Terry Beasley obit

Terry Beasley, Auburn’s record-setting receiver, dead at 73

 

He was not on the list.

Legendary Auburn wide receiver and College Football Hall of Fame member Terry Beasley died at his Moody home Wednesday evening, AL.com’s Carol Robinson confirmed with St. Clair County Coroner Dennis Russell.

Beasley’s death is currently being investigated as a possible suicide, according to Moody Police Chief Reece Smith.

“Officers were dispatched to his residence around 5:20pm tonight. He was found deceased inside the residence from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. This case is still under investigation and our thoughts are with the Beasley family at this time,” Smith added.

Beasley was 73.

Beasley was born in Montgomery and played at Auburn from 1969 to 1971 alongside Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Pat Sullivan. Beasley was drafted in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft and played from 1972-1975 with the San Francisco 49ers.

Paired with Sullivan, Beasley made up one half of “one of college football’s greatest pass combinations,” the National Football Foundation writes of Beasley, who was inducted into the National Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

As a freshman in 1969, Beasley hauled in 34 receptions for 610 yards and six touchdowns. Come his sophomore year, Beasley established himself as Auburn’s leading receiver, catching 52 receptions for 1,051 yards and 11 scores.

“He was way ahead of his time,” Sullivan once said of Beasley. “He was as fast as anyone playing the game. But the thing that really set him apart was that he was awfully, awfully, strong.”

In 1971, the same year Sullivan won the Heisman, Beasley put together a season that saw him log 55 receptions for 846 yards and 12 touchdowns. Bumper stickers reading “Super Sully and Terry Terrific” made their way onto countless cars in the Auburn area, supporting the offensive duo that helped the Tigers finish 9-2 that season.

During his time on The Plains, Beasley generated a lengthy list of accolades, which included being a two-time All-Conference selection and a consensus All-American in 1971.

To this day, Beasley still holds countless program records at Auburn, including career receiving yards (2,507), most touchdown receptions (29), consecutive games with a touchdown catch (8) and most 100-yard games in a season (6) and career (12).

Beasley is one of three Auburn players to have their number retired by the team, along with Sullivan and Bo Jackson. He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Beasley was selected in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, with whom he spent the duration of his short professional career before injuries forced his retirement following the 1975 season.

Beasley’s successful three seasons at Auburn came after he spent his high school years playing for then-Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery.

Throughout his playing career, Beasley is believed to have suffered at least 19 concussions, which cut his professional career short.

In 2013, Beasley spent the better part of a month in an intensive care unit due to health problems Beasley’s family believed were linked to the concussions he suffered during his playing career.

“Beasley has chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the same disease former NFL linebacker Junior Seau and many other pro football players suffered,” Ryan Wood of the Opelia-Auburn News wrote in a 2013 article. “Doctors told him his brain looks like Swiss cheese. Each concussion punctured a hole.”

Beasley was married to Marlene Beasley, who appeared with Beasley and dozens of other of players as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the NFL which noted he suffered “multiple past traumatic brain injuries with symptoms including but not limited to, memory loss, headaches, anxiety and sleeplessness,” in court filings.

As a result of the lawsuit, a comprehensive settlement agreement was reached in 2016.

“Without admitting wrongdoing, the NFL agreed to an uncapped compensation fund that would potentially cover over 20,000 retired players in exchange for a release of all concussion-related claims against the league. At the time, it was predicted that the NFL’s outlay would ultimately exceed $1 billion,” Jodi Balsam of Law in Sport wrote in 2021.