John Glenn Grimsley was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 who played for seven seasons for the Houston Oilers

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

.

Grimsley was born in Canton, Ohio

Canton, Ohio

Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, where he graduated from McKinley High School

Canton McKinley High School

Canton McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Stark County, Ohio, U.S. It is one of the largest and oldest high schools in Ohio.-Athletics:...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Kentucky

Kentucky Wildcats football

The Kentucky Wildcats football team is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.-History:Paul "Bear" Bryant Era...

 under coach Jerry Claiborne

Jerry Claiborne

Jerry Claiborne was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Tech , the University of Maryland, College Park , and his alma mater, the University of Kentucky , compiling a career college football record of 179–122–8...

.

Grimsley was selected to the Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

 after the 1988 season. In 1991, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and stayed there until he retired in 1993.

He died of an accidental gunshot wound at his home in Missouri City, Texas

Missouri City, Texas

Missouri City is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County with a small portion within Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S...

 on February 6, 2008. After his death, he was found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive degenerative disease found in individuals who have been subjected to multiple concussions and other forms of head injury. A variant of the condition, dementia pugilistica, is primarily associated with boxing...

as a result of his football career.