David P. Stief (January 29, 1956 – May 28, 2000) was

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. Born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, he played

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 ...

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

and was drafted in the seventh round of the

1978 NFL Draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hote ...

. Dave Stief played a key role in Mouse Davis’ early Run-and-Shoot offenses at Portland State. During his four seasons, Stief set PSU career records for most touchdown receptions (22) and most receiving yards (2,581). He also set a PSU season record for most touchdown catches in a season (12 in 1977). Stief made one of the most memorable catches in PSU history, the game-winning touchdown in the historic 50-49 win over Montana in 1976. Despite being a role player as a receiver with the Cardinals, he recorded 24 catches for 477 yards and 4 TD as a rookie in 1978 along with completing 1 pass for 43 yards. The next year, he hauled in 22 catches for 324 yards. In 1980, he hauled in 16 catches for 165 yards. In 1981, Stief mostly played special teams but recorded 5 catches for 77 yards and one touchdown. After playing special teams in 1982, he moved on to the

in 1983 but retired after only playing 3 games. He died in 2000 of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

Corbett, Oregon Corbett is an unincorporated community on the Columbia River in eastern Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the Historic Columbia River Highway (a.k.a. Crown Point Highway) between the Sandy River and Crown Point. Corbett ...

References

1956 births 2000 deaths American football wide receivers Portland State Vikings football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Washington Redskins players Players of American football from Portland, Oregon {{widereceiver-1950s-stub