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Linebacker remembered as fun-loving

June 18, 2008 10:34 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Football lost a colorful character from its past Monday when a car accident killed former Oilers linebacker Mike Dukes.

The Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise describes Dukes as somewhat larger than life, on and off the field. He was a 6-foot-3, 235-pound forerunner of the modern linebacker, able to cover shorter pass routes without sacrificing strength at the point.

Friends also described Dukes as fun-loving and gregarious, an avid party-goer who might have given Joe Namath a run for his late-night money.

The 49ers drafted Dukes in 1959, but he played for the Oilers and Boston Patriots before finishing his career with the Jets in 1965. He was 72.

Houston Oilers, Mike Dukes, Joe Namath

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  • Paul Kuharsky
  • Kuharsky joined ESPN.com in 2008 after 12 years covering the Oilers/Titans and the NFL for The (Nashville) Tennessean. The New Jersey native and Columbia graduate lives in Nashville with his wife.
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