| Dave Huffman | |
| Number: | 56, 72 |
| Position: | Center |
| Birth Date: | April 4, 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 6 |
| Weight Lb: | 280 |
| College: | Notre Dame |
| Draftyear: | 1979 |
| Draftround: | 2 |
| Draftpick: | 43 |
| Pastteams: |
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| Highlights: |
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| Statlabel1: | Games played |
| Statvalue1: | 128 |
| Statlabel2: | Games started |
| Statvalue2: | 22 |
| Statlabel3: | Fumble recoveries |
| Statvalue3: | 2 |
| Pfr: | HuffDa21 |
David Lambert Huffman (April 4, 1957 - November 21, 1998) was an American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL) for twelve seasons during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Huffman played college football for the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of Notre Dame's 1977 national championship team and a consensus All-American. He played professionally for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, and the Memphis Showboats of the USFL.
Huffman was born in Canton, Ohio. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, Texas, where he was a member of the high school newspaper staff.[1]
He attended the University of Notre Dame, and played for coach Ara Parseghian and coach Dan Devine's Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 1975 to 1979.[1] As a junior, Huffman was a member of the Irish's 1977 national championship squad. As a senior in 1977, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. His brothers, Tim and Steve, also played for Notre Dame. He was noted for his good humor, which included saying that during games he always wore red-colored elbow pads so that his mother could see where he was in the pile-ups.
The Minnesota Vikings selected Huffman in the second round (forty-third pick overall) of the 1979 NFL draft, and he played for the Vikings from to with only one interruption. In 1984 and 1985, he also played for the USFL's Arizona Wranglers and Memphis Showboats. In his eleven NFL seasons, he played in 128 games.
Huffman died in a car accident November 21, 1998, while on his way to the final Notre Dame home game of the season vs. LSU. He was survived by his wife, Cathy, a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Jack. Each year, the city of Chanhassen, Minnesota, where Huffman served as a Park & Recreation Commissioner after his playing days, hosts a Dave Huffman Memorial 5,000-meter run.[2]