Former NFL running back Ben Gay, who played one season with the Cleveland Browns, died in a car accident in Colorado late last month, according to multiple reports. He was 44.
Gay died on July 29 in the crash, according to Nirfino. The Associated Press, Akron Beacon-Journal and the Houston Chronicle all reported the former NFL player’s death.
“Rest easy the original Spring legend… Ben Gay!! I haven’t seen him since high school but we attended middle/high school together,” a Facebook user wrote in honor of the former football player, per Fox News. “High school memory! Ben was a beast in the ’90s. He’s at the end…. he left them boys!”
The Houston native was a Texas High School legend at Spring High School. He initially signed with Baylor University and eventually went to Garden City Community College in Kansas, becoming a standout running back while there.
He played in a preseason game for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League before going with the Cleveland Browns.
Called the electric Gay and becoming a fan favorite, he appeared in all 16 games for Cleveland during the 2001 season when the team went 7-9 and finished third in the AFC North division. He rushed for 172 yards on 51 carries and scored one touchdown.
The ninth game, in Week 10 at the Baltimore Ravens, was when he made a name for himself.
The Browns waived Gay the following season in April 2002. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts shortly after being released by Cleveland but was cut during training camp after failing to make the team’s 53-man roster, according to the Beacon-Journal.
After his football career, Gay worked as a welder. He is survived by his wife Margarita and three children: son Damian Ortega, and daughters Julie Ortega and Brianna Morales.
Funeral arrangements are being handled at Rowanoak Mortuary and Crematory in Fort Morgan, Colorado.
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