Donald George Abbey (born May 19, 1948) is a former

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 ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

who played college football at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

. He was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the seventh round of the

1970 NFL Draft The 1970 National Football League Draft was the 35th National Football League Draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1 ...

Early years

Abbey attended

South Hadley High School South Hadley High School is a secondary school in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States, for students in grades 9–12. The school has a student population of just over 700. The school's name is frequently referred to as "SHHS". Phoebe Prin ...

. In 1963 as a junior

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

, he contributed to the school's first unbeaten season as part of a team that posted an 8–0 record and outscored their opponents 238 to 12 points. He moved on to play 2 more seasons at

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admissi ...

, where he was a

and

middle 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, ...

. As a senior, he was named to the Boston Globe All-New England prep team.

College career

Abbey accepted a football scholarship from

, as one of the last recruits of head coach

Rip Engle Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from ...

. In 1967, he was named the starter at

, contributing to an 8-2-1 record under

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

, registering 386 rushing yards, 5 rushing

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s, 148 receiving yards, 4 receiving

s and kicked 23 out 26

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

s, while leading the team in scoring and ranking fifth in the nation. He suffered a knee injury in the last practice before the 1967 Gator Bowl, which would limit him in the following seasons. In 1968, he re-injured the knee and hurt an ankle in the season opener. He was passed on the depth chart by Tom Cherry, collecting 164 rushing yards and 3

s. As a senior starter, his backup was

Franco Harris Franco Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection ...

and he tallied 228 rushing yards with 4

s. He was a part of the undefeated 1968 and 1969 teams that went 11-0 and won the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

in both years. He finished his college career with 778 rushing yards (4.5-yard average), 12 rushing

s and 4 receiving

Professional career

Abbey was selected by the

in the seventh round (179th overall) of the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 National Football League Draft was the 35th National Football League Draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1 ...

, with the intention of playing him at

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 ...

. Because of three previous knee surgeries that he had in college, he couldn't agree to a financial arrangement with the Cowboys. In

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, he was signed by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

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 was waived on July 23. On April 9,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, he signed with the

New York Stars New York Stars could refer to: *New York Stars (WBL), a team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League before disbanding in 1980 *New York Stars (WFL), a team in the World Football League that relocated in 1974 and becam ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

. He was released on June 26.

References

External links

Don Abbey's football journey: South Hadley native, Penn State grad to receive 2018 Henry A. Butova AwardConnecticut Gridiron: Football Minor Leaguers of the 1960s and 1970s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Don 1948 births Living people People from South Hadley, Massachusetts Players of American football from Hampshire County, Massachusetts American football running backs Penn State Nittany Lions football players American real estate and property developers South Hadley High School alumni