David Douglas Harper (May 5, 1966 – October 20, 2021), nicknamed "Harpdog", 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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). 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 ...

for the

Humboldt State Lumberjacks The Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks are the 13 varsity athletic teams that represent California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, located in Arcata, California, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Lumberjacks compete as an associat ...

. Harper played in NFL for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

before competing in the CFL with the

Sacramento Gold Miners The Sacramento Gold Miners were a Canadian football team based in Sacramento, California. The franchise was the first American team in the Canadian Football League. The Gold Miners inherited a home stadium, front office staff, and much of the ro ...

San Antonio Texans The San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Mi ...

and

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

Early life

Harper attended Eureka High School where he played as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He moved on to the

College of the Redwoods College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus south of Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties. It has two branch campuses, as well as three additiona ...

, where he was named to the All-Golden Valley Conference team in 1986. He accepted a football scholarship from

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

, but decided to transfer the same year to Division II

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of Cal Poly (disambiguation), three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) sys ...

, sitting out the 1987 season because of transferring rules. As a junior, he played both

and

. Against the

University of California-Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institution was ...

, he had a season-high 114 rushing yards, including a 44-yard run. Against

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

, he registered 20 tackles and one interception. He also averaged 23.5 yards on 4 kickoff returns. As a senior, he was moved full-time to

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

. He posted 125 tackles (school record), 7 tackles for loss (led the team) and 5 sacks (third on the team). He became the first player ever from the school to participate in the

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

. In 1997, he was inducted into the Humboldt State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Harper was selected by the

in the 11th round (277th overall) of the 1990 NFL draft. He was waived on August 26. He was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on October 1, he was released and signed again on 30. He was promoted to the active roster on November 14. He was released before the start of the 1991 season.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

In July

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

. He was limited with a pinched nerve during training camp and was released before the start of the season.

Sacramento Gold Miners / San Antonio Texans

On May 4,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he was signed as a

by the

of the

, finishing with 6 defensive tackles and 8

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles in 10 games. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, the franchise moved to San Antonio and was re-named as the Texans. He recorded 74 tackles (5 for loss) and 7 sacks, while being named to the Southern All-Sar team. The franchise folded in February

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Ottawa Rough Riders

On August 2,

, he signed as a

with the

of the

. He only appeared in 2 games. The franchise folded in November

Montreal Alouettes

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, he was selected in the fifth round of the

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. He was released before the start of the season.

Personal life

After his professional career, he was the athletic director, head football coach and a physical education teacher at Templeton High School. He is also known as Harpdog to his students and co-workers at Templeton High School. Harper died on October 20, 2021, due to complications from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. He was 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Dave 1966 births 2021 deaths American football linebackers Dallas Cowboys players Humboldt State Lumberjacks football players Ottawa Rough Riders players Sacramento Gold Miners players San Antonio Texans players High school football coaches in California Sportspeople from Eureka, California Players of American football from Humboldt County, California Players of Canadian football from California