| No. 20 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | July 8, 1939 Lake Charles, Louisiana | ||||||||||||
| Died: | January 22, 2015 (aged 75) Newport Beach, California | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 196 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Lake Charles (LA) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Tulane | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 | ||||||||||||
| AFL Draft: | 1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Thomas Cyril Mason (July 8, 1939 – January 22, 2015) was an American football running back in the National Football League.
Mason played college football for Tulane University.
Mason was selected first overall by the expansion Minnesota Vikings in the 1961 NFL Draft. In six seasons with the Vikings, he rushed for 3,252 yards and scored 28 touchdowns. In 1967 NFL season, he was signed by the Los Angeles Rams. He played with the Rams for four years, but accumulated only four touchdowns and less than 900 yards. He finished his career with the Washington Redskins in 1971. He did not officially announce his retirement until June 8, 1973.[2]
Mason ranks ninth in total rushing yards and ninth in rushing touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings.[3]
Mason was married to Rita Ridinger in the mid 1960s. He married gymnast Cathy Rigby in 1972. They were divorced in 1981. Mason married Louise England in 1987, they divorced in 1994. He married Karen Kay Mason, in 1999. He was a 1976 graduate of the Western State College of Law.[4] He died in hospice care at Newport Beach, California on January 22, 2015.[5]