Daniel Richard Ross (February 9, 1957 – May 16, 2006) 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 ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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) for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

(1979–1983, 1985),

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

(1985), and

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 ...

(1986). He also played for the New Orleans/Portland Breakers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) from 1984 to 1985.

Early life

Ross attended Everett High School in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Everett was the last city in the ...

, where, as a tight end, he starred on the

team.

College career

Ross 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 ...

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

from 1975 to 1978. He was named first-team selection on the

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term '' All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Footbal ...

in his senior year of 1978 while serving as team captain. He also earned the Bulger Lowe Award as the outstanding player in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and the

Harry Agganis Aristotle George "Harry" Agganis (April 20, 1929 – June 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was an American college football player and professional baseball player. After passing up a potential professional football career, he played in ...

Award as New England's outstanding senior. Ross left Northeastern as the Huskies' all-time leader in receptions (153), receiving

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

(13) and receiving yards (2,343). He also set the single-season records for those categories as well, with 68 receptions for 988 yards and seven touchdowns in his senior season. After his senior year, Northeastern retired jersey No. 84 in his honor.

NFL career

After graduating college in 1979, he was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 30th pick in the second round of the

1979 NFL draft The 1979 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 draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

. Ross' best season was in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, when he totaled 71 receptions for 910 yards and five touchdowns, helping lead the Bengals to

Super Bowl XVI Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. His 71 receptions were a single-season franchise record, and would remain so until Carl Pickens had 99 in 1995. Ross had an outstanding performance in the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

, with a record 11 receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns. His receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns were all the most by a tight end in Super Bowl history. However, the Bengals lost to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, 26–21, preventing Ross from being the likely winner of the

Super Bowl MVP The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game. The winner is chosen by a panel of 16 football writers and broadcaster ...

award and first tight end to ever receive it. In addition to his impressive Super Bowl performance, Ross was the Bengals' leading receiver in both playoff wins that year, with six receptions for 71 yards in their 28–21 win over the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and five receptions for 69 yards in their AFC title win over the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, a game known as the

Freezer Bowl In National Football League (NFL) lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played on January 10, 1982, at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, and televised ...

and the coldest game ever played in the NFL. Ross went on to make his first and only

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

on the strength of 47 receptions for 508 yards and three touchdowns in the nine-game season shortened by a players strike. In 1984, Ross briefly left the NFL to play for the New Orleans Breakers and later the

Portland Breakers The Portland Breakers were an American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. Before moving to Portland, Oregon, the franchise was previously in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Breakers and ...

in the newly formed

. He returned to play for the Bengals in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, and finished the season with the

. Ross joined the

for the following season, and then retired in 1987. In his eight NFL seasons, Ross recorded 290 receptions for 3,419 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. Ross later said that as a veteran of a small college not known for its football program, he was grateful for a chance to play in the big leagues. "Just getting drafted was a thrill. You don't expect it from the school I went to. At the time, you don't expect to play in the National Football League, and especially somebody taking you with the 30th overall pick. It's like 'oh geez they must see something I don't'."

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Ross later became president and co-owner of WPWB, an independent TV station in

Riviera Beach, Florida Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, which was incorporated on September 29, 1922. Due to the location of its eastern boundary, it is also the easternmost municipality in the Miami metropolitan area. In the 2020 ...

. He was owner and president of Power House Supply, while also coaching

Pop Warner Football Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known simply as Pop Warner, is a nonprofit organization that provides activities such as American football, for over 425,000 youths aged 5 to 16 years old, in several nations. It is the largest youth football ...

and participating in charity golf tournaments. In 2004, he was enshrined into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

. Northeastern University also recognized the achievement with a halftime ceremony honoring Ross at the October 9, 2004, home game against

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

. He was the first Northeastern University player enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Dan Ross died at age 49 on May 16, 2006, after collapsing at his home in

Atkinson, New Hampshire Atkinson is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2020 census. It is located 34 miles north of Boston, and part of the Greater Boston region. History Atkinson's history dates back to the Am ...

, shortly after returning from jogging. He died at Merrimack Valley Hospital in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

. He was survived by his wife, Joan, and two children, Jillian, then 23, and Dan Jr., then 22.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Dan 1957 births 2006 deaths American football tight ends Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers players Cincinnati Bengals players Green Bay Packers players Northeastern Huskies football players Seattle Seahawks players American Conference Pro Bowl players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Everett, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Malden, Massachusetts