Education
He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, Texas, where he also served as class Valedictorian his senior year and was a member of the high school newspaper staff
He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, Texas, where he also served as class Valedictorian his senior year and was a member of the high school newspaper staff
He played professionally for the NFL"s Minnesota Vikings, and the Memphis Showboats of the USFL.
Huffman was born in Canton, Ohio. He attended the University of Notre Dame, and played for coach Ara Parseghian and coach Dan Devine"s Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 1975 to 1979. As a senior in 1977, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.
He was noted for his good humor, which included saying that during games he always wore red-colored elbow pads so that his mother could see where he was in the pile-ups.
The Minnesota Vikings selected Huffman in the second round (forty-third pick overall) of the 1979 NFL Draft, and he played for the Vikings from 1979 to 1990 with only one interruption. In 1984 and 1985, he also played for the USFL"s Arizona Wranglers and Memphis Showboats.
In his eleven NFL seasons, he played in 128 games. Huffman died in a car accident on November 21, 1998, while on his way to the final Notre Dame home game of the season.
Each year, the city of Chanhassen, Minnesota, where Huffman served as a Park & Recreation Commissioner after his playing days, hosts a Dave Huffman Memorial 5,000-meter run.
Huffman played college football for the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of Notre Dame"s 1977 national championship team and an All-American. As a junior, Huffman was a member of the Irish"s 1977 national championship squad.