David J. Albright (January 25, 1960 – January 26, 2023) was an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played for 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 1 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for Marina High School and

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Chabot College Chabot College (Chabot or CC) is a public community college in Hayward, California. It is part of the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District. History Chabot College was the first college opened by the Chabot- Las Positas Community Colle ...

. He later transferred to

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

and played for the

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

. From 1986 to 1991, Albright recorded 377 tackles and 12 sacks with the Roughriders over 76 games.

Professional career

In 1985, Albright played with the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

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) and helped them reach the semifinals. When the USFL folded the following year, the

signed Albright. He played in eight regular season games as a rookie in the CFL, but he made no tackles. In 1987, Albright broke out with 118 tackles and two sacks, setting the record for most defensive tackles in a season. Albright continued to play a major role the following season with 92 tackles and five sacks. Albright's 1989 season was hampered by injuries. In July, he pulled his leg muscles. He broke his left hand later in the season, but continued playing in a cast until he also broke his right arm. Albright's arm required surgery and he missed six games. While recovering, Albright also had knee surgery to remove damaged cartilage that had bothered him since the first game of the season. He returned in time for the playoffs and contributed to the Roughriders' championship run. In the West semifinal, Albright intercepted

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Danny Barrett. He also recovered a fumble for a 62-yard touchdown the West finals and was credited by ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' reporter Paul Hunter with "turn ngthe momentum" against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

in the 32–21 upset. The Roughriders went on to win the

77th Grey Cup The 77th Grey Cup was the 1989 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at SkyDome in Toronto; this was the first Grey Cup game held at the stadium as it opened in June 19 ...

against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

43–40. Albright ended the regular season with 79 tackles. In the 1990 season, Albright again missed substantial time due to injury after requiring foot surgery. He ended the season with 44 tackles after playing in eleven regular season games. Albright made 44 tackles and one sack across nine games in 1991 before retiring.

Death

Albright died of a heart attack on January 26, 2023, the day after his 63rd birthday.Former Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Dave Albright dies at 63
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Season statistics

References

1960 births 2023 deaths San Jose State Spartans football players Memphis Showboats players Saskatchewan Roughriders players American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Players of American football from Oakland, California Players of Canadian football from Oakland, California {{77th Grey Cup