Lionel Aldridge Explained

Position:Defensive end
Number:82
Birth Date:14 February 1941
Birth Place:Evergreen, Louisiana, U.S.
Death Place:Shorewood, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:3
Weight Lbs:254
Afldraftyear:1963
Afldraftround:6
Afldraftpick:47
(By the Houston Oilers)
Draftyear:1963
Draftround:4
Draftpick:54
College:Utah State
Teams:
Highlights:
Statlabel1:Games played
Statvalue1:147
Statlabel2:Games started
Statvalue2:58
Statlabel3:Touchdowns
Statvalue3:1

Lionel Aldridge (February 14, 1941 – February 12, 1998) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers.[1] [2] [3] He played college football for the Utah State Aggies.

Early life

Born in Evergreen, Louisiana, Aldridge was raised by his sharecropper grandparents.[4] After his grandfather's death when Aldridge was 15, he was sent to live with a steelworker uncle in Northern California and played high school football at Pittsburg High School.[5] He earned an athletic scholarship and played college football at Utah State University in Logan, Utah[6] and was co-captain of the team and an All-Skyline Conference tackle.

NFL career

Aldridge was selected in the fourth round of the 1963 NFL draft, 54th overall, by the two-time defending NFL champion Green Bay Packers. One of the few rookies to start for head coach Vince Lombardi, he enjoyed an 11-year NFL career.[7] As a Packer, he played a role in their unprecedented three straight NFL Championships (1965-66-67) and victories in Super Bowls I and II.[8] Traded to the San Diego Chargers, Aldridge played two seasons in San Diego before retiring from professional football in 1973.[1] He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1988.[9]

After football

After retiring, Aldridge worked as sports analyst at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee and for Packers radio and NBC until manifesting paranoid schizophrenia in the late 1970s.[10] [11] [2] Homeless for a time in part due to misdiagnosis,[8] [12] [13] he eventually reached a form of equilibrium. He became an advocate for the homeless and the mentally ill until his death in 1998.[14] [15] His advocacy work included serving as a board member for the Mental Health Association of Milwaukee and working as a speaker for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. 553.
  2. News: Eskenazi. Gerald. Lionel Aldridge, 56, stalwart on defense for Packer teams. New York Times. February 14, 1998. February 20, 2016.
  3. News: Bright career clouded by tragic decline . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Hendricks . Martin . June 23, 2009 . February 20, 2016.
  4. The long walk home . Milwaukee magazine . Magner . Howie . December 30, 2014 . February 20, 2016.
  5. How Lionel Aldridge defeated mental illness . Parade . Schaap . Dick . Dick Schaap . March 1, 1987 . 8.
  6. News: The 25 most highly drafted football players from Utah State . Deseret News . Salt Lake City, Utah . Yeomans . Jay . May 5, 2014.
  7. Web site: Lionel Aldridge. NFL.com. 2012-08-10.
  8. News: Clark. Steve. Lost and found - Ex-Packer Aldridge winning life's battle. 2012-08-10. Beloit Daily News.
  9. Web site: Lionel Aldridge . Christl . Cliff . Cliff Christl . Packers.com . September 20, 2023 . June 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230602135511/https://www.packers.com/history/hof/lionel-aldridge . live .
  10. News: Agony, ecstasy . Milwaukee Journal . Begel . Dave . December 3, 1980 . 17, part 2 .
  11. News: Schizophrenia: one man's struggle for life against the destruction of his personality . Idahonian . Moscow . Associated Press . Ritter . Malcolm . December 17, 1988. 4B.
  12. News: Oates. Bob . Lionel Akdridge: a long journey and happy days . . October 10, 1987 . February 20, 2016.
  13. News: Aldridge lost, found . Milwaukee Journal . Kramer . Jerry . Jerry Kramer . Schaap . Dick . Dick Schaap . (Distant Replay). October 24, 1985 . 1, part 3 .
  14. News: Former Packer Lionel Aldridge dies at 56 . Free Lance-Star . Fredericksburg, Virginia . Associated Press . February 13, 1998 . C10.
  15. News: Friends remember the strength of Aldridge's spirit . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Kissinger . Meg . February 17, 1998 . 9B .
  16. Celebrity Meltdown. Psychology Today. December 1999. 32. 6. 46–49, 70.