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Ex-Lions quarterback Sweetan dies
Posted: Friday July 07, 2000 09:37 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- Karl Sweetan, who went from an 18th-round draft choice to starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions in one year, has died. He was 57. Sweetan died Sunday at a Las Vegas hospital of complications from vascular surgery, said his daughter, Virginia Sweetan. Sweetan, a Texas native, holds the NFL record for the longest pass from scrimmage, a 99-yard TD to Pat Studstill on Oct. 16, 1966, at Baltimore. Several other players share the record. The Lions chose Sweetan from Wake Forest in 1966. By midseason, he was Detroit's starting quarterback. Sweetan took over after Milt Plum injured his knee. In 10 games, he completed 157 of 309 passes for 1,809 yards and four touchdowns, with 14 interceptions. The Lions went 4-9-1 that season. His favorite target was Studstill, who caught 67 passes and made the Pro Bowl. The next year, Sweetan and Plum split time and were caught up in a quarterback controversy. Sweetan threw 177 passes that season, completing 74 for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns, with 11 interceptions. Sweetan spent his final three NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams as a backup. Virginia Sweetan told the Detroit Free Press that her father retained his love for football in retirement. Though he was "modest" when talking about his career, she said, "he was very proud of what he accomplished." After retiring, Sweetan was a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas. He lived in Nevada for 27 years after moving there to play semipro football when his NFL career ended in 1970. "He enjoyed his work," Virginia Sweetan said. "He was a social person and very well liked." Sweetan was cremated, and his ashes were being returned to Texas. There was to be no funeral service, but a wake was being held Friday at a Las Vegas sports bar called the Instant Replay. "He wouldn't want anyone crying, just laughing and having a good time," Virginia Sweetan said. He also is survived by his son, Karl R. Sweetan III, and daughters Christhia Ann Bryan, Virginia Sweetan, Heather Sweetan and Robin Sweetan. Sweetan was the second former Lions quarterback to die in the same week. Tobin Rote died of a heart attack June 27 at 72 in a Saginaw hospital. Rote led the Lions to their last championship, in 1957.
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