Junior Seau was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
54 Facts About Junior Seau
2.
Originally from Oceanside, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans.
3.
Junior Seau was selected by the Chargers with the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft.
4.
Junior Seau played for the Chargers for 13 seasons and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots.
5.
Junior Seau committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at age 43.
6.
Later studies by the National Institutes of Health concluded that Junior Seau had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease that has been found in other deceased former NFL players.
7.
Junior Seau was born on January 19,1969, in Oceanside, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Junior Seau Sr.
8.
Junior Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field.
9.
Junior Seau was named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.
10.
Junior Seau had to sit out from football in his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.
11.
Junior Seau lettered in his final two seasons with the USC Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.
12.
Junior Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character.
13.
Junior Seau became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.
14.
Junior Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles.
15.
Junior Seau started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX.
16.
Junior Seau started five of the first seven games he played in with the Dolphins in 2005, but was placed on injured reserve on November 24 with an achilles tendon injury.
17.
On March 6,2006, Junior Seau was released by the Dolphins.
18.
Junior Seau announced his retirement at an emotional press conference on August 14,2006.
19.
Junior Seau called it his "graduation" because he was not going to stop working.
20.
Junior Seau contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life.
21.
Junior Seau returned to football just four days later, signing with the New England Patriots.
22.
Junior Seau started 10 of the first 11 games for the Patriots, recording 69 tackles before breaking his right arm while making a tackle in a game against the Chicago Bears.
23.
On May 21,2007, Junior Seau re-signed with the New England Patriots for the 2007 season.
24.
In September 2007, Junior Seau was named one of the Patriots' seven captains.
25.
Junior Seau was a prominent contributor to the Patriots undefeated regular season that year.
26.
Junior Seau started four of the 16 games he played in for the Patriots in 2007, and then started the Patriots' two playoff games before Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants.
27.
Junior Seau stated that he did not feel threatened by the fan; he thought that the fan was happy and excited and got carried away.
28.
Junior Seau was active for 7 games for the Patriots in 2009, recording 14 tackles as a reserve linebacker.
29.
Junior Seau announced his intention to retire permanently on the television program Inside the NFL on January 13,2010.
30.
Sports Jobs with Junior Seau premiered on December 2,2009, on Versus.
31.
Junior Seau was actively involved with community work through Samoan "sister city" projects within San Diego County.
32.
In 1989, Junior Seau's older son, Tyler, was born to Junior Seau's high school sweetheart, Melissa Waldrop.
33.
Junior Seau broke up with Waldrop when Tyler was 13 months old.
34.
Junior Seau sustained minor injuries in October 2010 when his SUV plunged down a 100-foot cliff in Carlsbad, California only hours after he was arrested for domestic violence following an incident reported to the police by his girlfriend at their home in nearby Oceanside.
35.
Junior Seau stated that he fell asleep at the wheel, and was never charged in the domestic incident.
36.
On May 2,2012, Junior Seau was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Oceanside.
37.
Junior Seau left no suicide note, but did leave a piece of paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't".
38.
Junior Seau's death recalled the 2011 suicide of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the chest and left a suicide note requesting that his brain be studied for brain trauma.
39.
Junior Seau had no prior reported history of concussions, but his ex-wife said he did sustain concussions during his career.
40.
Junior Seau's family donated his brain tissue to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH; other candidates included the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Brain Injury Research Institute.
41.
On January 10,2013, Junior Seau's family released the NIH's findings that his brain showed definitive signs of CTE.
42.
On January 23,2013, Junior Seau's family sued the NFL over the brain injuries he had over his career.
43.
Junior Seau was known for his passionate playing style, including a fist-pumping dance he performed after big plays.
44.
Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News said Junior Seau "probably was the most dynamic player of his era".
45.
Junior Seau's quickness allowed him to freelance, which sometimes put him out of position.
46.
Junior Seau was praised by teammates for his work ethic and leadership.
47.
Junior Seau was named to the Chargers 40th and 50th anniversary teams, which honor the top players and coaches in the team's history.
48.
Junior Seau was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame on November 27,2011, as part of Alumni Day ceremonies at a sold-out game against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium.
49.
On September 1,2012, during the University of Southern California's home opener, Junior Seau was honored by the team.
50.
Junior Seau became eligible for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
51.
Junior Seau's eligibility was not accelerated due to his death from the standard five-year waiting period after a player's retirement.
52.
On January 31,2015, Junior Seau was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
53.
Junior Seau wanted his daughter, Sydney, to introduce him if he were ever to be inducted.
54.
Junior Seau is the first player of Polynesian and Samoan descent to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.