Kaufman, member of three Redskins Super Bowl teams, dead at 50
NFL.com Wire Reports
Mel Kaufman, a starter on three Washington Redskins Super Bowl teams in the 1980s, has died at the age of 50 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. ABC's Washington D.C. affiliate, WJLA, first reported the news Monday.
Kaufman played linebacker for the Redskins from 1981 to 1988 and also was a team captain.
After ending his playing career, Kaufman stayed with the Redskins as a scouting supervisor. He also remained active with many Washington D.C.-area charities.
"Mel was a tremendous football player, as well as a fine talent evaluator," Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said in a statement released by the team. "His work on the field as a player and as a coach, and as well as his commitment to so many charities, were testament to how much he loved the game and the fans who cheered for him. Our prayers go out to his family during this sad time."
Kaufman had been an assistant coach at his alma mater, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, since last spring. His biography described him as "one of the best linebackers to ever play at Cal Poly".
"It¹s a tragedy. He was a good man and a compassionate man," former Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson, who took the job at Army in December, said in a statement. "I pray that the stress of the coaching business wasn't a contributing factor. He was just a good guy, a passionate guy, a Mustang."
Big loss for football... tough son of a gun... selfless and underated as a player. He helped make Pettibon's defenses work.
"That's a clown question, bro" - - - - - - - - - - Bryce Harper, DC Statesman "But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man That he didn't, didn't already have" - - - - - - - - - - Dewey Bunnell, America
Deadskins wrote:50's young. What was the cause of death?
I've been looking around and so far the death is "undetermined". I guess the autopsy will get us some details. Very sad, 50 years of age is far too young.
Fine player, a smart leader, one of those Pardee/Petibon/Gibbs linebackers that never got credit but always won the games. A model of the '80s Redskins.
"It's almost like, you play a kid's game for a king's ransom," he said. "And if you don't take it serious enough, eventually one day you're going to say, 'Oh, I could have done this, I could have done that."
Sean Taylor
