Lyle Alzado
A ferocious NFL defensive end whose later confession about steroid abuse forced a painful public conversation about the sport's dark side.
1949–1992 (age 43)·American football player & actor·Birthday: April 3·Baby Boomers
Biography
Lyle Alzado played professional football with a terrifying, unhinged fury that made him a fan favorite and an opponent's nightmare. Undersized for a defensive lineman coming out of Yankton College, he compensated with an aggressive, non-stop motor that carried him to a 15-year NFL career with the Broncos, Browns, and Raiders. In Denver and Los Angeles, he became a central figure on dominant defenses, known for his wild hair and even wilder on-field rants. He reached the pinnacle by winning Super Bowl XVIII with the Raiders in 1984. After retiring, Alzado's life took a dark turn. Diagnosed with brain cancer in 1991, he became convinced—and publicly declared—that his disease was caused by years of rampant anabolic steroid and human growth hormone use. His emotional, gaunt appearances on national talk shows and in sports magazines became a seismic event, providing a human face to the hidden cost of performance enhancement in athletics. While the direct link between his steroid use and his cancer was later disputed by doctors, his testimony irrevocably shattered the silence surrounding the drug's prevalence in professional sports.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Lyle was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Lyle Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Lyle's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1992Died at 43
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
Key Achievements
- Named AFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1977 after recording a career-high 13 sacks for the Denver Broncos.
- Won Super Bowl XVIII as a starting defensive end for the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1983 season.
- Selected to two Pro Bowls (1977, 1978) and was a first-team All-Pro in 1977.
- His 1977 Denver Broncos defense, the "Orange Crush," carried the team to its first Super Bowl appearance.
Did You Know?
He also had a brief acting career, appearing in films like "Ernest Goes to Camp" and the TV series "The A-Team."
He was a champion high school wrestler in New York before focusing on football.
Alzado famously fought (and lost to) boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in an exhibition match in 1979.
He was drafted in the 4th round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, the 79th player selected overall.
“"I started taking anabolic steroids in 1969 and never stopped. It was addicting, mentally addicting."”
