David A. Whitsell (June 14, 1936 – October 7, 1999) was an

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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turno ...

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 major ...

(NFL) for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, and the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

after the 1967 season. Whitsell played college football at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. Dave was married to Jacque Whitsell. They had four children daughters Amy and Lisa, sons Mike and Dave. Dave Whitsell attended Shelby High School in Shelby, Michigan, a small town in West Michigan near

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of ...

. He earned 16 high school letters in football, basketball, track, and baseball, graduating in 1954. For 12 seasons (1958–1960, 1961–66, 1967–69), he played at the cornerback and defensive back positions in the National Football League with the Lions, Bears, and Saints. Born David Andrew Whitsell, he played collegiate football at

in Bloomington. He was chosen by the Detroit Lions in the 24th round of the 1958 NFL Draft, and appeared in 36 career games with them. With the Chicago Bears he was one of the members of the 1963 National Football League championship team, which included Rosey Taylor, Richie Petitbon and future coach

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...

at tight end. The game, which was played on December 29, 1963, at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

in Chicago, pitted the visiting

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

against the Bears in the 31st annual event. The Bears won, 14–10. After three years with the Bears he became a Saint for the team's 1967 inaugural season. During the NFL's expansion draft, New Orleans was able to pick players from existing teams. He became the first member of the New Orleans franchise to play in the NFL's

game. Whitsell also led the entire league in 1967 in interceptions with 10. After his retirement from football he became a real estate investor. He was also a member of the National Football League Retired Players Association and the Kenner North Kiwanis Club. Whitsell was inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1996. He was diagnosed with colon and prostate cancer in 1995 and died from it in 1999.

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* 1936 births 1999 deaths Players of American football from Michigan American football cornerbacks Indiana Hoosiers football players Detroit Lions players Chicago Bears players New Orleans Saints players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players {{defensiveback-1930s-stub