Andy Spiva

Spiva was born on February 6, 1955, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended Chamblee High School in Chamblee, Georgia and the University of Tennessee.^[1] At Tennessee, Spiva was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection.^[2] He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth round of the 1977 NFL draft with the 135th overall pick.^[3]

Spiva was released by St. Louis that year when the team made its final preseason cuts.^[4] He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons shortly thereafter.^[5] Falcons coach Leeman Bennett said that the team had become impressed with Spiva when they played Spiva and the Cardinals in a preseason game.^[6]

He played in 13 games for the Falcons in 1977.^[1] Prior to the 1978 season, Spiva was the top middle linebacker on Atlanta's depth chart before suffering a preseason knee injury.^[7] He underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments a few days after sustaining the injury.^[8]

On April 3, 1979, Spiva was driving in rainy conditions when his sports car slid off of a street in the Atlanta area and it collided with a tree. Spiva died at Northside Hospital that day after sustaining head and chest injuries. His teammate Garth TenNapel was seriously injured in the crash.^[9] Spiva and TenNapel had been close friends since going through knee rehabilitation together the previous year.^[7]