Rip Hawkins

American football player (1939–2015)
American football player
Rip Hawkins
No. 58
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born:(1939-04-21)April 21, 1939
Winchester, Tennessee, U.S.
Died:July 28, 2015(2015-07-28) (aged 76)
Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Career information
College:North Carolina
NFL draft:1961 / Round: 2 / Pick: 15
AFL draft:1961 / Round: 2 / Pick: 10
Career history
  • Minnesota Vikings (1961–1965)
Career highlights and awards
  • Pro Bowl (1963)
Career NFL statistics
Games played–started:70–66
Interceptions:12
Touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com

Ross Cooper "Rip" Hawkins (April 21, 1939 – July 28, 2015) was a professional American football player. He played five seasons in the National Football League with the Minnesota Vikings.

Hawkins died in 2015; at the time of his death, he had Lewy body dementia.[1][2] He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ "Original Vikings' Player Rip Hawkins Dies After Battling Dementia | KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul". kstp.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-14.
  2. ^ "Obituaries".
  3. ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference
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Minnesota Vikings 1961 NFL draft selections
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Minnesota Vikings 1961 inaugural season roster

Head coach: Norm Van Brocklin

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Boston Patriots 1961 AFL draft selections


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