Dave Huffman

**Dave Huffman**
Career information
Date of birth:	April 4, 1957(1957-04-04)
Place of birth:	Canton, Ohio
Date of death:	November 21, 1998(1998-11-21) (aged 41)
Position(s):	Center
College:	Notre Dame
NFL Draft:	1979 / Round: 2 / Pick 43
Organizations
As player:
1979-1990	Minnesota Vikings
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

For other uses, see David Huffman (disambiguation)

David Lambert Huffman (April 4, 1957 – November 22, 1998) was a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League and United States Football League (USFL) for twelve seasons during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Huffman played college football for the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of Notre Dame's 1977 national championship team and an All-American. He played professionally for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, and the Memphis Showboats of the USFL.

1 Early years
2 College career
3 Professional career
4 Death
5 References

Early years

Huffman was born in Canton, Ohio. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, Texas.^[1]

College career

He attended the University of Notre Dame, and played for coach Ara Parseghian and coach Dan Devine's Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 1974 to 1979.^[1] As a junior, Huffman was a member of the Irish's 1977 national championship squad. As a senior in 1977, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. His brothers, Tim and Steve, also played for Notre Dame. He was noted for his good humor, which included saying that during games he always wore red-colored elbow pads so that his mother could see where he was in the pile-ups.

Professional career

The Minnesota Vikings selected Huffman in the second round (forty-third pick overall) of the 1978 NFL Draft, and he played for the Vikings from 1979 to 1990 with only one interruption. In 1984 and 1985, he also played for the USFL's Memphis Showboats. In his eleven NFL seasons, he played in 128 games.

Death

Huffman died in a car accident on November 21, 1998, while on his way to the final Notre Dame home game of the season.^[2] He was survived by his wife, Cathy, a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Jack.^[3] Each year, the city of Chanhassan, Minnesota, where Huffman served as a Park & Recreation Commissioner after his playing days, hosts a Dave Huffman Memorial 5,000-meter run.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Dave Huffman profile at databaseFootball.com
^ On this date in Notre Dame Football History
^ Dave Huffman: ZoomInfo Business People Information
^ Dave Huffman 5K Memorial Run

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football 1977 Consensus National Champions

Luther Bradley \| Ross Browner \| Mike Courey \| Vagas Ferguson \| Bob Golic \| Kris Haines \| Dave Huffman \| Bobby Leopold \| Rusty Lisch \| Ken MacAfee \| Joe Montana \| Dave Waymer Head Coach Dan Devine Coaches Jim Johnson \| Hank Kuhlmann \| Francis Peay \| Joe Yonto

1978 College Football All-America Team consensus selections

Offense	QB Chuck Fusina \| RB Charles Alexander \| RB Ted Brown \| RB Billy Sims \| RB Charles White \| WR Emanuel Tolbert \| TE Kellen Winslow OT Kelvin Clark \| OT Keith Dorney \| G Pat Howell \| G Greg Roberts \| C Dave Huffman \| C Jim Ritcher

Defense	DL Mike Bell \| DL Bruce Clark \| DL Hugh Green \| DL Al Harris \| DL Marty Lyons LB Tom Cousineau \| LB Bob Golic \| LB Jerry Robinson DB Kenny Easley \| DB Johnnie Johnson \| DB Jeff Nixon

Persondata
Name	Huffman, Dave
Alternative names	Huffman, David Lambert; Huffman, David L.
Short description	All-American college football player, professional football player, offensive lineman
Date of birth	April 4, 1957
Place of birth	Canton, Ohio, United States
Date of death	November 21, 1998
Place of death