Earsell Mackbee
American football player (1941–2009)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Earsell Mackbee (January 15, 1941 – November 9, 2009) was an American professional football player.
Brookhaven, Mississippi, U.S.
Vallejo, California, U.S.
| No. 46 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Cornerback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | January 15, 1941 Brookhaven, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | November 9, 2009 (aged 68) Vallejo, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Vallejo (Vallejo, California) | ||||||||
| College | Utah St. (1964) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1965: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Mackbee was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi and served as an airman in the United States Air Force. He graduated from Utah State University, where he starred as a cornerback. He played five seasons in the National Football League, all with the Minnesota Vikings. Mackbee was a starting cornerback on the Vikings’ Purple People Eaters defense and made 15 interceptions in his career.[1] He started in Super Bowl IV but was injured while unsuccessfully attempting a tackle on a play that resulted in Otis Taylor running down the sidelines for a 46-yard touchdown to close out the scoring with 82 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Mackbee explained, “He had used a hitch and go earlier. This was just a hitch. I had gone up tight on him a lot. Earlier I had a pinched nerve in my shoulder and as I hit him my shoulder went numb and I lost him.”[2][3]
After retiring from the NFL in 1970, Mackbee became an entrepreneur, opening a chain of restaurants and other business ventures. He also worked as a counselor and advisor for City Inc, a Minneapolis outreach and educational program.[4]
In 2005, Mackbee suffered a stroke and was thereafter in a hospice. On October 16, 2009, his condition deteriorated, and his family rallied to fulfill his last wish of returning him to his roots in Vallejo, California.[5] Ten days after donations allowed his family to charter a plane to fly him back to Vallejo, Mackbee died on November 9, 2009.[6] He is interred at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery.