| No. 23 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Cornerback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1936-06-14)June 14, 1936 Shelby, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | October 7, 1999(1999-10-07) (aged 63) Kenner, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Shelby | ||||||||
| College | Indiana | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1958: 24th round, 289th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
David Andrew Whitsell (June 14, 1936 – October 7, 1999) was an American professionalfootballcornerback in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDetroit Lions,Chicago Bears, andNew Orleans Saints. He was selected to thePro Bowl after the 1967 season. Whitsell playedcollege football atIndiana University.
Whitsell was born on June 14, 1936, inShelby, Michigan,[1] a small town in West Michigan nearLake Michigan.[2] Whitsell attendedShelby High School, graduating in 1954. He earned 16 high school letters in football,basketball,track, andbaseball, graduating in 1954.[3][4][5]
As a sophomore in 1952, he was All-West Michigan Conference (WMC) in basketball, playing center at only 5 ft, 7 in (1.7 m). He competed inhurdles,broad jump andshot put on the track team, winning the Class C broad jump championship in 1954. He was nicknamed the "one-man-gang" in track for his success in multiple different events.[6][5]
On the football team, in the first game of his senior year herushed for 201 yards, with a16.7yards per carry average, and scored fourtouchdowns. The following week he scored another touchdown andpassed for two more. In another game that year he scored five touchdowns of 75, 70, 21, eight and six yards. He was named to the All-WMC football team that year, and was All-State in Class C football.[6][7]
Whitsell attendedIndiana University, and played two years on thevarsity football team in 1956–57).[8] These were losing seasons for the team, 3–6 and 1–8 respectively.[9] Whitsell, however, stood out on a bad team, accounting for nearly half of the team's entire offensive yardage through four games in 1957, when the team lost all four games by a combined total of 183–7.[10][11] In 1957, he led the team in receiving, including a game againstIowa where he had three receptions for 107 yards.[3][12]
Over 12 seasons (1958–1960, 1961–66, 1967–69), he played at the cornerback, defensive back, and free safety positions in the NFL with the Lions, Bears, and Saints respectively.[13]
He was chosen by the Detroit Lions in the 24th round of the 1958 NFL Draft (289th overall).[14] He appeared in 35 career games with the Lions over the next three years, but started in only three, with one interception.[13] He was exposed in the 1961expansion draft, and was taken by the newly createdMinnesota Vikings. Before the season started, the Vikings traded Whitsell to theNew York Giants. Just days later, the Giants traded him toWashington, but he refused to report. Washington then sent Whitsell to the Bears as compensation forJohn Aveni.[6]
During his six years with the Bears, he started 83 of the teams 84 regular season games at right cornerback.[13] He was given the nickname "Weasel" for his cunning style of play.[6] He had 26 interceptions for the Bears, two of which he returned for touchdowns.[13] One of those touchdowns came in 1963 against former Lions teammate, and fellow Michigan native and Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame member,Earl Morrall; clinching the final regular season game with important playoff implications for the Bears.[15][6][16][3]
With the Chicago Bears he was one of the members of the1963 National Football League championship team, which included among othersRosey Taylor andRichie Petitbon in the defensive backfield; future coach and Hall of Fame tight endMike Ditka; future Hall of Fame defensive endDoug Adkins; and future Hall of Fame linebackerBill George.[17][18][19][20] The game, which was played on December 29, 1963, atWrigley Field in Chicago, pitted the visitingNew York Giants against the Bears in the 31st annual event. The Bears won, 14–10. Giants quarterbackY. A. Tittle threw five interceptions in the game, including an interception by Whitsell.[21]
Whitsell started every Bears game from 1964 to 1966, with nine interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown in 1965.[13] After the 1963 championship, however, the Bears had below .500 records during two of those three seasons.[22]
Just as in 1961, Whitsell was left exposed in the 1967 expansion draft, and was taken by the newly created New Orleans Saints.[6] That first Saints team also included former Bears teammate Adkins, and formerGreen Bay Packer starJim Taylor,[23] among others.[24] But it was Whitsell that was considered the Saints first true star.[25]
In the Saints inaugural season, Whitsell became the first member of the New Orleans franchise to play in a Pro Bowl, when he was selected to play in the NFL's1967 Pro Bowl game.[26][27] In 1967, Whitsell also tied for the NFL league lead in interceptions with 10 (along withLem Barney), two of which he returned for touchdowns.[28][27][13] He was Defensive Player of the Week in the eighth week of the 1967 season, in a game against thePhiladelphia Eagles, where he returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown. This was the Saints first ever win.[29][30] TheAssociated Press andUnited Press International named him second-teamAll-Pro in 1967, andThe Sporting News named him first-team All-Conference.[31]
He started 13 games for the Saints in 1968 at free safety, with six interceptions; and had three interceptions at free safety in 1969, starting in 12 games.[13] He was traded to theDallas Cowboys before the 1970 season, who waived him, ending his professional football career.[6]
At the time he retired Whitsell had 46 career interceptions, four of which he returned for touchdowns.[13] He ranked in the top 10 for interceptions all-time at that point.[6] As of 2024, he is tied for 52nd all-time in interceptions.[32]
Whitsell was inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1989,[3] and theNew Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1996.[33]
After his retirement from football he became a real estate investor. He was also a member of the National Football League Retired Players Association[34] and the Kenner North Kiwanis Club.
He was diagnosed with colon and prostate cancer in 1995 and died from cancer in 1999.[35]
