Walter Francis Sweeney (April 18, 1941 – February 2, 2013) was an American professional
football player who was an
offensive lineman in the
American Football League (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). He played
college football at
Syracuse University, where he made the school's all-century team. He also played in the
North-South Game and the
College All-Star Game. A first-round draft pick of the
San Diego Chargers in 1963, Sweeney helped them win the AFL championship.
Career
A premier guard, Sweeney was versatile enough to fill virtually any offensive line position. He was named to All-Star teams and
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 ...
s for nine consecutive years at offensive guard, beginning with the 1964
AFL All-Star Team, and in 1970 was selected to the
All-Time All-AFL second-team. Sweeney spent 11 seasons as an offensive guard with the Chargers, then played two seasons with the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
.
[Perry, Tony. (2013, February 6). "Walt Sweeney dies at 71; offensive guard for the San Diego Chargers", ''Los Angeles Times''; accessed September 29, 2014.](_blank)
/ref> The Professional Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by wri ...
named Sweeney to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009
Sweeney, who stood 6'4" and weighed 256 pounds, was such an intimidating presence on the field that Merlin Olsen
Merlin Jay Olsen (; September 15, 1940 – March 11, 2010) was an American football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire 15-year professional football career he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football Le ...
famously remarked he'd "rather sell used cars" than play against Sweeney each game.Just Say No
"Just Say No" was an advertising campaign prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s as a part of the U.S.-led war on drugs, aiming to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying ''no'' ...
" campaign.
Death
Sweeney died of pancreatic cancer on February 2, 2013, at his home in San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
.Walt Sweeney obituary
espn.go.com; accessed September 29, 2014.
See also
*
List of American Football League players
The following is a list of men who played for the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969).
Players
A
B
C
D
Elbert Dubenion
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
Notes
Player notes
1,398 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Walt
1941 births
2013 deaths
American Football League All-Star players
American Football League All-Time Team
American Conference Pro Bowl players
San Diego Chargers players
Syracuse Orange football players
Washington Redskins players
People from Cohasset, Massachusetts
Players of American football from Massachusetts
Deaths from cancer in California
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
American Football League players