Lionel_Aldridge

Lionel Aldridge

Lionel Aldridge

American football player (1941–1998)

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.

Quick Facts No. 82, Position: ...

Early years

Born 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

Aldridge 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

After 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

  1. [1]
    Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 553.
  2. [2]
    Eskenazi, Gerald (February 14, 1998). "Lionel Aldridge, 56, stalwart on defense for Packer teams". New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  3. [3]
    Hendricks, Martin (June 23, 2009). "Bright career clouded by tragic decline". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  4. [4]
    Magner, Howie (December 30, 2014). "The long walk home". Milwaukee magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  5. [5]
    Schaap, Dick (March 1, 1987). "How Lionel Aldridge defeated mental illness". Parade. p. 8.
  6. [6]
    Yeomans, Jay (May 5, 2014). "The 25 most highly drafted football players from Utah State". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah.
  7. [7]
    "Lionel Aldridge". NFL.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  8. [8]
    Clark, Steve. "Lost and found - Ex-Packer Aldridge winning life's battle". Beloit Daily News. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  9. [9]
    Christl, Cliff. "Lionel Aldridge". Packers.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  10. [10]
    Begel, Dave (December 3, 1980). "Agony, ecstasy". Milwaukee Journal. p. 17, part 2.
  11. [11]
    Ritter, Malcolm (December 17, 1988). "Schizophrenia: one man's struggle for life against the destruction of his personality". Idahonian. Moscow. Associated Press. p. 4B.
  12. [12]
    Oates, Bob (October 10, 1987). "Lionel Akdridge: a long journey and happy days". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  13. [13]
    Kramer, Jerry; Schaap, Dick (October 24, 1985). "Aldridge lost, found". Milwaukee Journal. (Distant Replay). p. 1, part 3.
  14. [14]
    "Former Packer Lionel Aldridge dies at 56". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Associated Press. February 13, 1998. p. C10.
  15. [15]
    Kissinger, Meg (February 17, 1998). "Friends remember the strength of Aldridge's spirit". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 9B.
  16. [16]
    "Celebrity Meltdown". Psychology Today. 32 (6): 46–49, 70. December 1999.
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