Chris Lindstrom
 |
|---|
|
Sport:
Football |
|
Year
Graduated: 1982 |
|
Year
Inducted: 2001 |
The 1978 Terrier football media guide listed freshman Chris
Lindstrom as a 6-6, 220-pounder. "He was a gangly colt,"
former head coach Rick Taylor recently recalled of the young
Lindstrom.
Four years later, Lindstrom had grown an inch and added 25
pounds as he developed into one of the dominant defensive
linemen in the Yankee Conference. His senior year of 1981,
he was Honorable Mention All-American, First Team All-East,
Second Team All-Conference, Third Team All-New England, Second
Team All-Conference, the team's outstanding senior lineman,
and was an eighth round selection of the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals.
The growth and development didn't happen by accident, though.
Genes certainly helped as Chris' older brother, Dave, had
been an All-American defensive end for the Terriers during
the early Seventies. He went on to enjoy an outstanding career
in the NFL, and was inducted into the Terrier Hall of Fame
in 1993.
Taylor was quick to point out, though, that it took more
than genes for Chris to develop into a lineman, who finished
his career with a total of 110 tackles and 11 sacks.
"He had a very strong work ethic," said the former
coach, who is now the athletic director at Northwestern University.
"He made himself into a force in the Yankee Conference,
and was very instrumental in our success those years."
During Chris' four-year career, the Terriers compiled an
overall record of 29-12-1. They won the conference title outright
in 1980 and shared the championship with UMass in 1979.
He went on to compete with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers
and the USFL's Chicago Blitz.
"Chris was a product of a great upbringing," said
Taylor. "His father worked at the University, and he
would come to practice everyday. He was a great guy. But,
the person who was the glue of the family was his mom. They
were terrific people. They were great fans, and you never
heard a peep from them. Chris was the apple that didn't fall
far from the tree."
