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| No. 22, 26 | |||||||||
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| Position | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1960-11-28)November 28, 1960 Muncie, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | February 17, 2011(2011-02-17) (aged 50) Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Muncie Northside | ||||||||
| College | Notre Dame | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1983:3rd round, 64th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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David Russell Duerson (November 28, 1960 – February 17, 2011) was an American professionalfootball player who was asafety in theNational Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with theChicago Bears. As a member of the Bears, he was selected to four consecutivePro Bowls from 1985 to 1988 and was part of the1985 defense that won the franchise's first and onlySuper Bowl inSuper Bowl XX. He also played for theNew York Giants andPhoenix Cardinals, winningSuper Bowl XXV with the former.
At age 50, Duerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Following his request, his brain was sent to theBoston University School of Medicine for research onchronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Neurologists at Boston University confirmed that Duerson had CTE as a result of theconcussions he had during his playing career.
Born and raised inMuncie, Indiana, Duerson playedfootball,basketball, andbaseball atNorthside High School. Duerson's honors during his high school years included the 1979 Indiana Mr. Football.[1]
Duerson playedcollege football at theUniversity of Notre Dame from1979 to1982,[2] and graduated with honors, with a BA in economics. He started all four years for theFighting Irish, and earned recognition as anAll-American in 1981 and1982. Duerson was acaptain and the team's MVP as a senior in 1982, intercepting seven passes and returning them for 104 yards. He finished his college career with 12 interceptions, which he returned for 256 yards and a touchdown. He also returned 103 punts for 869 yards and 3 kickoffs for 75.[3]
He was the winner of the Edward "Moose" Krause Distinguished Service Award in 1990 by the Notre Dame Monogram Club, of which he was a past president. He was also a member of the University of Notre Dame Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2005.[2]
Taken in thethird round of the1983 NFL draft by theChicago Bears, Duerson was selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls (1986–1989). He won twoSuper Bowl championship rings, with the1985 Bears (XX), and1990 Giants (XXV).[4] During the1986 season, Duerson set an NFL record that stood for 19 years (Adrian Wilson, 2005) for most sacks in a season by a defensive back, with seven. He also intercepted six passes for 139 yards with a longest return of 38 yards. At season's end, Duerson was named first-teamAll-Pro byPro Football Weekly, thePro Football Writers Association andThe Sporting News and second-team All-Pro by theAssociated Press. In 1987, Duerson was the recipient of theNFL Man of the Year Award. In his 11 seasons, Duerson recorded 20 interceptions, which he returned for 226 yards, and 16 quarterback sacks. He also recovered five fumbles, returning them for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Duerson owned threeMcDonald's restaurants inLouisville, Kentucky for six months, from late 1994 to April 1995. He purchased the majority interest in Fair Oaks Farms (formerly Brooks Sausage Company) in 1995.[5] He sold his stake in the company in 2002 and started Duerson Foods, but that company was forced intoreceivership in 2006 and most of its assets were auctioned off.[6]
Duerson was found dead at hisSunny Isles Beach, Florida[7] home on February 17, 2011. The Miami-Dade County medical examiner reported that Duerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.[8] He sent a text message to his family saying he wanted his brain to be used for research at theBoston University School of Medicine, which is conducting research intochronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), aneurodegenerative disease, which can be caused by playing football.[9] He left behind three sons and a daughter from his marriage to ex-wife Alicia.[8] He was buried in theCedar Grove Cemetery inNotre Dame, Indiana.
On May 2, 2011, neurologists at Boston University confirmed that Duerson had CTE, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[10] He was one of at least 345NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease.[11][12]
Duerson was portrayed by actorAdewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in the2015 filmConcussion. Duerson's family was displeased with how he was portrayed.[13] Duerson was also mentioned in theHBO seriesBallers in reference to CTE with character Ricky Jerret.
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