Lionel Aldridge (February 14, 1941 – February 12, 1998) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers.[1][2][3] He played college football for the Utah State Aggies.
 Aldridge, circa 1962 | |||||||||
| No. 82 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | February 14, 1941 Evergreen, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | February 12, 1998 (aged 56) Shorewood, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Pittsburg (Pittsburg, California) | ||||||||
| College: | Utah State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1963 / round: 4 / pick: 54 | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1963 / round: 6 / pick: 47 (By the Houston Oilers) | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editBorn in Evergreen, Louisiana, Aldridge was raised by his sharecropper grandparents.[4] After his grandfather's death when Aldridge was 15, he was sent to live with a steelworker uncle in Northern California and played high school football at Pittsburg High School.[5] He earned an athletic scholarship and played college football at Utah State University in Logan, Utah[6] and was co-captain of the team and an All-Skyline Conference tackle.
NFL career
editAldridge was selected in the fourth round of the 1963 NFL draft, 54th overall, by the two-time defending NFL champion Green Bay Packers. One of the few rookies to start for head coach Vince Lombardi, he enjoyed an 11-year NFL career.[7] As a Packer, he played a role in their unprecedented three straight NFL Championships (1965-66-67) and victories in Super Bowls I and II.[8] Traded to the San Diego Chargers, Aldridge played two seasons in San Diego before retiring from professional football in 1973.[1] He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1988.[9]
After football
editAfter retiring, Aldridge worked as sports analyst at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee and for Packers radio and NBC until manifesting paranoid schizophrenia in the late 1970s.[10][11][2] Homeless for a time in part due to misdiagnosis,[8][12][13] he eventually reached a form of equilibrium. He became an advocate for the homeless and the mentally ill until his death in 1998.[14][15] His advocacy work included serving as a board member for the Mental Health Association of Milwaukee and working as a speaker for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 553.
- ^ a b Eskenazi, Gerald (February 14, 1998). "Lionel Aldridge, 56, stalwart on defense for Packer teams". New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ Hendricks, Martin (June 23, 2009). "Bright career clouded by tragic decline". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ Magner, Howie (December 30, 2014). "The long walk home". Milwaukee magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ Schaap, Dick (March 1, 1987). "How Lionel Aldridge defeated mental illness". Parade. p. 8.
- ^ Yeomans, Jay (May 5, 2014). "The 25 most highly drafted football players from Utah State". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016.
- ^ "Lionel Aldridge". NFL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- ^ a b Clark, Steve. "Lost and found - Ex-Packer Aldridge winning life's battle". Beloit Daily News. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- ^ Christl, Cliff. "Lionel Aldridge". Packers.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ Begel, Dave (December 3, 1980). "Agony, ecstasy". Milwaukee Journal. p. 17, part 2.
- ^ Ritter, Malcolm (December 17, 1988). "Schizophrenia: one man's struggle for life against the destruction of his personality". Idahonian. Moscow. Associated Press. p. 4B.
- ^ Oates, Bob (October 10, 1987). "Lionel Akdridge: a long journey and happy days". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ Kramer, Jerry; Schaap, Dick (October 24, 1985). "Aldridge lost, found". Milwaukee Journal. (Distant Replay). p. 1, part 3.
- ^ "Former Packer Lionel Aldridge dies at 56". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Associated Press. February 13, 1998. p. C10.
- ^ Kissinger, Meg (February 17, 1998). "Friends remember the strength of Aldridge's spirit". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 9B.
- ^ "Celebrity Meltdown". Psychology Today. 32 (6): 46–49, 70. December 1999.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference ·