Fred Dean

Frederick Rudolph Dean (February 24, 1952 – October 14, 2020) played defensive end in the NFL. He earned first-team All-Pro honors twice, appeared in four Pro Bowls, and won two Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers. In 2008, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Dean played college ball at Louisiana Tech. The San Diego Chargers picked him in the second round of the 1975 draft. A contract dispute led to his trade to San Francisco in 1981. He belongs to both the Chargers Hall of Fame and the 49ers Hall of Fame.

Born in Arcadia, Louisiana, Dean grew up in Ruston, about 20 miles east. He attended all-Black Lincoln High School before integration, then transferred to Ruston High as a junior and graduated from there.

In college, Dean chose Louisiana Tech over Grambling State (where Eddie Robinson regularly sent Black players to the NFL) and LSU, which at the time had no Black players on its roster. Playing mostly at end, he became a four-time all-conference pick, two-time conference defensive player of the year in the Southland Conference, and an All-American as a senior in 1974.

San Diego drafted Dean 33rd overall. Coach Tommy Prothro wanted him at linebacker, but Dean insisted on staying on the line. As a rookie, he posted seven sacks and a career-high 93 tackles. He had 15.5 sacks in 1978. In 1979, the Chargers won the AFC West while allowing the fewest points in the conference (246); Dean recorded nine sacks in 13 games and made the All-AFC team.

The Chargers repeated as AFC West champs in 1980. Dean, along with fellow 1975 draftees Gary “Big Hands” Johnson and Louie Kelcher, helped the team lead the NFL with 60 sacks. Dean missed the first two games due to a holdout but still finished with 10.5 sacks. He and Johnson were first-team All-Pro; Kelcher made second-team. The trio, plus Leroy Jones, formed a defensive front called the Bruise Brothers.

Dean’s contract dispute with Chargers owner Gene Klein triggered the 1981 trade. Dean said he was the lowest-paid sixth-year defensive lineman in 1980 and made less than the average for all defensive linemen, adding that his salary matched his brother-in-law’s truck-driving pay. He was set to earn $75,000 that season, but the 49ers renegotiated to roughly $150,000 per year. The Chargers’ defense never recovered, and Don Coryell’s teams are remembered more for their high-scoring offense than for reaching a Super Bowl. In 2013, the U-T San Diego called the trade “perhaps the biggest blunder in franchise history.” Johnson later said, “I can’t say how much it affected us… but if we had more pass rush from the corner, it might’ve been different.”

With San Francisco, Dean became a pass-rush specialist, playing only when the 49ers shifted from a 3–4 to a 4–3 or 4–2 nickel. He joined mid-season for Game 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. After just a couple of practices, he recorded two sacks and repeatedly pressured Danny White in a 45–14 win. Author Tom Danyluk called it “the greatest set of downs I have ever seen unleashed by a pass rusher.” Coach Bill Walsh told John Madden, “Fred just got here… If he plays, he won’t play much,” but Dean played the whole game.

Two weeks later, at home against the Los Angeles Rams, the 49ers won 20–17 for their first-ever home win over the Rams at Candlestick Park. Dean sacked Pat Haden 4.5 times. He was named UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year with 12 sacks in 11 games for the 49ers. San Francisco won Super Bowl XVI, and NFL Films’ Steve Sabol later called Dean’s acquisition the last meaningful in-season trade to affect a Lombardi Trophy. The 49ers, 3–2 when Dean arrived, won 13 of their final 14 games, including playoffs.

In 1983, Dean set a career high with 17.5 sacks, leading the NFC, and recorded a then-NFL-record six sacks in a single game during a 27–0 shutout of the New Orleans Saints on November 13, 1983. He was also a key player on the 1984 squad that won Super Bowl XIX, reuniting with former Chargers teammates Johnson, Kelcher, and Billy Shields.

Dean finished his NFL career with 93 unofficial sacks, per the Professional Football Researchers Association. His Hall of Fame bust, sculpted by Scott Myers, was unveiled in 2008. He was named to the Chargers’ 40th and 50th anniversary teams and inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame. Louisiana Tech inducted him into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990, and he also entered the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.