BREAKING NEWS Ex-Dolphins star Randy Crowder dies at 72 as NFL team mourns loss of former player
Former Miami Dolphins star Randy Crowder has died at 72, with the team announcing his passing on Wednesday morning.
Crowder was selected in the sixth round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins and played for the team for two years before moving on.
He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two more seasons before taking his final NFL snap in 1980.
After officially retiring from the NFL in 1982, he served as the defensive line coach at Penn State, his alma mater, for two years under his former head coach Joe Paterno.
Crowder was out of the NFL for a year in between his time with the Dolphins and Buccaneers after being arrested and serving on year in prison for selling cocaine in May 1977.
Former Dolphins first-round pick Don Reese and Crowder reportedly sold 0.45 kilograms of the substance to an undercover cop, landing behind bars after a plea-bargaining agreement.
Crowder had three children, with one of them, Channing Crowder, having an NFL career himself.
Channing was a third-round draft pick of the Dolphins in 2005 and played for the team until 2010 when he retired.
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