Thomas Herrion

Thomas Herrion (December 15, 1981 – August 20, 2005) was an American football player for the San Francisco 49ers. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Herrion, a 6-foot-3 (190 cm), 310-pound (140 kg) guard, played college football first at Kilgore College at the junior college level before transferring to the University of Utah where he blocked for current San Francisco 49ers quarterback and number one draft pick Alex Smith. He was signed to a reserve/futures contract with the 49ers on January 5, 2005 and spent one season playing in NFL Europe with the Hamburg Sea Devils.

Shortly after an exhibition game against the Denver Broncos on August 20, 2005, Herrion collapsed in the locker room and was transported to St. Anthony’s Central Hospital in Denver where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was later determined to be Ischaemic heart disease, or (according to a subsequent examination of the autopsy report) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

On September 2nd 2005, the 49ers established the Thomas Herrion Memorial Award, which will be given to the player who best exemplifies the spirit of Thomas Herrion.

On the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, former 49er coach Mike Nolan commended Herrion for being "musical".