Former NFL tight end Don Hasselbeck, who won the Super Bowl in a nine-year career and was the father of two NFL quarterbacks, passed away Monday.
He was 70 years old.
Hasselbeck’s son Matt said his father died after suffering cardiac arrest at his home.
“He was a great husband, father, grandfather, friends, coach, athlete, colleague, artist, mentor and storyteller,” Matt Hasselbeck wrote on social media. “Even though he’s a national Colorado man and a Super Bowl champion for the Raiders, what we’re most proud of is that he was the leader of our family.”
Elder Hasselbeck was drafted in the second round of New England in 1977 after an outstanding college career in Colorado.
He spent six full seasons with the Patriots, catching the team with 46 in 1981, earning 808 yards of reception and six TDs.
He was traded for the Los Angeles Raiders early in the 1983 season, helping the team win the Super Bowl.
He made two TD catches in the Raiders regular season, with the 6-foot-7 Hasselbeck blocking extra points in a 38-9 Super Bowl victory against Washington.
Hasselbeck then spent the following season with the New York Giants, earning a TD catch in a playoff victory in San Francisco, finishing his career in Minnesota in 1985.
Hasselbeck made 107 catches and 18 touchdowns for 1,542 yards in 123 career regular season games.
Two of Hasselbeck’s sons continued to play quarterback in the NFL, with Matt making three Pro Bowls and starting in the Seattle Super Bowl following the 2005 season, with Tim playing mainly as a backup.
