Tom Graham (linebacker)
American football player (1950-2017)
Thomas Lawrence Graham (April 15, 1950 – May 30, 2017) was an American professional football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). From 1972 until 1978, he played for the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at the University of Oregon.
From 1969 to 1971, linebacker Tom Graham starred for a University of Oregon defensive unit that was often overshadowed by the team's offensive stars and fellow Hall of Famers Dan Fouts and Bobby Moore (now known as Ahmad Rashad). From 1969 to 1971 he became the all-time leading tackler in Duck football history and was a 2001 inductee into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. By the end of his Duck career, Graham had amassed a school-record 433 tackles, including an amazing 206 as a sophomore (as season that saw Graham record five 20-plus tackle games). He saved his best game for last, putting together one of the finest performances in Duck history, as he made 41 tackles (24 unassisted), recovered a fumble, and blocked a field goal.
A Harbor City, Calif. native, where he attended Narbonne High School, Graham was named All-Pac-8, UPI All-Coast, and All-American three times, and AP All-coast and All-American twice. After being drafted in the fourth round by the Denver Broncos, he played 7 seasons in the NFL for the Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, and Buffalo Bills.
The public source identifies “Tom Graham (linebacker)” as american football player (1950-2017). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Graham, linebacker and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tom Graham (linebacker)”, the useful work is to connect “american football player (1950-2017)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7815986. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1950, 2017, 1972 and 1978.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Tom Graham (linebacker)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Tom Graham (linebacker) primary sources, Tom Graham (linebacker) archive and Graham research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tom Graham (linebacker)”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Tom Graham (linebacker)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.