Don Reese
Donald Francis Reese was an American football defensive end who played in the National Football League and the United States Football League. He played professionally for the Miami Dolphins, the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers and the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL.Biography
Reese was born in Mobile, Alabama and graduated from Vigor High School in Prichard, Alabama. He played college football at Jackson State University.
Reese was a 1st round selection of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He would go on to play for the Dolphins, the New Orleans Saints, and the San Diego Chargers. In 1985 Reese played for the Birmingham Stallions in the United States Football League.
Reese was suspended for the final four games of the 1980 season by interim coach Dick Stanfel for instigating a fight during a practice with teammate Derland Moore. Stanfel was conducting his first practice session as Saints coach after taking over for Dick Nolan, who was fired after the Saints fell to 0-12 in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. New Orleans finished 1-15, becoming the first NFL team to lose 15 games in a season.
In June 1982, Reese penned an extensive piece for Sports Illustrated in which he detailed his struggles with drugs. This was one of the first looks into the seedy world of money and drug use in the NFL. .
Reese was named the Jackson State All-Century Team and was inducted into the JSU Athletic Hall of Fame
Reese died in Mobile, Alabama at the age 52 from liver cancer.
