Lyle Alzado
(1949 -1992)
Lyle Alzado (April 3, 1949 – 14 May 1992) was a U.S. football player.
He played defensive line for the Los Angeles Raiders, Cleveland Browns, and Denver Broncos during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was noted as a colorful and popular figure with each team.
He is probably most remembered today for being one of the first major U.S. sports figures to admit to abuse of steroids. In the last years of his life, as he battled against the brain tumor that eventually caused his death, he asserted that his steroid abuse directly led to his final illness.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York to an Italian-American father and Jewish mother. When he was 10 the family moved to Cedarhurst, on Long Island, and his father left home when he was in high school. He played high school football but was not a standout.
He played college football for Kilgore Junior College for two years, and then Yankton College in South Dakota, where he was noticed by a Denver Broncos coach watching film. The Broncos drafted him in the fourth round, in 1971.
He was a star with the Broncos for several seasons, leading the team in sacks five times and making the Pro Bowl in 1977 and 1978. In 1979 he had a contract dispute, and the Broncos traded him to the Cleveland Browns.
He played well with the Browns, leading the team in sacks in 1980 and 1981, but the Browns traded him to the Los Angeles Raiders in 1982 to reduce their salary burden. He continued to perform well for the Raiders in the 1983 and 1984 seasons, but was injured part way through 1985 and retired at the end of the year. He attempted a comeback in 1990 but injured a knee during training camp and was released.
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