View source for Terry Long (American football)

{{Infobox gridiron football person
|name=Terry Long
|image=
|birth_date=July 21, 1959
|birth_place= [[Columbia, South Carolina]]
|death_date={{death date and age|2005|06|7|1959|07|21}} 
|death_place= [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]
|College=[[East Carolina University]]
|Position=[[Guard (American football)|Guard]], [[Offensive Tackle]]
|DraftedYear=1984
|DraftedRound=4 / Pick 111
|ProBowls=
|years=1984–1991
|teams=[[Pittsburgh Steelers]]
|Stats=y
|PFR=
|DatabaseFootball=LONGTER01}}

'''Terry Luther Long''' (July 21, 1959 &ndash; June 7, 2005) was an American college and professional [[American football|football]] player who was an [[offensive lineman]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for eight seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s.  He played [[college football]] for [[East Carolina University]], and thereafter he played professionally for the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] of the NFL.

==Early years==

Long was born in [[Columbia, South Carolina]].

==College career==

Long attended East Carolina University, where he played for the [[East Carolina Pirates football]] team from 1980 to 1983.  He was recognized as a consensus first-team [[All-American]] in 1983.

==Professional career==

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Long in the fourth round (111th pick overall) of the [[1984 NFL Draft]], and he played for the Steelers from {{NFL Year|1984}} to {{NFL Year|1991}}.  During his eight NFL seasons, he played in 105 games, and started eighty-nine of them.

==Death==

He died in 2005 from drinking [[antifreeze]].  Doctors studied his brain later and believe that [[Chronic traumatic encephalopathy|brain damage]] from his football career contributed to his [[Clinical depression|depression]] and later [[suicide]].<ref name=autopsy>{{cite web|last=Frontline|title=The Autopsy That Changed Football|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/the-autopsy-that-changed-football/|publisher=PBS|accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref> <ref name=ESPN>{{cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2307003 |title=Ex-Steeler Long drank antifreeze to commit suicide |publisher=''[[ESPN|ESPN.com]]'' |date=2006-01-26 |accessdate=2007-09-05}}</ref> He had previously attempted suicide in 1991 after testing positive for the NFL's steroid test.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-01/sports/sp-224_1_terry-long|title=Terry Long Says He Attempted Suicide|publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' |date=1991-08-01 |accessdate=2013-09-16}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{1983 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Steelers1984DraftPicks}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              = Long, Terry
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Long, Terry Luther; Long, Terry L.
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = All-American college football player, professional football player, offensive lineman
| DATE OF BIRTH     = July 21, 1959
| PLACE OF BIRTH    = Columbia, South Carolina, United States
| DATE OF DEATH     = June 7, 2005
| PLACE OF DEATH    = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Terry}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American football offensive guards]]
[[Category:American football offensive tackles]]
[[Category:East Carolina Pirates football players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Columbia, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from South Carolina]]
[[Category:Players of American football who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Suicides by poison]]
[[Category:Suicides in Pennsylvania]]


{{offensive-lineman-1950s-stub}}