91
Shawn Lee	1988-89 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990-91 Miami Dolphins, 1992-97 San Diego Chargers, 1998 Chicago Bears	2/26, Raleigh, NC	44
Jim Lipinski	1950 Chicago Cardinals	5/28, Sarasota, FL	85
Nolan Luhn	1945-49 Green Bay Packers	11/27, Coffeyville, KS	90
Lenny Lyles	1958 Baltimore Colts, 1959-60 San Francisco 49ers, 1961-69 Baltimore Colts	11/20, Louisville, KY	75
John Mackey	1963-71 Baltimore Colts, 1972 San Diego Chargers	7/6, Baltimore, MD	69
Lloyd Madden	1940 Chicago Cardinals	12/26, Midland, TX	93
Vaughn Mancha	1948 Boston Yanks	1/27, Tallahassee, FL	89
Jim Mandich	1970-77 Miami Dolphins, 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers	4/26, Wellington, FL	62
Norm Masters	1957-64 Green Bay Packers	4/19, Bloomfield Hills, MI	77
Ollie Matson	1952, 1954-58 Chicago Cardinals; 1959-60 Los Angeles Rams, 1964,66 Philadelphia Eagles	2/19, Los Angeles, CA	80
Chester McGlockton	1992-94 Los Angeles Raiders, 1995-97 Oakland Raiders, 1998-2000 Kansas City Chiefs, 2001-02 Denver Broncos, 2003 New York Jets	11/30, San Ramon, CA	42
Hal Miller	1953 San Francisco 49ers	11/21, Kingsport, TN	81
Fred Molden	1987 Minnesota Vikings	11/1, Moss Point, MS	48
Red Moore	1947-49 Pittsburgh Steelers	12/14, Palm Beach Gardens, FL	89
George Mrkonic	1953 Philadelphia Eagles	5/23, Kansas City, KS	81
Godfrey Myles	1991-96 Dallas Cowboys	6/9, Miami, FL	42
John Nisby	1957-61 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1962-64 Washington Redskins	2/6, Stockton, CA	74
Tom O’Malley	1950 Green Bay Packers	6/11, York, PA	85
Ken Payne	1974-77 Green Bay Packers, 1978 Philadelphia Eagles	8/1, Oklahoma City, OK	60
Lindy Pearson	1950-52 Detroit Lions, 1952 Green Bay Packers	3/9, Oklahoma City, OK	82
Joe Perry	1948-60 San Francisco 49ers, 1961-62 Baltimore Colts, 1963 San Francisco 49ers	4/25, Tempe, AZ	84
Pete Pihos	1947-55 Philadelphia Eagles	8/16, Winston-Salem, NC	87
Hank Piro	1941 Philadelphia Eagles	4/18, Iowa City, IA	93
Eli Popa	1952 Chicago Cardinals	10/14, San Diego, CA	80
Bruce Radford	1979 Denver Broncos, 1980 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1981 St. Louis Rams	5/23, New Orleans, LA	55
Joe Restic	1952 Philadelphia Eagles	12/8, Boston, MA	85
Floyd Rice	1971-73 Houston Oilers, 1973-75 San Diego Chargers, 1976-77 Oakland Raiders, 1978 New Orleans Saints	11/8, Natchez, MS	62
Lee Riley	1955 Detroit Lions, 1956 and 1958-59 Philadelphia Eagles, 1960 New York Giants, 1961-62 New York Titans	6/9, Chicago, IL	78
Andy Robustelli	1951-55 Los Angeles Rams, 1956-64 New York Giants	5/31, Stamford, CT	85
Ed Royston	1948-49 New York Giants	7/16, Seaside Park, NJ	87
Rocky Ryan	1956-58 Philadelphia Eagles, 1958 Chicago Bears	11/3, Urbana, IL	79
Lee Roy Selmon	1976-84 Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9/4, Tampa, FL	56
Harley Sewell	1953-62 Detroit Lions, 1963 Los Angeles Rams	12/17, Arlington, TX	80
Jim Seymour	1970-72 Chicago Bears	3/29, Highland Park, IL	64
Bob Shaw	1945 Cleveland Rams, 1946 Los Angeles Rams, 1949 Los Angeles Rams, 1950 Chicago Cardinals	4/10, Westerville, OH	89
Bill Shipp	1954 New York Giants	6/9, Mobile, AL	80
Paul Shoults	1949 New York Bulldogs	8/20, South Bend, IN	85
Bubba Smith	1967-71 Baltimore Colts, 1973-74 Oakland Raiders, 1975-76 Houston Oilers	8/3, Los Angeles, CA	66
Chuck Smith	1956 San Francisco 49ers	12/26, San Angelo, TX	78
Jerry Smith	1952-53, 1956 San Francisco 49ers, 1956 Green Bay Packers	8/6, San Diego, CA	80
George Speth	1942 Detroit Lions	8/24, Port Richey, FL	93
Ron Springs	1979-84 Dallas Cowboys, 1985-86 Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5/12, Dallas, TX	54
Art Statuto	1948-49 Buffalo Bills, 1950 Los Angeles Rams	3/2, Carrolton, TX	85
Bill Stits	1954-56 Detroit Lions, 1957-58 San Francisco 49ers, 1959 Washington Redskins, 1959-61 New York Giants	12/5, Palm Desert, CA	80
Herb St. John	1948 Brooklyn Dodgers, 1949 Chicago Hornets	6/29, Perry, GA	85
Skip Thomas	1972-77 Oakland Raiders	7/24, Kansas City, KS	61
Buddy Tinsley	1949 Los Angeles Dons	9/14, Winnipeg, Manitoba	88
Joe Tofflemire	1990, 1992, 1994 Seattle Seahawks	9/27, Coeur d’Alene, ID	46
Steve Trimble	1981-83 Denver Broncos, 1987 Chicago Bears	7/11, Ashburn, VA	53
Deacon Turner	1978-80 Cincinnati Bengals	7/10, Bakersfield, CA	56
Tommy Watkins	1961 Cleveland Browns, 1962-65 and 1967 Detroit Lions, 1968 Pittsburgh Steelers	10/29, Detroit, MI	74
Allan Webb	1961-65 New York Giants	7/18, Burlingame, CA	78
Bob White	1951-52 San Francisco 49ers, 1955 Cleveland Browns, 1955 Baltimore Colts	3/5, Southlake, TX	81
Norm Willey	1950-57 Philadelphia Eagles	8/18, Newark, DE	83
George Wilson, Jr.	1966 Miami Dolphins	8/6, Weeki Wachee, FL	68
Cal Withrow	1970 San Diego Chargers, 1971-73 Green Bay Packers, 1974 St. Louis Cardinals	7/3, Lexington, KY	65
Wally Yonamine	1947 San Francisco 49ers	2/28, Honolulu, HI	85
Frank Ziegler	1949-53 Philadelphia Eagles	3/6, Gainsville, GA	87
Bob Zimny	1945-49 Chicago Cardinals	8/11, Shelbyville, IN	89

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