Donald Thomas Schaefer (February 13, 1934 – January 20, 2019) was an American football player. He was a first-team All-American

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 ...

at Notre Dame in 1955. Schaefer was born in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School. He then enrolled at the University of Notre Dame where 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 ...

at the fullback position for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...

team from 1953 to 1955. He was selected by the American Football Coaches Association, the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

, the International News Service and the

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the ...

as a first-team player on their respective

1955 College Football All-America Team The 1955 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1955. The eight selectors recognized by the ...

s. Schaefer was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round (28th overall pick) of the 1956 NFL draft and appeared in 12 games for the Eagles during the

1956 NFL season The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. With previous television partner DuMont Television Network ending operations prior to the 1956 season, CBS began carrying regular season games across its network na ...

. He then served 30 months in the United States Air Force and played one season in the Canadian Football League for 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 ...

. After retiring from football, he worked for Canteen Corporation in Chicago and Wyckoff, New Jersey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Don 1934 births 2019 deaths American football fullbacks Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh) alumni Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Philadelphia Eagles players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Players of American football from Pittsburgh