Douglas Boyd Eggers (September 21, 1930 – June 3, 2025) 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 ...

for five 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

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

and

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

. 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

South Dakota State Jackrabbits The South Dakota State Jackrabbits are the 19 intercollegiate teams representing South Dakota State University that compete in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I (for football: Football Championship Subdivision). Sout ...

Early life

Eggers attended Wagner High School in

Wagner, South Dakota Wagner is a city in Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,490 at the 2020 census. The city is served by Wagner Municipal Airport as well as YST Transit buses. History Wagner was founded in 1900. The town was i ...

, where he starred in football, basketball and track.

College career

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...

, Eggers lettered three straight years for the

Jackrabbits Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genu ...

, including the team's undefeated 1950 season. He was team captain and earned all-

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

honors in 1951. He graduated in 1952.

Professional career

Eggers was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in November 1952. He played on the post football team for two seasons at

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir ( ) is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir (plantation), Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Lord ...

in Virginia."Colts Sign Doug Eggers, Fort Belvoir Linebacker"
''

The Evening Star ''The Evening Star'' is a 1996 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Harling, adapted from the 1992 novel by Larry McMurtry. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning 1983 film ''Terms of Endearment'' starring Shirley MacLaine, who r ...

'', Washington, D.C., 102nd year, number 8, January 8, 1954, page C-3. The team's coach, future

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 ...

owner

Al Davis Allen R. Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the managing general partner, principal owner and ''de facto'' general manager of the National Football League (NFL) Oakland Rai ...

, later arranged tryouts for Eggers with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and Baltimore Colts. Upon his discharge from the army, Eggers signed with the

in January 1954 and played in 46 games for the team from 1954 to 1957. Eggers played in eight games for the

during the 1958 season.

Personal life

After his football career, Eggers owned the Chesapeake Supply and Equipment Company until retiring in 1978. Eggers was inducted into the South Dakota State Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2021, and the Wagner Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. He died on June 3, 2025.Douglas Boyd Eggers
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References

External Links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eggers, Doug 1930 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Players of American football from South Dakota American football linebackers South Dakota State Jackrabbits football players Baltimore Colts players Chicago Cardinals players United States Army soldiers Businesspeople from South Dakota People from Wagner, South Dakota