Mark Edward Arneson (September 9, 1949 – April 14, 2023) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

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 ...

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 hav ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

. His brother

Jim Arneson James Arnold Arneson (born January 7, 1951) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Arizona and was dra ...

followed him into the NFL.

College career

Arneson graduated from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, and was later named to their sports Hall of Fame (1976). Arneson is currently ranked top 10 in two stat lines at the University of Arizona still; 10th in Career Total Tackles (357), 8th in Career Assisted Tackles (171). He led the team in assisted tackles in 1969 and 1970, and led them in unassisted tackles in 1970. He was also a two-time first-team All-WAC selection (1970, 1971).

Pro career

Arneson was selected by the

in the second round of the

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

. He missed only five games during his nine seasons in St. Louis. One of his career highlights came on his birthday in 1979 when he returned a fumble for a touchdown against the

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. ...

. Arneson retired after the 1980 season.

Death

Arneson died on April 14, 2023, at the age of 73.

References

1949 births 2023 deaths St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Arizona Wildcats football players Sportspeople from Iowa City, Iowa {{linebacker-1940s-stub