It is so overdue that I have enough from football itself to carry their own post from the world of football.
Goodbye to Joe Campbell at the age of 68.
Campbell followed the great All-American Randy White as the Maryland Terrapins defensive star after White's departure as the second overall pick by Dallas in the 1975 NFL draft and while Campbell wasn't as great as White, Campbell was excellent for the Terrapins in their undefeated 1976 regular season (they would lose the Cotton Bowl to Houston), leading the team in sacks and was also named a consensus All-American.
Campbell was drafted seventh overall by New Orleans in the 1977 draft and would play seven seasons in the NFL with the Saints, Raiders, and Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl ring with the 1980 Raiders, and finishing his career with eight sacks, five and a half of those in 1978 with New Orleans.
Goodbye to Dick Sheridan at the age of 81.
Sheridan was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020 after a career record of 121-52-5 compiled at Furman and N.C. State from 1978-1992.
Sheridan took over the N.C. State program in 1986 and in his seven seasons with the Wolfpack, Sheridan finished with six bowl appearances and won nine games in each of his final two seasons in Raleigh.
Just as it seemed that N.C. State was moving towards becoming a major power in the ACC, Sheridan resigned in 1993 due to physical problems and at only fifty-one, Sheridan's coaching career was at its end.
Goodbye to Johnny Lujack at the age of 98.
The 1948 Heisman Trophy winner at Notre Dame, Lujack led the Irish to the National Title three times, first in 1943 before his career was interrupted by World War II.
Lujack returned to South Bend in 1946 and added the remaining two titles after his wartime service.
Lujack is the last Notre Dame athlete to earn letters in four sports, lettering in baseball, football, basketball, and track.
Lujack was the first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 1946 but didn't turn pro until 1948, playing quarterback and safety, where Lujack intercepted eight passes in 1948 to tie the then-league record.
Lujack would be named All-Pro in 1950 and led the league in passing and passing touchdowns in 1949 before retiring after the 1951 season.
Goodbye to Johnie Cooks at the age of 64.
Cooks was the second overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft by the then-Baltimore Colts from Mississippi State, where he was a first-team All-American in his senior season, and played ten seasons in the league for the Colts, Browns, and Giants.
Cooks finished his career with thirty-two sacks with eleven and a half of those coming in 1984 with the Indianapolis Colts in their first season in Indiana.
Cooks would win a Super Bowl ring with the 1990 Giants as a reserve linebacker before his final season with the Browns in 1991.
Goodbye to Zenon Andrusyshyn at the age of 76.
Andrusyshyn played in three leagues in his career, serving as the kicker and punter for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts among three other Canadian teams, and the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits along with a punting-only season in 1978 with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Andrusyshyn was a two-time All-American at UCLA before the Cowboys drafted him in the ninth round in 1970 but failed to make the team.
Andrusyshyn moved to the CFL for most of his career and in 1977 for the Argonauts, nailed a 108-yard punt, which still stands as the longest punt in professional football history.
Goodbye to Sean Dawkins at the age of 52.
A star receiver at Cal for the Golden Bears, Dawkins was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 1993 draft and would play five of his nine pro seasons as a Colt.
A consistent but not spectacular receiver, Dawkins caught over fifty passes in seven of his nine seasons and over seven hundred yards receiving in seven as well.
Dawkins's best season was 1999 with Seattle, catching fifty-eight passes for 992 yards and seven touchdowns.
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