Tom Keating

Thomas Arthur Keating (September 2, 1942 – August 31, 2012) was an American professional football defensive tackle. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1961 to 1963 and played 12 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1975. He was an AFL All-Star in 1966 and 1967, a key to the 1967 Oakland Raiders' defensive line that led the team to a 13–1 record and the 1967 AFL Championship, and was considered "the premier tackle in the old American Football League".

Early life Keating was born in Chicago in 1942. He attended St. Mel High School in Chicago.

College career Keating enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1960 and played college football at the tackle position on head coach Bump Elliott's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1961 to 1963. As a junior, he started eight of nine games at left tackle for the 1962 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 2–7 record and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference. As a senior, he started all nine games at left tackle and was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the 1963 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 3-4-2 record and finished in fifth place in the Big Ten Conference.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills Keating was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round (34th overall pick) of the 1964 American Football League draft. The front four of Keating, Dan Birdwell, Ike Lassiter, and Ben Davidson contributed to the team's total of 67 sacks and 666 yards lost against the opposing offense. He played for the Raiders through 1972. He was considered "the premier tackle in the old American Football League" until he was slowed by a series of leg injuries.

Pittsburgh Steelers In July 1973, the Raiders traded Keating to the Pittsburgh Steelers for an undisclosed 1974 draft pick. Keating appeared in 12 games, four as a starter, for the Steelers during the 1973 NFL season. He became a starter for the Chiefs during the 1974 NFL season, appearing in 14 games, including 12 as the team's starting left tackle, replacing Curley Culp, who was traded to the Houston Oilers.

After retiring from football, Keating worked as a private investigator for a law firm and later opened his own agency in Walnut Creek, California.

Keating died from prostate cancer in 2012 at a hospice in Denver, Colorado. He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.