Mark Arneson

For the Los Angeles police officer convicted of racketeering, see Anthony Pellicano.

Mark Arneson

No. 57
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(1949-09-09)September 9, 1949 Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.
Died:	April 14, 2023(2023-04-14) (aged 73) Chesterfield, Missouri, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Palo Verde (AZ)
College:	Arizona
NFL draft:	1972 / round: 2 / pick: 32
Career history
St. Louis Cardinals (1972–1980)
Career highlights and awards
Arizona Wildcats Football Ring of Honor
Career NFL statistics
Sacks: 17.5 Interceptions: 5 Fumble recoveries: 18 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Mark Edward Arneson (September 9, 1949 – April 14, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats. His brother Jim Arneson followed him into the NFL.

College career

Arneson graduated from the University of Arizona, and was later named to their sports Hall of Fame (1976). Arneson is currently ranked top 10 in two stat lines at the University of Arizona still; 10th in Career Total Tackles (357), 8th in Career Assisted Tackles (171). He led the team in assisted tackles in 1969 and 1970, and led them in unassisted tackles in 1970. He was also a two-time first-team All-WAC selection (1970, 1971).^[1]

Pro career

Arneson was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 1972 NFL draft. He missed only five games during his nine seasons in St. Louis. One of his career highlights came on his birthday in 1979 when he returned a fumble for a touchdown against the New York Giants. Arneson retired after the 1980 season.^[2]

Death

Arneson died on April 14, 2023, at the age of 73.^[3] He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),^[4] which is caused by repeated hits to the head.^[5][6]

References

1. Star, Drew McCullough Arizona Daily. "Mark Arneson". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
2. "Mark Arneson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
3. "Former St. Louis Cardinals Linebacker Mark Arneson Dies at the age of 73". The Big Red Zone. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
4. "How Hall of Famer Mark Arneson's life was impacted by CTE?". KSDK. December 4, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
5. "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
6. Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.