This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2011) |
Born: | July 25, 1959 Sardis, British Columbia, Canada |
---|---|
Died: | December 10, 2016 Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada | (aged 57)
Career information | |
CFL status | National |
Position(s) | DT |
University | Simon Fraser University |
Career history | |
As player | |
1981–1987 1989–1990 | BC Lions BC Lions |
1988 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
Career highlights and awards | |
CFL West All-Star | 1985 |
Awards | 1983 Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian |
Richard Danny Klassen (July 25, 1959 – December 10, 2016) was a defensive lineman who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the BC Lions from 1981 to 1987 and again in 1989 and 1990, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1988.
In 2003, Klassen was voted a member of the B.C. Lions All-Time Dream Team, at defensive tackle, as part of the team's 50th season anniversary celebration. On July 19, 2007, he was inducted onto B.C. Lions Wall of Fame at BC Place Stadium as a part of the 1985 Grey Cup championship team. He died from cancer in 2016.[1][2]
Klassen's family donated his brain to research and discovered that he had had "chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in combination with dementia" and that it was "of the worst they've ever seen."[3]