Duane Benson
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
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| Date of birth: | August 5, 1945 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Belmond, Iowa | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Hamline | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1967 / Round: 11 / Pick: 280 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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Dean Duane Benson (born August 5, 1945 in Belmond, Iowa) is a former American football linebacker and politician.
Football career
He played college football at Hamline University. He played professionally in American Football League for the Oakland Raiders (1967–1969) and in the National Football League for the Raiders (1970–1971), the Atlanta Falcons (1972–1973), and the Houston Oilers (1974–1976).
Business and political career
Benson is a charter member of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, created in 2012 to oversee construction of the state's new professional football stadium. He was the executive director of the Minnesota Business Partnership from 1994 to 2003. Benson owns and operates a cattle farm outside of Lanesboro, Minnesota.[1]
Benson served in the Minnesota Senate, as a Republican, from 1980 to 1994 and was the Senate Minority Leader for a period during that time.[2]