Is there a precedent for this?

[Coach Sal]

Here is a list of players and coaches who have died in pro and college football during their active playing careers, according to Wikipedia (there may be some they missed):

-Jeff Alm, NFL football, suicide
-Eric Andolsek, Detroit Lions offensive lineman, car accident
-Ralph Anderson, Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver, diabetic reaction
-Brad Beckman, Atlanta Falcons tight end, car accident
-Ricky Bell, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back, heart failure caused by dermatomyositis
-Leon Bender, Oakland Raiders, died of a seizure just weeks following the 1998 NFL Draft
-Brook Berringer, Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback, plane crash, 2 days before the NFL draft
-Taylor Bradford, Memphis Tigers defensive tackle, murder victim
-Jerome Brown, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle, car accident
-Brandon Burlsworth, Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman, car accident
-Travis Claridge, CFL football, acute pneumonia
-David Croudip, Atlanta Falcons defensive back, drug overdose
-Rodney Culver, San Diego Chargers running back, plane crash
-Shane Curry, Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman, homicide
-Mario Danelo, USC kicker, fell off cliff as a result of being drunk
-Ernie Davis, Syracuse running back, leukemia
-Joe Delaney, NFL Kansas City Chiefs running back, drowned
-Keeley Dorsey, NCAA, University of South Florida running back, died after a team workout
-Demetrius DuBose, NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker, shot by police
-George Gipp, Notre Dame, infection
-Howard Glenn, New York Titans offensive tackle, neck injury
-David Griggs, San Diego Chargers linebacker, car accident
-Thomas Herrion, NFL football, heart failure
-Mack Lee Hill, NFL, pulmonary embolism
-Marquise Hill, NFL, drowned
-Terry Hoeppner, head football coach at Indiana University, brain tumor
-Chuck Hughes, NFL Detroit Lions wide receiver, suffered heart attack during game vs. Chicago Bears
-Stone Johnson, NFL football, fractured vertebra in his neck
-Bob Kalsu, NFL Buffalo Bills (on an army tour of service), killed in action
-Fred Lane, Carolina Panthers running back, homicide
-Eugene Lipscomb, Pro Bowl defensive lineman, drug overdose
-Al Lucas, AFL Football, neck injury
-Stan Mauldin, Chicago Cardinals tackle, heart attack
-Joe Morrison, University of South Carolina football coach, heart attack
-Chucky Mullins, University of Mississippi, complications from a spinal cord injury suffered in an on-field collision
-Damien Nash, Denver Broncos running back, collapsed and died after a charity basketball game
-Ralph Norwood, Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman, car accident
-Bryan Pata, University of Miami, homicide
-Brian Piccolo, Chicago Bears running back, embryonal cell carcinoma
-Bo Rein, head football coach of Louisiana State University, plane crash
-Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach, plane crash
-Don Rogers, NFL football, drug overdose
-Donald Sellers, NFL Europa, road accident
-Wayne Simmons, NFL linebacker, car accident
-Fritz Shurmur, defensive co-ordinator of the Green Bay Packers, cancer
-Justin Skaggs, Washington Redskins wide receiver, brain cancer
-Dave Sparks, Washington Redskins tackle, heart attack
-Troy Stark, XFL, complications from surgery
-Korey Stringer, NFL football, heat stroke
-Derrick Thomas. Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, complications from a spinal cord injury suffered in a car accident
-Stacey Toran, NFL, car accident
-Jack Trice, Iowa State University, lung hemorrhage and internal bleeding as a result of the injuries sustained during a game against the University of Minnesota
-Dan Turk, NFL center, testicular cancer
-Eric Turner, NFL football, stomach cancer
-Randy Walker, head football coach of Northwestern University, heart attack
-Curtis Williams, University of Washington, complications from a spinal cord injury suffered in an on-field collision
-Darrent Williams, NFL football, homicide

I don't believe there is any moddern-era precedent of an NFL player dying during the actual season his team was playing.

Jerome Brown died in the summer and Derrick Thomas died after the SB.

The only two I think has been even similar was Korey Stringer, who died during training camp and Darrent Williams, who was shot just hours after the Broncos final game of last season.

Other sports have had some. But can anyone think of someone who passed away during the actual season in the NFL?

[Mr. Pink]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Herrion collapsed and died of heart failure in the locker room following a Broncos exhibtion game. Closest I can think of to regular season.

[Lori]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Chuck Hughes, a Detroit Lions wide receiver, collapsed and died during a game against the Bears in 1971; and Chiefs running back Mack Lee Hill died following knee surgery after tearing ligaments in a game against Buffalo in 1964.

FYI, both teams played their games as scheduled the following week.

[Bulldog]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Weird to see Troy Stark on that list. He played football with my older brothers at Canandaigua Academy. He died after a blod clot went to his heart following knee surgery.

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Who was the Raiders DT that died a few years ago? I do not see his name on this list.

[Coach Sal]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Who was the Raiders DT that died a few years ago? I do not see his name on this list.

There is one Raider there:

Leon Bender, Oakland Raiders, died of a seizure just weeks following the 1998 NFL Draft

Or are you thinking of Barrett Robbins? He was shot, but didn't die. He's still wanted on attempted murder charges and is AWOL.

[TigerJ]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Who was the Raiders DT that died a few years ago? I do not see his name on this list.

Are you thinking of Lyle Alzado? I think he died after his playing days, of conditions probably related to steroid use.

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

It was Bender. For some reason I thought he had played one year and died during his second year.

[Kerr]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Who was the Raiders DT that died a few years ago? I do not see his name on this list.

Darrell Russell.

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Him too.

He died in December, but had been booted from the league.

[Lori]

Re: Is there a precedent for this?

Three more in-season deaths on that list, all Atlanta Falcons -- I'd forgotten about them until I started working on this week's preview for TBD.

David Croudip ODed in October 1988; Brad Beckman and Ralph Norwood both died in car wrecks towards the end of the 1989 season. From the preview, including a couple of quotes, if you're interested...

OUTLOOK:
You can look at the stats and try to figure out the matchups, but there's no way to predict how the Redskins players will react to their friend and teammate's death once the game starts. The 1971 Detroit Lions managed a tie and a win in their first two games after wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed and died during a game... but on the other hand, the 1989 Atlanta Falcons – reeling from the deaths of two teammates in auto accidents less than a month apart – mailed in the end of their season to finish 3-13. At the time, Falcons defensive end Tim Green said, “I know things are going to be better next year, because they couldn't get any worse.” Another player told a reporter after the final game, “All we wanted to do was finish this game and get the hell out of here.”