:Don Calhoun

{{Short description|American football player (1952–2020)}}

{{About|the American football player|the spectator who made a 75-foot basketball shot|The Calhoun Shot}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Don Calhoun

| image = Don Calhoun New England Patriots press photo 1976-1980.jpg

| caption = Calhoun with the New England Patriots

| number = 29, 44, 30

| position = Running back

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1952|4|29|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Sumner, Oklahoma, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|12|14|1952|4|29}}

| death_place = Derby, Kansas, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| weight_lb = 206

| height_in = 0

| high_school = North (KS)

| college = Kansas St.

| draftyear = 1974

| draftround = 10

| draftpick = 249

| pastteams =

• Buffalo Bills ({{NFL Year|1974|1975}})
• New England Patriots ({{NFL Year|1975|1981}})
• Philadelphia Eagles ({{NFL Year|1982}})
• New Jersey Generals ({{USFL Year|1984}})

| statlabel1 = Rushing attempts

| statvalue1 = 860

| statlabel2 = Rushing yards

| statvalue2 = 3,559

| statlabel3 = Rushing TDs

| statvalue3 = 23

| pfr = CalhDo00

}}

Donald Clevester Calhoun (April 29, 1952 – December 14, 2020) was an American professional football running back who played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots.{{cite web

|url = http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=11375&print=yes

|title = 44 Don Calhoun RB

|publisher = New England Patriots

|access-date = 2011-01-03

}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and Philadelphia Eagles. He later played for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL).

Prior to playing in the NFL, Calhoun played football at Wichita High School North and Kansas State University. He was selected in the tenth round of the 1974 NFL draft by Buffalo. In 2009, he was inducted into both the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame{{cite web

|url = http://www.wichitahof.com/Inductees.htm

|title = Don Calhoun - athlete

|work = Inductees

|year = 2009

|publisher = Wichita Sports Hall of Fame

|access-date = 2011-01-03

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110718043041/http://www.wichitahof.com/Inductees.htm

|archive-date = 2011-07-18

}} and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame;{{cite web

|url = http://www.kshof.org/siteresources/apps/records/halloffamer.asp?id=182

|title = Don Calhoun

|work = Inductees

|year = 2009

|publisher = Kansas Sports Hall of Fame

|access-date = 2011-01-03

}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and in 2010, was chosen and awarded entry into the Wichita North High School Hall of Fame.

In 1976, while playing for the New England Patriots, Calhoun led the NFL in rushing yards per attempt, with 5.6. He rushed for 721 yards that year.

He died on December 14, 2020, at age 68, in Derby, Kansas.{{cite web|url=https://www.thejacksonmortuary.com/obituary/donald-calhoun |title=Donald Clevester Calhoun, Sr. of Wichita, Kansas |publisher=Thejacksonmortuary.com |date= |access-date=2021-01-26}}