Donald Francis Reese (September 4, 1951September 18, 2003) 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

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

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

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). He played professionally for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

and 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 ...

and the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

of the USFL.

Early life and education

Reese was born in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

and graduated from

Vigor High School Vigor High School, located in Prichard, Alabama, is a public high school that educates grades 9- 12. It is operated by the Mobile County Public School System. It serves most of Prichard. Naming The school is named after Charles Frederick Vig ...

Prichard, Alabama Prichard is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 19,322 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 18,816 in 2023. Prichard borders the north side of Mobile, Ala ...

. 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 ...

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

Career

Reese was a 1st round selection (26th overall pick) of the

1974 NFL draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the Pittsburgh Steelers to have had t ...

by the

. He played for the Dolphins from 1974 to 1976, but missed the 1977 NFL season after being arrested on May 4, 1977, along with teammate

Randy Crowder Randolph Channing Crowder Sr. (July 30, 1952 – ) was an American professional football player who was a defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college ...

, on charges of selling of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

to two undercover agents in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. After pleading

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

on August 10, Reese and Crowder were sentenced to one year incarceration at the Dade County Stockade, followed by four years probation, a remarkably light sentence given the charges. After his release, Reese went on to play for the

(1978–1980), and the

(1981). In 1985 Reese played for the

in the

. Reese was suspended for the final four games of the 1980 season by interim coach Dick Stanfel for instigating a fight during a practice with teammate Derland Moore. Stanfel was conducting his first practice session as Saints coach after taking over for Dick Nolan, who was fired after the Saints fell to 0-12 in a loss to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

on ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

''. New Orleans finished 1-15, becoming the first NFL team to lose 15 games in a season. In June 1982, Reese authored a lengthy article for ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' in which he detailed his struggles with drugs. This was one of the first looks into the seedy world of money and drug use in the NFL. . Reese was named the Jackson State All-Century Team and was inducted into the JSU Athletic Hall of Fame

Death

On September 18, 2003, Reese died in

, at age 52 from

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Don 1951 births 2003 deaths Players of American football from Mobile, Alabama American football defensive ends Jackson State Tigers football players Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players San Diego Chargers players Deaths from liver cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Alabama Vigor High School alumni