Junior Seau

Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (January 19, 1969 – May 2, 2012) was an American professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL), mostly with the San Diego Chargers.

Seau was born on January 19, 1969, in San Diego, California, the fifth child of Tiaina Seau Sr. and Luisa Mauga Seau of Aunu'u, American Samoa.

Tiaina Sr.'s grandfather was a village chief in Pago Pago.

Tiaina Sr. worked at a rubber factory and was a school custodian, and Luisa worked at the commissary of Camp Pendleton in Southern California and a laundromat.

After Seau was born, the family moved back to American Samoa for several years before returning to San Diego; Seau did not learn to speak English until he was seven years old.

At home, Seau and his three brothers had to sleep in the family's one-car garage.

Seau attended Oceanside High School in Oceanside, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track and field.

As a football player, Seau was a starter at linebacker and tight end, and as a senior, he was named the Avocado League offensive MVP and led the 18-member Oceanside Pirates team to the San Diego 2A championship.

Parade selected Seau to its high school All-American team.

In basketball, as a senior, he was named the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section Player of the Year.

He helped his team win the 1987 Lt. James Mitchell Tournament and make third place in the Mt. Carmel Invitational.

In track and field, he was the Avocado League champion in the shot put.

Seau was also named to California's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade-point average.

After graduating from high school, Seau attended the University of Southern California (USC).

He had to sit out from football in his freshman season due to his 690 SAT score on the college entrance exam, which was 10 points short of USC's minimum score for freshman eligibility.

Seau told Sports Illustrated: "I was labeled a dumb jock. I went from being a four-sport star to an ordinary student at USC. I found out who my true friends were. Nobody stuck up for me—not our relatives, best friends or neighbors. There's a lot of jealousy among Samoans, not wanting others to get ahead in life, and my parents got an earful at church: 'We told you he was never going to make it.'" This prompted him to apologize to his coaches, teachers, and principal at Oceanside High.

Seau lettered in his final two seasons with the USC Trojans, 1988 and 1989, posting 19 sacks in 1989 en route to a unanimous first-team All-American selection.

Originally from San Diego, California, Seau played college football for the USC Trojans, earning All-American honors in 1989.

Known for his passionate play, he was a six-time first-team All-Pro, twelve-time Pro Bowl selection, and named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

He was selected by the Chargers with the fifth overall pick of the 1990 NFL draft.

Seau played for the Chargers for 13 seasons and led them to Super Bowl XXIX before being traded to the Miami Dolphins where he spent three years, and spent his last four seasons with the New England Patriots.

After his retirement, his No. 55 was retired by the Chargers and he was inducted into their Hall of Fame.

After three years as a Trojan, Seau entered the NFL draft after his junior season and was chosen in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft by Bobby Beathard's San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall draft pick.

Seau quickly became one of the most popular players on the Chargers, receiving the nickname "Tasmanian Devil", after the wild antics of the cartoon character.

He became the face of the Chargers franchise and a San Diego sports icon.

Seau started 15 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season, and was named an alternate to the 1991 Pro Bowl after recording 85 tackles.

In 1991, he picked up 129 tackles and seven sacks and was named to the 1992 Pro Bowl, the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls for Seau.

In 1992, he was awarded the George Halas Trophy by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as the NFL's top defensive player, NFL Defensive Player of the Year by Football Digest, AFC Defensive Player of the Year by United Press International, and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) AFC Linebacker of the Year.

He also won the NFLPA award in 1993 and 1994.

He started no fewer than 13 games for the Chargers over each of the ensuing 11 seasons, registering a career high with 155 tackles in 1994, when he led his team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIX.

In one of the greatest games in his career, he recorded 16 tackles in the 1994 AFC Championship Game while playing with a pinched nerve in his neck in a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite San Diego's 1–15 record in 2000, the NFL Alumni Association named him their Linebacker of the Year.

In 2002, his final year with the Chargers, he logged a then-career low 83 tackles and missed his final Pro Bowl due to an ankle injury.

On April 16, 2003, Seau was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional draft choice.

He started 15 games that season for the 10-6 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players.

However, in 2004, a torn pectoral muscle limited Seau to eight games, 68 tackles, and one sack.

Seau committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in 2012 at age 43.

Later studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that Seau had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease that has also been found in other deceased former NFL players.

It is believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma, and can lead to conditions such as dementia, rage, and depression.

He was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.