Lionel Aldridge

Games played:	147
Games started:	58
Touchdowns:	1
	Stats at Pro Football Reference

Lionel Aldridge
	Aldridge, circa 1962
No. 82
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	February 14, 1941; Evergreen, Louisiana, U.S.
Died:	February 12, 1998 (aged 56); Shorewood, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	254 lb (115 kg)
Career information
High school:	Pittsburg (Pittsburg, California)
College:	Utah State
NFL draft:	1963 / round: 4 / pick: 54
AFL draft:	1963 / round: 6 / pick: 47; (By the Houston Oilers)
Career history
	Green Bay Packers (1963–1971); San Diego Chargers (1972–1973);
Career highlights and awards
	2× Super Bowl champion (I, II); 3× NFL champion (1965, 1966, 1967); Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame;
Career NFL statistics
Games played:
Games played:	147
Games started:	58
Touchdowns:	1
	Stats at Pro Football Reference

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.

Early life

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.^[7] One of the few rookies to start for head coach Vince Lombardi, he enjoyed an 11-year NFL career.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]^[12]^[2] Homeless for a time in part due to misdiagnosis,^[9]^[13]^[14] he eventually reached a form of equilibrium. He became an advocate for the homeless and the mentally ill until his death in 1998.^[15]^[16] 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.^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 553.
^ ^a ^b Eskenazi, Gerald (February 14, 1998). "Lionel Aldridge, 56, stalwart on defense for Packer teams". New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
^ Hendricks, Martin (June 23, 2009). "Bright career clouded by tragic decline". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
^ Magner, Howie (December 30, 2014). "The long walk home". Milwaukee magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
^ Schaap, Dick (March 1, 1987). "How Lionel Aldridge defeated mental illness". Parade. p. 8.
^ Yeomans, Jay (May 5, 2014). "The 25 most highly drafted football players from Utah State". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016.
^ "1963 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
^ "Lionel Aldridge". NFL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
^ ^a ^b Clark, Steve. "Lost and found - Ex-Packer Aldridge winning life's battle". Beloit Daily News. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
^ Christl, Cliff. "Lionel Aldridge". Packers.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ Begel, Dave (December 3, 1980). "Agony, ecstasy". Milwaukee Journal. p. 17, part 2.
^ Ritter, Malcolm (December 17, 1988). "Schizophrenia: one man's struggle for life against the destruction of his personality". Idahonian. Moscow. Associated Press. p. 4B.
^ Oates, Bob (October 10, 1987). "Lionel Akdridge: a long journey and happy days". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
^ Kramer, Jerry; Schaap, Dick (October 24, 1985). "Aldridge lost, found". Milwaukee Journal. (Distant Replay). p. 1, part 3.
^ "Former Packer Lionel Aldridge dies at 56". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Associated Press. February 13, 1998. p. C10.
^ Kissinger, Meg (February 17, 1998). "Friends remember the strength of Aldridge's spirit". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 9B.
^ "Celebrity Meltdown". Psychology Today. 32 (6): 46–49, 70. December 1999.

External links

Career statistics from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference ·

[TF-1] Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 553.

[nyt-2] Eskenazi, Gerald (February 14, 1998). "Lionel Aldridge, 56, stalwart on defense for Packer teams". New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.

[mjsbcmh-3] Hendricks, Martin (June 23, 2009). "Bright career clouded by tragic decline". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 20, 2016.

[milwkmg-4] Magner, Howie (December 30, 2014). "The long walk home". Milwaukee magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2016.

[hladfmi-5] Schaap, Dick (March 1, 1987). "How Lionel Aldridge defeated mental illness". Parade. p. 8.

[adtfdr-6] Yeomans, Jay (May 5, 2014). "The 25 most highly drafted football players from Utah State". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016.

[7] "1963 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2024.

[lanfl-8] "Lionel Aldridge". NFL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2012.

[scla-9] Clark, Steve. "Lost and found - Ex-Packer Aldridge winning life's battle". Beloit Daily News. Retrieved August 10, 2012.

[10] Christl, Cliff. "Lionel Aldridge". Packers.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.

[agyecy-11] Begel, Dave (December 3, 1980). "Agony, ecstasy". Milwaukee Journal. p. 17, part 2.

[idahin88-12] Ritter, Malcolm (December 17, 1988). "Schizophrenia: one man's struggle for life against the destruction of his personality". Idahonian. Moscow. Associated Press. p. 4B.

[oat-13] Oates, Bob (October 10, 1987). "Lionel Akdridge: a long journey and happy days". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.

[allstfdn-14] Kramer, Jerry; Schaap, Dick (October 24, 1985). "Aldridge lost, found". Milwaukee Journal. (Distant Replay). p. 1, part 3.

[fpladafsx-15] "Former Packer Lionel Aldridge dies at 56". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Associated Press. February 13, 1998. p. C10.

[megkissngr-16] Kissinger, Meg (February 17, 1998). "Friends remember the strength of Aldridge's spirit". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 9B.

[17] "Celebrity Meltdown". Psychology Today. 32 (6): 46–49, 70. December 1999.

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