Dan Currie

Daniel George Currie (June 27, 1935 – September 11, 2017) was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He played linebacker for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams.[1]

This article is about the American football player. For other people with the same name, see Dan Currie (disambiguation).
Dan Currie
Currie's 1959 Topps card
No. 58
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born:(1935-06-27)June 27, 1935
Detroit, Michigan, US
Died:September 11, 2017(2017-09-11) (aged 82)
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Detroit (MI) St. Anthony
College:Michigan State
NFL Draft:1958 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:11
Fumble recoveries:7
Games played:118
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Currie played college football at Michigan State in East Lansing and was an All-American linebacker and center for the Spartans as a senior in 1957.[2][3][4]

Playing career

Currie was the third overall selection of the 1958 NFL draft, the first pick of the Packers.[5][6] In that draft, the Packers also selected Jim Taylor of LSU (2nd round, 15th overall), Ray Nitschke of Illinois (3rd round, 36th), and Jerry Kramer of Idaho (4th round, 39th).[5][7] all future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In his rookie season in 1958 under first-year head coach Ray "Scooter" McLean, the Packers were a league worst 1–10–1; McLean was fired in December and Vince Lombardi was hired as head coach in January 1959. After reviewing film of the Packers' previous season, Lombardi stated that Currie was the only player on the team that he would not trade or release.[8] Green Bay went 7–5 that season and then were in three consecutive NFL title games; they lost to Philadelphia in 1960 and won in 1961 and 1962, both over the New York Giants. Currie was an All-Pro in 1962, one of ten Packers on the 22-man Associated Press team,[9] and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in December 1961.[10]

After seven seasons in Green Bay, Currie was traded to the Rams in April 1965 for receiver Carroll Dale.[11][12][13] He played two years for Los Angeles, then missed the final cut in September 1967 season at age 32.[14]

After football

Currie was later a defensive coach at Milton College in Wisconsin,[15] which closed in 1982. He moved to Las Vegas in the early 1980s and worked in casino security;[1][16] he died at age 82 at Mountain View Hospital in 2017.[17][18]

References
  1. Reischel, Rob (December 18, 2003). "One a star, Dan Currie's still a fan". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  2. "Eight All-Americans on North roster for Senior Bowl". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. December 13, 1957. p. 8.
  3. Lea, Bud (March 27, 1960). "Pro gridders are made, not born". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 3, sports.
  4. Couch, Graham (July 7, 2015). "MSU's top 50 football players: No. 32 Dan Currie". Lansing State Journal. Michigan. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  5. Johnson, Chuck (December 3, 1957). "Why Currie? He is tops, Packer say". Milwaukee Journal. p. 19.
  6. Lea, Bud (December 3, 1957). "Liz drafts Currie top Big 10 center". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 4, part 2.
  7. Wolf, Bob (May 3, 1979). "Packers' 1958 draft may have been greatest ever". Milwaukee Journal. p. 3, part 3.
  8. Christl, Cliff (March 5, 2020). "Dan Currie: Vince Lombardi established a sense of pride". Green Bay Packers, Inc. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  9. "Green Bay places 10 on All-Pro, 4 Giants picked". Florence Times. Alabama. Associated Press. December 12, 1962. p. 3, section 4.
  10. Maule, Tex (December 18, 1961). "Green Bay: a corner on defense". Sports Illustrated. p. 28.
  11. Lea, Bud (April 14, 1965). "Vince trades Currie for Rams' end Dale". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
  12. "Green Bay, L.A. swap gridders". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. UPI. April 14, 1965. p. B-5.
  13. "Green Bay trades Currie for Dale". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina. Associated Press. April 14, 1965. p. 20.
  14. "Currie, Fortunato cut as pros trim rosters". Milwaukee Journal. wire services. September 7, 1967. p. 11, part 2.
  15. "Currie to coach at Milton". Milwaukee Sentinel. wire services. March 22, 1973. p. 1, part 2.
  16. "What happened to...Dan Currie?". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 26, 2003. p. 2C.
  17. Kantowski, Ron (September 13, 2017). "Remembering Dan Currie, the most Dapper of Lombardi's Packers". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  18. "Former Packers linebacker Dan Currie dies at 82". Retrieved September 14, 2017.
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