Harald Hasselbach
{{Short description|Dutch gridiron football player (1967–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Harald Hasselbach
| image = Harald Hasselbach.jpeg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| number = 96
| position = Defensive end
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1967|9|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = Amsterdam, Netherlands
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|11|23|1967|9|22|df=y}}
| death_place = Parker, Colorado, US
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 6
| weight_lbs = 285
| high_school = South Delta {{nowrap|(Delta, BC, Canada)}}
| college = Washington
| cfldraftyear = 1989
| cfldraftround = 5
| cfldraftpick = 34
| pastteams =
- Calgary Stampeders ({{CFL Year|1990}}–{{CFL Year|1993}})
- Denver Broncos ({{NFL Year|1994}}–{{NFL Year|2000}})
- Green Bay Packers ({{NFL Year|2001}})*{{cite web |title=Transactions |url=https://www.nfl.com/transactions/league/signings/2001/8 |website=NFL.com |access-date=1 July 2024}}
| highlights =
- Super Bowl champion (XXXII, XXXIII)
- Grey Cup champion (80th)
- CFL All-Star (1993)
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 154
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 17.5
| statlabel4 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue4 = 4
| statlabel5 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue5 = 4
| pfr = H/HassHa20
}}
Harald Hasselbach (22 September 1967 – 23 November 2023) was a Dutch gridiron football player who was a defensive end in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played seven seasons in the NFL for the Denver Broncos from 1994 to 2000, winning two Super Bowls, including a start in Super Bowl XXXIII.{{Cite web |title=Hasselbach among B.C. Football Hall of Fame inductees |date=4 November 2016 |url=http://www.delta-optimist.com/sports/hasselbach-among-b-c-football-hall-of-fame-inductees-1.2451548}}{{Cite web |title=Super Bowl XXXIII – Denver Broncos vs. Atlanta Falcons – January 31st, 1999 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199901310atl.htm |access-date=17 July 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}} Previously, he played four seasons for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, winning the 80th Grey Cup in 1992.{{cite news|title=THE RING BEARERS: SUPER BOWL AND GREY CUP WINNING PLAYERS|url=https://www.cflaa.ca/the-ring-bearers-super-bowl-and-grey-cup-winning-players/|publisher=CFL Alumni Association|access-date=24 November 2023}} He played college football for the Washington Huskies after attending high school near Vancouver. During his youth, he played a variety of sports while his family lived on four different continents. After retiring as a player, he became a high school football coach. He is the only Dutch player to have become a Super Bowl champion.
Early life
Hasselbach was born in Amsterdam on 22 September 1967,{{cite web |title=Harald Hasselbach |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HassHa20.htm |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=23 November 2023}} to a Dutch father and a Surinamese mother. His father was an agricultural engineer and the family moved frequently; Hasselbach grew up in the Netherlands, Indonesia, Kenya, and Canada. He attended high school in Canada at South Delta Secondary School in Delta in Metro Vancouver.{{cite web |author=Willard, Heather |date=23 November 2023 |title=Back-to-back Broncos Super Bowl champ Harald Hasselbach dies at 56 |url=https://kdvr.com/sports/denver-broncos/longtime-broncos-player-and-back-to-back-super-bowl-champion-dies-at-56/ |accessdate=24 November 2023 |publisher=KDVR}} During his youth he practiced various sports, ranging from cricket, field hockey, to swimming and soccer.{{cite web|url=https://www.ad.nl/andere-sporten/enige-nederlandse-super-bowl-winnaar-harald-hasselbach-56-overleden~a5a4be75/ |url-access=subscription |title=Enige Nederlandse Super Bowl-winnaar Harald Hasselbach (56) overleden |language=Dutch |newspaper=Algemeen Dagblad |date=23 November 2023 |access-date=27 November 2023}}
Career
Playing five years of college football at the University of Washington and backing up Dennis Brown and Steve Emtman, he only appeared in four plays, including a tackle of Emmitt Smith. He talked the Philadelphia Eagles out of drafting him in the 1990 NFL draft because he had already signed with the Calgary Stampeders. He then went on to play four seasons in the CFL (two as an all-star). At Calgary, defensive line coach Tom Higgins helped mold his talent before he engaged in a 14-team bidding war for his services, deciding to sign with the Denver Broncos.
From 1994 through 2000, Hasselbach played for the Broncos, where he tallied 154 tackles, 29 regular season starts and a start in Super Bowl XXXIII.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/college/washington/legends/how-hasselbach-turned-himself-into-an-nfl-player-after-uw-failure|title=How Hasselbach Turned Himself into an NFL Player after UW Miss|accessdate=24 November 2023|date=3 February 2021|magazine=Sports Illustrated|author=Raley, Dan}} He had 17.5 NFL-career quarterback sacks and four forced fumbles.{{cite web|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/former-broncos-dl-harald-hasselbach-two-time-super-bowl-champion-dies-at-56-afte|title=Former Broncos DL Harald Hasselbach, two-time Super Bowl champion, dies at 56 after fighting cancer|accessdate=24 November 2023|date=23 November 2023|publisher=NFL|agency=Associated Press}} He never missed a game (regular or playoff) in his seven-year tenure (121 games) in Denver.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38965917/broncos-two-super-bowl-champ-harald-hasselbach-dies-56|title=Broncos' two-time Super Bowl champ Harald Hasselbach dies at 56|accessdate=23 November 2023|date=23 November 2023|publisher=ESPN|author=Schefter, Adam}} This total included nine NFL playoff games and starts in all three playoff games when Denver repeated as Super Bowl champions in Super Bowl XXXIII, where he recorded two tackles against Atlanta.{{cite web|url=https://www.kiro7.com/sports/former-uw-husky-lineman-harald-hasselbach-who-won-two-super-bowls-with-broncos-dead-56/XBN5PVXYLBANLBWYQA365EBVRQ/|title=Former UW Husky lineman Harald Hasselbach, who won two Super Bowls with Broncos, dead at 56|accessdate=24 November 2023|date=23 November 2023|publisher=KIRO-TV|author=Cwik, Chris}} He is one of at least ten players to have won a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl.
After his career he served as coach at a local high school.{{cite web|last=van der Velden |first=Koen |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/tweevoudig-super-bowl-winnaar-hasselbach-56-betaalde-hoge-prijs-als-american-footballer~b525bb90/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125100710/https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/tweevoudig-super-bowl-winnaar-hasselbach-56-betaalde-hoge-prijs-als-american-footballer~b525bb90/ |title=Tweevoudig Super Bowl-winnaar Hasselbach (56) betaalde hoge prijs als American footballer |language=Dutch |newspaper=de Volkskrant |date=24 November 2023 |archive-date=25 November 2023}} In 2016, he was inducted into the British Columbia Football Hall of Fame. He was a defensive line coach at Regis Jesuit High School at the time of his death.
Personal life
Hasselbach's older brother Ernst-Paul (1965–2008) was a television presenter.{{cite web |title=Robinson-presentator en Vlaamse assistente komen om bij opnames '71 Graden Noord' |url=https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/robinson-presentator-en-vlaamse-assistente-komen-om-bij-opnames-71-graden-noord~bc8da15d/ |website=De Morgen |access-date=23 November 2023}} Hasselbach had a wife and four children. Hasselbach and his son Terran, who played college football for Colorado,{{cite magazine |author=Raley, Dan |date=23 November 2023 |title=Cancer Claims Hasselbach, Little-Used Husky Turned NFL Starter |url=https://www.si.com/college/washington/football/cancer-claims-hasselbach-little-used-husky-turned-nfl-starter |accessdate=24 November 2023 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}} were in a near-fatal car accident when Terran was a high school freshman.{{cite web|url=https://cubuffs.com/sports/football/roster/terran-hasselbach/11206|title=96 Terran Hasselbach|accessdate=24 November 2023|date=|publisher=Colorado Buffaloes}}
Hasselbach complained of memory and concentration loss in the years before his death. He was diagnosed with cancer in mid-2023.{{cite web|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2499025-tweevoudig-super-bowl-winnaar-harald-hasselbach-56-overleden |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123233407/https://nos.nl/artikel/2499025-tweevoudig-super-bowl-winnaar-harald-hasselbach-56-overleden |title=Tweevoudig Super Bowl-winnaar Harald Hasselbach (56) overleden |language=Dutch |publisher=Nederlandse Omroep Stichting |date=23 November 2023 |archive-date=23 November 2023}} He died of a mucinous adenocarcinoma on 23 November 2023, at age 56.{{cite web |last1=Klis |first1=Mike |title=Former Bronco Harald Hasselbach dies at 56 |url=https://www.9news.com/article/sports/nfl/denver-broncos/mike-klis/harald-hasselbach-dies-at-56/73-df7455b0-f10a-400f-bcc6-eb61cb474b7d |website=KUSA (TV) |date=23 November 2023 |access-date=23 November 2023}} At the time of his death he was the only Dutch player to have ever won a Super Bowl.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbjYJJjF-k4 NFL career highlights] on YouTube
{{Super Bowl XXXII}}
{{Super Bowl XXXIII}}
{{80th Grey Cup}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasselbach, Harald}}
Category:American football defensive linemen
Category:Calgary Stampeders players
Category:Canadian football defensive linemen
Category:High school football coaches in Colorado
Category:Denver Broncos players
Category:Dutch players of American football
Category:Dutch players of Canadian football
Category:Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent