Derrell Robertson

Derrell Robertson
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	September 22, 1967; Tyler, Texas
Died:	December 5, 1994 (aged 27); Dallas, Texas
Height:	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:	280 lb (127 kg)
Career information
College:	Mississippi State
Career history
	Las Vegas Posse (1994);
CFL status:	International

Derrell Robertson (September 22, 1967 – December 5, 1994) was an American college football player from Tyler, Texas who played for Mississippi State University in 1988 and 1989. After college, Robertson signed with the Las Vegas Posse of the Canadian Football League in 1994. Robertson was killed in a car crash in December 1994 but was still drafted by the Ottawa Rough Riders in a dispersal draft after the Posse folded.[1]

Career

After playing at Mississippi State, Robertson was signed by the Posse on April 7, 1994.[2] However, he was killed in a car crash on December 5, 1994, about a month after the season ended.[3]

After the end of the 1994 Canadian Football League season, the Posse folded, and its players were made available to the other CFL teams through a dispersal draft in April 1995. A list of potential draftees, including Robertson, was distributed by the league to the teams. With their fourth round pick, the Ottawa Rough Riders selected Robertson.[3] Rough Riders football operations head Garney Henley had previously consulted with the former Posse coach, Ron Meyer and had also spoken with offensive coordinator Ron Smeltzer. Both of them spoke well of Robertson, and were apparently unaware of his death, as they did not mention it.[4] According to Ottawa coach Jim Gilstrap, the league had been unaware of Robertson's death, as had the team—until they tried and failed to find him.[3]

References

"Second Year In A Row CFL Team Drafts Dead Player". AP News. 1996-03-14.
"Transactions", The New York Times, 1994-04-08, retrieved 2009-11-26
"Scorecard", Sports Illustrated, 1994-06-05, retrieved 2009-11-26
Scanlon, Wayne (1995-05-25), "Riders' selection of dead Posse player the fault of league", The Record (Kitchener, ON), retrieved 2009-11-26 (pay for article)

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[1] "Second Year In A Row CFL Team Drafts Dead Player". AP News. 1996-03-14.

[2] "Transactions", The New York Times, 1994-04-08, retrieved 2009-11-26

[scorecard-3] "Scorecard", Sports Illustrated, 1994-06-05, retrieved 2009-11-26

[4] Scanlon, Wayne (1995-05-25), "Riders' selection of dead Posse player the fault of league", The Record (Kitchener, ON), retrieved 2009-11-26 (pay for article)