Pat Dunsmore

Patrick Neil Dunsmore (born October 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for three seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He is a graduate of Ankeny High School in Ankeny, Iowa and Drake University. He switched sports (to football) as a senior in high school and switched positions (to tight end) as a senior in college. He played for Drake during a historically successful era for the school. As a professional, he is best remembered as the recipient of a Walter Payton playoff touchdown and a victim of a pileup in a bench clearing brawl. He is the father of Drake Dunsmore.

Early life At Ankeny, he competed in basketball until his senior year, when he became a football player and earned a football scholarship. On September 13, 1980, he had 142 yards and six receptions for two touchdowns against Ball State. Dunsmore, was part of a historic era for Drake Bulldogs football including the nearly undefeated 1981 Drake Bulldogs football team. The team's 7–0 start was the school's first in 37 years, which caused Sports Illustrated to do a feature on the team. Then, he was part of the Bears 1983 Draft class with Jimbo Covert, Willie Gault, Mike Richardson, Dave Duerson, Tom Thayer, Richard Dent and Mark Bortz. He was placed on injured reserve on August 30, 1984, and taken off of injured reserve on September 29, 1984. He then played in 11 regular season games for the 1984 Bears, totaling 9 receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown. The 23–19 victory at RFK Stadium was the team's first playoff victory since 1963. The play occurred two minutes before the half when Payton took a pitch from Steve Fuller and threw the pass, giving the Bears a 10–3 halftime lead.

Dunsmore was able to play with the 1986 Bears in the preseason. In a late preseason game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Dunsmore came to the aid of teammate Keith Van Horne during a bench-clearing brawl. Dunsmore and Van Horne were pinned against the wall behind the Cardinals bench. Dunsmore was trampled, kicked and punched by Charlie Baker, Ottis Anderson and Earnest Gray on national television. Dunsmore was among the last four players cut when the team cut to the 45-man roster limit a little over a week later. The following week, when fines were announced by the NFL, Otis Wilson expressed his disbelief ". . . Dunsmore got fined? He almost got killed."