Don Beebe

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Don Lee Beebe (born December 18, 1964 in Aurora, Illinois) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Buffalo Bills (1989-1994), Carolina Panthers (1995) and the Green Bay Packers (1996-1997) of the NFL.

He was drafted by the Bills out of unheralded Chadron State College (after transferring from Western Illinois University) in the third round (82nd pick overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft. He is well known for creating a sensation at the 1989 pre-draft combine, where he posted times in speed and agility drills that were the marvel of the camp.

Coming from a tiny NAIA school, most of the coaches and staff were dumb-founded as to where he came from and how he got invited. Don attended Kaneland High school in Maple Park, IL where he lettered in basketball, and track, as well as football.

Career

He is perhaps best known for one of the more memorable moments in Super Bowl history. While with the Bills during their rout at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXVII, Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett recovered a fumble and was preparing to return it for a touchdown. Lett began to celebrate prematurely on the return by holding the ball out to his right side around the 10 yard line, and though the Bills were down 52-17 at the time, a relentless Beebe streaked across the field and knocked the ball out of Lett's hands just before the goal line, the ball went through the end zone and out of bounds to prevent the touchdown (which would have given Dallas a Super Bowl-record 58 points), and regaining possession of the ball on the touchback. Beebe also caught 2 passes for 50 yards, including a 40 yard touchdown reception from Frank Reich earlier in the game.

Don Beebe was a member of six Super Bowl teams, including four appearances with the Buffalo Bills (Super Bowl XXV, Super Bowl XXVI, Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII) and two with the Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl XXXI and Super Bowl XXXII). Beebe won his first World Championship with the Packers at Super Bowl XXXI.

Beebe has always been highly respected by fellow players and coaches because of his strong work ethic and character. He was honored as an "Unsung Hero" in 1996, at the NFL Players Association Awards Banquet.

In his 9 NFL seasons, Beebe caught 219 passes for 3,416 yards, rushed for 28 yards, returned 81 kickoffs for 1,735 yards, and scored 25 touchdowns (23 receiving, 1 kickoff return, 1 fumble recovery).

Life after football

He now operates "Don Beebe's House of Speed," where he trains athletes the essentials of top performance, character and speed. Don works with several professional and college programs in the area of speed training, including the Chicago Bears, the St. Louis Rams and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. House of Speed began franchise operations in 2006, and has spread to five states. During his career, he ran a 4.21 40 yard dash, a 4.3 in full pads, and is still considered one of the fastest players in NFL history.

Since 2004 he also coaches varsity football for Aurora Christian School in Aurora, IL, where he has taken the fledgling program from Single A up to 4A, reaching as high as the state semi-finals in 2007. In 2008, Beebe led Aurora Christian to the State Championship Game, which was played on Thanksgiving weekend. The Eagles lost to Bloomington Central Catholic's Saints 37-28, but they went down as the first football team from Aurora to play in a state championship game.

External links

• Pro-Football-Reference.com - career statistics.
• Beebe's stats at databasefootball.com
• House Of Speed Sports and training performance company run by Beebe
• ESPN Page 2, 100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments