25 Facts About Fred Dean

Frederick Rudolph Dean was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League.

Fred Dean was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Fred Dean was selected in the second round of the 1975 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers.

Fred Dean was traded to San Francisco in 1981 due to a contract dispute.

Fred Dean is a member of both the Chargers and 49ers Hall of Fame.

Fred Dean grew up 20 miles east in Ruston, where he attended the all-Black, segregated Lincoln High School.

Fred Dean was a standout at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, having spurned an opportunity to play for legendary coach Eddie Robinson at nearby Grambling State University, which at the time was sending African American players to the NFL on a yearly basis.

Fred Dean was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 1975 NFL Draft with the 33rd overall pick.

Fred Dean had nine sacks in 13 games and was named to the All-AFC team.

The Chargers again won the AFC West in 1980, with Fred Dean teaming with fellow 1975 Charger draftees Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Louie Kelcher as the Chargers led the NFL in sacks.

In 1981, Fred Dean was traded to the San Francisco 49ers due to a contract dispute with Chargers' ownership.

Fred Dean complained that he was the lowest-paid sixth-year defensive lineman in 1980 and that his salary was below the average of all defensive linemen.

Fred Dean contended that he was making the same amount of money as his brother-in-law who was a truck driver.

Fred Dean joined the team mid-season for Game 6 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Fred Dean's performance was noted by author Tom Danyluk as "the greatest set of downs I have ever seen unleashed by a pass rusher".

Fred Dean was named the UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year with 12 sacks while playing in 11 games for the 49ers.

The 49ers went on to win Super Bowl XVI that year, and Steve Sabol is quoted in 2006 as saying that Fred Dean's acquisition was the last meaningful in-season trade, in that it affected the destination of the Lombardi Trophy.

Fred Dean was a key player on the 1984 squad than won Super Bowl XIX.

Fred Dean was reunited with his former Charger teammates Johnson, Kelcher and Billy Shields, who were acquired by the 49ers.

Fred Dean ended his NFL career with 93 unofficial sacks, according to the Professional Football Researchers Association.

Fred Dean was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008, when his bust, sculpted by Scott Myers, was unveiled.

Fred Dean was named to both the Chargers' 40th and 50th anniversary teams and inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame.

Fred Dean was inducted into the Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

In 2009, Fred Dean was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

Fred Dean died from COVID-19 while being airlifted from a hospital in West Monroe, Louisiana, to Jackson, Mississippi, on October 14,2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi.