Charles Wayne Osborne Jr. (November 2, 1973 – October 16, 2012) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who played three seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. He was selected by the Rams in the seventh round of the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. Osborne was also a member of the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, t ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and

Georgia Force The Georgia Force was an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States (part of suburban Atlanta) that played in the South Division of the American Conference. The team was owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn ...

Early life

Charles Wayne Osborne Jr. was born on November 2, 1973, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Canyon High School in

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

as a defensive tackle.

College career

Osborne was a four-year

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for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

of the

from 1992 to 1995. He was a member of Arizona's famed "Desert Swarm" defense. He led the team with 11 sacks in 1994 and finished his college career with 21. He was named first-team All-Pac-10 by the Coaches his senior year in 1995.

Professional career

During the 1996

NFL combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, Osborne had 33 reps at 225 pounds in the

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

. He was selected by the

in the seventh round, with the 222nd overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on June 27. He played in 15 games, starting one, for the Rams during the 1996 season, recording 11 solo tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. He was released on August 19, 1997. Osborne played for the

during the 1998 NFL Europe season, accumulating 20 defensive tackles, eight sacks, one forced fumble, and two pass breakups. Osborne signed with the

on June 24, 1998. He appeared in six games for the Raiders in 1998, totaling three solo tackles and one assisted tackle, before being placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on October 21, 1998. He played in all 16 games during the 1999 season, totaling seven solo tackles, six assisted tackles, one sack, and one pass breakup. He was released on August 27, 2000. Osborne was signed by the

on September 27, 2000. He was soon released on October 11, 2000. He signed with the

on December 13, 2000. He was released on August 1, 2001. Osborne signed with the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

on March 6, 2002. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list on March 24, and was waived on April 15, 2002.

Personal life

Osborne died at his home in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

on October 16, 2012. His cause of death was listed as " CTE and obesity-related hypertensive cardiomyopathy." He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with CTE, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

References

External links

Stats Crew profileChuck Osborne
at Find a Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Chuck 1973 births 2012 deaths Players of American football from Los Angeles American football defensive tackles Arizona Wildcats football players St. Louis Rams players Amsterdam Admirals players Oakland Raiders players Georgia Force players Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Deaths from cardiomyopathy Players of American football with chronic traumatic encephalopathy 20th-century American sportsmen Green Bay Packers players New England Patriots players