O'Brien Darwin Alston (born December 21, 1965) is an American former

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 ...

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 ...

. 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 Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

from 1984 to 1987. The

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

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) selected Alston in the 10th round of the

1988 NFL Draft The 1988 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 24–25, 1988, at the Marriot Marq ...

. He played for Indianapolis for two seasons.

Early life

Alston was born on December 21, 1965 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

.O'Brien Alston Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards
, Database Football, retrieved December 1, 2010. He attended

Oxon Hill High School Oxon Hill High School (OHHS) is a public senior high school, located in Oxon Hill, an unincorporated area in Prince George's County, Maryland, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. in the United States.Oxon Hill, Maryland Oxon Hill is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in southern Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Oxon Hill is a suburb of Washington, D.C., Washington, located southeast of the dow ...

College career

Alston attended the

, where he played on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

from 1984 to 1987. In 1986, against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

on a pivotal third-down play, Alston recovered a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

which was originally ruled an incomplete

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

. The play helped seal a 10–7 Maryland victory. During the 1987 season, he led the team with 14 tackles for loss for 52 yards.

Professional career

The

selected Alston in the 10th round of the

with the 270th overall pick. He played for two seasons with the Colts. In 1988, he saw action in 15 games and recorded three sacks. Against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, Alston was moved to start at left

outside 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, ...

in relief of

Johnie Cooks Johnie Earl Cooks (born November 23, 1958) is a former professional American football player who was drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the second overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft. A 6'4", . linebacker from Mississippi State University, Coo ...

. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

counted Alston among a number of rookies who "made big impacts" during the 1988 season. In 1989, he played in four games and recorded one sack. Against the

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

, opposing running back

Freeman McNeil Freeman McNeil (born April 22, 1959) is a former professional American football player. He was selected by the New York Jets in the first round as the third overall pick of the 1981 NFL Draft. Early life McNeil was born in Jackson, Mississippi. ...

threw a low and hard block for

Roger Vick Roger Hamilton Vick (born August 11, 1964) is a former professional American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles from 1987 to 1990. He played college football at Texas A&M Unive ...

, which seriously injured Alston's left knee. ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' wrote that McNeil "was so overcome with remorse" he "committed a flagrant act of compassion, all but taking himself out of a game."Bruce Newman
Remorse? Not In The NFL; Freeman McNeil's compassion brought him only headaches
''Sports Illustrated'', October 16, 1989. McNeil played poorly for the remainder of the game, in which he missed two blocking assignments and lined up incorrectly on a critical third-down play. After the game, he apologized to the crutch-bound Alston "with tears in his eyes". Alston told McNeil, "These things happen." He suffered a

hyperextended Motion, the process of movement, is described using specific anatomical terms. Motion includes movement of organs, joints, limbs, and specific sections of the body. The terminology used describes this motion according to its direction relative ...

knee,NFL Notes
''The Milwaukee Journal'', November 1, 1989. and ended the season on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. On October 31, 1989, Alston was hospitalized, but listed in "satisfactory condition" after an automobile accident. He was charged with drunk driving and public intoxication related to the accident. In August 1990, he agreed to undisclosed contract terms with the Colts, but did not play another game in the NFL. In 1992, Alston was selected by the

San Antonio Riders The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas S ...

in the eighth round of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

draft.

Personal life

He has three children - one son and two daughters. His daughters both played college sports. His youngest daughter college basketball and his oldest daughter attended

Bowie State University Bowie State University (Bowie State) is a public historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie. It is part of the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1865, Bowie State is Maryland's oldest historically b ...

, where she played on the volleyball team in 2009.2009 Volleyball Roster
Bowie State University, September 19, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Obrien 1965 births Living people Players of American football from New Haven, Connecticut American football linebackers Maryland Terrapins football players Indianapolis Colts players