Dave Duerson

Lore & Background

During his seven seasons with the Bears, Duerson received four consecutive Pro Bowl and two consecutive second-team All-Pro selections. He was a member of the 1985 team that won Super Bowl XX. He later spent one season with the New York Giants, winning Super Bowl XXV, and his final three with the Phoenix Cardinals. In 1986, he set an NFL record for most sacks in a season by a defensive back with seven, and was named first-team All-Pro by Pro Football Weekly, the Pro Football Writers Association and The Sporting News, and second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press. He was the 1987 NFL Man of the Year. After football, he owned three McDonald's restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky for six months, purchased majority interest in Fair Oaks Farms in 1995, sold it in 2002, started Duerson Foods (forced into receivership in 2006), and died by suicide in 2011. He was posthumously diagnosed with CTE.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Soldier Field hung heavy with anticipation, a static charge vibrating through the concrete stands. Duerson crouched at the line of scrimmage, his helmet gleaming under the stadium lights, eyes locked not on the formation but into the quarterback's soul. He didn't just read the play; he dissected the opponent's intent before the snap. With a sudden, guttural roar that shattered the forty-thousand-deep roar of the crowd, he signaled the shift, his voice slicing through the chaos. As the ball was snapped, time fractured. Duerson erupted from the backfield, a blur of navy and orange, meeting the runner with a collision that seemed to stop the world. The impact echoed off the press box, leaving the stadium in a split-second of stunned silence before erupting into a deafening roar for another safety.

Reader's Guide

Duerson was a safety for the Chicago Bears from 1983 to 1989, then played one season with the New York Giants (1990) and three with the Phoenix Cardinals (1991–1993). He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time second-team All-Pro. He won Super Bowl XX with the Bears and Super Bowl XXV with the Giants.

Did You Know?

• Duerson set an NFL record for most sacks in a season by a defensive back with seven in 1986, a record that stood for 19 years.
• He was the winner of the 1987 NFL Man of the Year Award.
• Duerson sent a text message to his family before his death asking that his brain be used for CTE research at Boston University School of Medicine.