Ralph M. Anderson (September 2, 1935 – November 27, 1960) was an American college and professional football player. An offensive end, he played college football at

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Althoug ...

and Los Angeles State University, and played professionally in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. His 44 receptions were good enough to lead the Chargers for the season. He played one game with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

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 ...

in 1959.

Death

Anderson died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on November 27, 1960, apparently due to diabetic complications. After going to the movies with his girlfriend and his teammate

Ron Botchan Ronald Leslie Botchan (February 15, 1935 – January 28, 2021) was an American football official from the National Football League (NFL). Prior to that he was an American football linebacker in the American Football League from 1960 to 1962. As ...

, Anderson spent the night at the home of his girlfriend. She found him unresponsive the next morning and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Anderson had missed a game earlier in the 1960 season due to diabetic problems.

Death

References

See also