Dan Doornink, former running back for the New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks, sadly passed away on Saturday (October 31).
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Per the former NFL standout's obituary, Doornink battled two autoimmune diseases before his eventual passing.
Dan Doornink Dead at 70 Years Old
Doornink was drafted by the Giants in the seventh round of the 1978 NFL draft. However, he had a lackluster rookie campaign. Logging 306 yards and one touchdown while averaging 5.1 yards per attempt in 12 games.
The Giants traded him to the Seattle Seahawks the following season. And his sophomore campaign was much more impressive. Doornink was named the team's starting running back and rushed for 844 yards and 11 touchdowns during the 1979 and 1980 regular seasons.
He became immortalized in Seattle after helping lead the team to the playoffs for the first time in the 1983 season.
Doornink Had Impressive Career at Washington State
Doornink was best known for his NFL career with the Seahawks. However, he had a similar trajectory during his tenure with the Washington State Cougars.
When he arrived on the Washington State campus in 1974, it wasn't to prove that he was the right man for the running back position. He was trying to be the team's quarterback. But his gunslinger hopes were quickly dashed. He realized how far down in the rotation he was. Per a Tuesday (November 1) report from 24/7 Sports, he was the eighth man on the depth chart.
"We never got to do anything. They never had to wash my pants the first couple of weeks of practice," Doornink said in a 2020 interview for The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane (via 24/7 Sports).
It was apparent that Doornink wasn't going to see much playing time under center. So making the switch to running back was a no-brainer. That switch immediately paid off when he became the second man on the depth chart behind Andrew Jones. He finished his career as the third-leading rusher in program history and No. 2 on the all-purpose yardage list.
His former quarterback Jack Thompson remembered Doornink as a "tremendous athlete."
"You could see that as soon as he stepped on the field. We ran the Houston Veer at that time under Jim Sweeney, and you don't have to look far to see who could run better. Sweeney loved Dan," he said.
Doornink was 70 years old. May he rest in peace.
