{{Short description|American football player (1949–2023)}} {{For|the Los Angeles police officer convicted of racketeering|Anthony Pellicano}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox NFL biography |name=Mark Arneson |number=57 |position=Linebacker |birth_date={{Birth date|1949|9|9|mf=y}} |birth_place=Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|2023|4|14|1949|9|9}} |death_place=Chesterfield, Missouri, U.S. |height_ft=6 |weight_lb=220 |height_in=2 |high_school=Palo Verde (AZ) |college=Arizona |draftyear=1972 |draftround=2 |draftpick=32 |pastteams=* St. Louis Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1972|1980}}) |highlights=* Arizona Wildcats Football Ring of Honor |statlabel1=Sacks |statvalue1=17.5 |statlabel2=Interceptions |statvalue2=5 |statlabel3=Fumble recoveries |statvalue3=18 |pfr=ArneMa20 }} {{Use American English|date=April 2023}}
'''Mark Edward Arneson''' (September 9, 1949 – April 14, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats. His brother Jim Arneson followed him into the NFL.
==College career== Arneson graduated from the University of Arizona, and was later named to their sports Hall of Fame (1976). Arneson is currently ranked top 10 in two stat lines at the University of Arizona still; 10th in Career Total Tackles (357), 8th in Career Assisted Tackles (171). He led the team in assisted tackles in 1969 and 1970, and led them in unassisted tackles in 1970. He was also a two-time first-team All-WAC selection (1970, 1971).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tucson.com/mark-arneson/article_046ef726-5901-11e6-b480-cf93ec7dc36e.html|title=Mark Arneson|last=Star|first=Drew McCullough Arizona Daily|website=Arizona Daily Star|language=en|access-date=2019-03-20}}</ref>
==Pro career== Arneson was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 1972 NFL draft. He missed only five games during his nine seasons in St. Louis. One of his career highlights came on his birthday in 1979 when he returned a fumble for a touchdown against the New York Giants. Arneson retired after the 1980 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mark Arneson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/ArneMa20.htm |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>
==Death== Arneson died on April 14, 2023, at the age of 73.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former St. Louis Cardinals Linebacker Mark Arneson Dies at the age of 73 |url=https://thebigredzone.com/2023/04/14/former-st-louis-cardinals-linebacker-mark-arneson-dies-at-the-age-of-73/ |website=The Big Red Zone |access-date=18 April 2023 |date=14 April 2023}}</ref> He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),<ref>{{cite news | title=How Hall of Famer Mark Arneson's life was impacted by CTE? |url=https://www.ksdk.com/video/sports/local-sports/sports-plus/how-hall-of-famer-mark-arnesons-life-was-impacted-by-cte/63-276d27b3-77c6-4a70-adfd-63050911e9df |work=KSDK |date=December 4, 2023 |access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref> which is caused by repeated hits to the head.<ref>{{cite news |title=The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) |website=Concussion Legacy Foundation |url=https://concussionfoundation.org/cte-resources/subconcussive-impacts |access-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702123543/https://concussionfoundation.org/cte-resources/subconcussive-impacts |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/sports/football/cte-study-concussions-brain-tackle.html |title=Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease. |work= The New York Times |date=June 20, 2023 |access-date=July 2, 2023 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals 1972 draft navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arneson, Mark}} Category:1949 births Category:2023 deaths Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Category:Arizona Wildcats football players Category:Players of American football from Iowa City, Iowa Category:20th-century American sportsmen
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