Thomas Arthur Keating (September 2, 1942 – August 31, 2012) 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 ...

player who played at the

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

position. 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

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1961 to 1963. He also played 12 seasons of professional football 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. ...

(AFL) and

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) from 1964 to 1975. He was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

in 1966 and 1967, a key to the 1967 Oakland Raiders' defensive line that led the team to a 13–1 record and the 1967 AFL Championship, and was considered "the premier tackle in the old American Football League". He was known for his use of a distinctive four-point stance in which he lined up with both hands on the ground.

Early years

Keating was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1942. He attended St. Mel High School in Chicago.

University of Michigan

Keating enrolled at the

in 1960 and played

at the tackle position on head coach

Bump Elliott Chalmers William "Bump" Elliott (January 30, 1925 – December 7, 2019) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University (1943–1944) and the University of Michigan (1946–19 ...

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

teams from 1961 to 1963. As a junior, he started eight of nine games at left tackle for the 1962 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 2–7 record and finished in last place in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. As a senior, he started all nine games at left tackle and was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the 1963 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 3-4-2 record and finished in fifth place in the

Professional football

Buffalo Bills

Keating was selected by the

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

in the fifth round (34th overall pick) of the 1964 American Football League Draft. He spent the 1964 and 1965 AFL seasons as a backup player for the Bills, appearing in three games in 1964 and six games in 1965.

Oakland Raiders

Keating joined the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

for the 1966 AFL season. He earned

honors with the Raider in 1966 and 1967. He was the starting right tackle for the Raiders' 1967 AFL Championship victory over the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

as well as their

Super Bowl II The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super Bowl II) was an American football game played on January 14, 1968, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The National Football League (NFL)'s defending champion Green Bay P ...

loss to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. Keating anchored a defensive line for the 1967 Raiders team that finished with the fewest yards rushing and the fewest rushing yards per attempt in the AFL, as well as third in fewest passing yards and second fewest points allowed. The front four of Keating,

Dan Birdwell Dan Birdwell (October 14, 1940 – February 14, 1978) was an American college and professional football player. A defensive lineman, he played collegiately for the University of Houston and professionally for the Oakland Raiders of the American ...

Ike Lassiter Isaac "Ike" Thomas Lassiter (November 15, 1940 – February 15, 2015) was an American college and professional football defensive lineman. He is an alumnus of St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he received a bachelor's de ...

, and

Ben Davidson Benjamin Earl Davidson (June 14, 1940 – July 2, 2012) was an American football player, a defensive end best known for his play with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL). Earlier in his career, he was with the Green Bay ...

contributed to the team's total of 67 sacks and 666 yards lost against the opposing offense. He played for the Raiders through 1972. He was considered "the premier tackle in the old American Football League" until he was slowed by a series of leg injuries.

Pittsburgh Steelers

In July 1973, the Raiders traded Keating to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

for an undisclosed 1974 draft pick. Keating appeared in 12 games, four as a starter, for the Steelers during the

1973 NFL season The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season was highlighted by O. J. Simpson becoming the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in one season. The season ended with Super Bowl VIII when the Mi ...

Kansas City Chiefs

In September 1974, Keating signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He became a starter for the Chiefs during the

1974 NFL season The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings. Players held a strike from July 1 until August 10, prior to the r ...

, appearing in 14 games, including 12 as the team's starting left tackle. He concluded his football career with the Chiefs in 1975, appearing in nine games, four as a starter.

Later years and family

After retiring from football, Keating worked as a

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

for a law firm and later opened his own agency in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek ser ...

. He maintained his primary residence in the Bay Area, but began spending several months a year in

Limoux Limoux (; oc, Limós ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Aude department, a part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Occitanie region in southern France. Its vineyards are famous for being first to produce sparkling wi ...

in the south of France. Keating had three sons, James Alexander Keating, Patrick Gould and Ryan Gould. Keating's younger brother, Bill Keating, also played football for the University of Michigan and in the American Football League. Keating died from prostate cancer in 2012 at a hospice in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Postmortem, Keating was diagnosed with

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keating, Tom 1942 births 2012 deaths American football defensive tackles American football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy Buffalo Bills players Kansas City Chiefs players Michigan Wolverines football players Oakland Raiders players Pittsburgh Steelers players American Football League All-Star players American Football League All-Time Team American Football League players Players of American football from Chicago Deaths from cancer in Colorado Deaths from prostate cancer