Dean Paul Carlson (August 1, 1950 – August 5, 2022) 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

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

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). 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

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

Early life

Carlson was born and grew up in

Rushford, Minnesota Rushford is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,860 at the 2020 census. History The first pioneers pole-boated up the Root River to the junction of Rush Creek, peering through 10-foot tall grasses to see ...

, and attended Rushford High School, where he played football and basketball.

College career

Carlson began his collegiate career at Rochester State Junior College and was named All-Region as a sophomore after leading all junior college passers with 2,090 yards and 21 touchdown passes. He transferred to

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

and was named the

Cyclones In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

starter going into his first season with the team. He finished the year with 1,391 yards with 11 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions while rushing for 169 yards and four touchdowns. As a senior, he completed 141 of 285 passes for a school record 1,671 yards with 14 touchdowns and 19 interceptions and rushed for an additional seven touchdowns for a Cyclone record 21 total touchdowns as Iowa State went 8–4 and played in the first bowl in program history in the

1971 Sun Bowl The 1971 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the LSU Tigers and the Iowa State Cyclones. Background LSU tied for 6th in the Southeastern Conference while the Cyclones tied for 4th in the Big Eight Conference. This was the ...

. After the season Carlson played in the 1972

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

and started in the 1971

North–South Shrine Game The North–South Shrine Game was an annual postseason college football all-star game played each December from 1948 to 1973 in Miami, and a final time in 1976 in Pontiac, Michigan. The game was sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners Interna ...

Professional career

Carlson was selected in the seventh round of the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...

by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He spent the 1972 season on the Chiefs practice squad and was on and off the active roster in 1973. He was traded to the

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 ...

in exchange for a third round draft pick and was the Packers' third string quarterback until he was waived on October 22, 1974. He was signed by the Chiefs shortly afterwards and made his only appearance in an NFL game in the final game of the 1974 season, completing 7 of 15 pass attempts for 116 yards with one interception and rushing twice for 17 yards in relief of starter

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the K ...

Later life and death

Carlson was later a

mortgage broker A mortgage broker acts as an intermediary who brokers mortgage loans on behalf of individuals or businesses. Traditionally, banks and other lending institutions have sold their own products. As markets for mortgages have become more competitive, ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. He died on August 5, 2022, four days after his 72nd birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Dean 1950 births 2022 deaths Players of American football from Minnesota American football quarterbacks Iowa State Cyclones football players Kansas City Chiefs players Green Bay Packers players People from Rushford, Minnesota Rochester C&T Yellowjackets football players