Ben Gay, former Browns running back, dead at 44
FILE - Cleveland Browns running back, Benjamin Gay #34, walks the sideline against the Tennessee Titans at Adelphia Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The Browns won 41-38. Scott Halleran/Getty Images.
Ben Gay, a former NFL running back who played one season with the Cleveland Browns, died late last month in a car crash in Colorado. He was 44.
Gay died on July 29 in the crash, according to Nirfino. The Associated Press, Akron Beacon-Journal and Houston Chronicle all reported Gay’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," one Facebook user wrote on the former football player. "High school memory! Ben was a beast in the 90’s. He’s at the end…. he left them boys!"
Gay was a standout running back at Garden City Community College in Kansas after he was removed from the Baylor program over team violations.
He played in a preseason game for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League before the Browns took a chance on him.
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He appeared in all 16 games for Cleveland during the 2001 season when the Browns went 7-9 and finished third in the AFC North division. He rushed for 172 yards on 51 carries and scored one touchdown.
Cleveland waived Gay the following offseason. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts but failed to make their 53-man roster, according to the Beacon-Journal.
Gay is survived by his wife and three children, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.