Don Rogers (safety)
| No. 20 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | September 17, 1962 Texarkana, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | June 27, 1986 (aged 23) Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 206 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Norte Del Rio (Sacramento) | ||||||||
| College: | UCLA | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1984 / round: 1 / pick: 18 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Donald Lavert Rogers (September 17, 1962 – June 27, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the mid-1980s. His career was cut short when he died of a heart attack caused by cocaine use.
Early life
[edit]Rogers was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, and graduated from Norte Del Rio High School in Sacramento, California in 1980.[1] He excelled in football, basketball and baseball, garnering All-City honors in all three sports. His brother Reggie Rogers also played in the NFL.
College career
[edit]Rogers played college football for the UCLA Bruins,[2] and, as a senior, was recognized as a consensus All-American.[3]
Two of Rogers most memorable performances came in "The Granddaddy of Them All", the Rose Bowl. In the 1983 game, as a junior, he was Co-Player of the Game for UCLA, along with quarterback Tom Ramsey. The next year, he tied a Rose Bowl record when he intercepted two passes off of Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Jack Trudeau.
Professional career
[edit]Rogers was selected in the first round with the 18th overall pick of the 1984 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.[4] He played two seasons with the Browns from 1984 to 1985. He appeared in 31 regular season games, with two interceptions, one of which he returned 39 yards.[5] In what would turn out to be his final game, a playoff loss to the Miami Dolphins, Rogers picked off hall-of-famer Dan Marino and returned the ball 45 yards.[1]
Death
[edit]Rogers died of a heart attack caused by a cocaine overdose on June 27, 1986,[6] the day before his wedding.[7] He was 23 years old. His death came only eight days after that of Len Bias, an NBA draft pick who also died of cocaine abuse, prompting a national discussion about the relationship between illegal drugs and athletes.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Don Rogers Stats". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Don Rogers Stats". NFL.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 13. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- ^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ "Don Rogers Stats". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Rogers' death is a second warning
- ^ Kardiac kids: the story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns By Jonathan Knight. Kent State University Press. p. 275
Bibliography
[edit]- Harvey, Sean D. (2007). One Moment Changes Everything: The All-America Tragedy of Don Rogers. Sports Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59670-231-8.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1962 births
- 1986 deaths
- All-American college football players
- American football safeties
- Cleveland Browns players
- Cocaine-related deaths in California
- National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners
- People from Texarkana, Arkansas
- UCLA Bruins football players
- Players of American football from Arkansas
- Players of American football from Sacramento, California