Donn Grimm is a retired American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player. He is best known for his role at linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

, that helped Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

 win the 1988 Consensus National Championship. He was also a four-time letterman

Letterman

A letterman, in U.S. sports, performing arts or academics, is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity athletic team, marching band, or in other performance school-sponsored activities....

 with the Irish. He was awarded each year from 1987 until his senior year in 1990. In 1989, he came in second on the team for tackles. After graduation he later signed with the Phoenix Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 as a rookie free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

 in 1991.

Donn is the brother of, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

r, Russ Grimm

Russ Grimm

Russell Scott Grimm is a former American football guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. As a collegian, he was an All-American center at the University of Pittsburgh. As a professional, Grimm had multi-selections to both the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and was...

 who mentioned him in his enshirement speech at the Hall in August 2010. He is also the uncle of Cody Grimm

Cody Grimm

Cody James Grimm is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft...

, a safety with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

.