Ralph E. Norwood (January 23, 1966 – November 24, 1989) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

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 ...

. He played 11 games with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in 1989. He was killed in an automobile accident. Norwood was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

to Roy and Elaine Norwood. Norwood was a talented football player, standing 6 ft 7in tall and weighing over 200 lbs in high school, he was formidable on the line. After graduation, he attended LSU and was redshirted his freshman year. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the

1989 NFL Draft The 1989 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marq ...

. Norwood died in a one-car accident on November 24, 1989. Norwood was alone in his car when he crossed over a lane of oncoming traffic, traveled down an embankment and struck a tree. Drugs and alcohol were not found to be factors in the accident. Norwood died eleven games into the 1989 season; he had played in each game and started one game. The year before Norwood's death, Falcons cornerback

David Croudip David Rodney Croudip (January 25, 1958 – October 10, 1988) was an American football defensive back. He played for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL and the USFL's Los Angeles Express and Houston Gambl ...

died of a cocaine overdose. After Norwood's death, Falcons player

Mike Kenn Michael Lee Kenn (born February 9, 1956) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 17-year career as an offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) from 1978 to 1994. He played ...

commented on the two losses, saying, "There's not a whole lot you can say about this. Once is too much, twice is ridiculous." Less than four weeks after Norwood's accident, Falcons tight end

Brad Beckman Bradley Scott Beckman (December 31, 1964 – December 18, 1989) was an American football tight end in the National Football League for the New York Giants and the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at the University of Nebraska at Omaha ...

died when he apparently fell asleep while driving on any icy highway, striking a tree.

References

External links

Deaths in football
* 1966 births 1989 deaths Players of American football from New Orleans American football offensive tackles LSU Tigers football players Atlanta Falcons players Road incident deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) {{offensive-lineman-1960s-stub