Former Michigan Star Who Quit Football To Become Surgeon Dead At 73

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 6:03 PM ET

Football fans learned this week that a former Michigan star and NFL first-round pick has passed away at the age of 73.

From 1970-1973, Dave Gallagher was a standout defensive tackle for the Michigan Wolverines. He earned All-American and All-Big Ten honors in 1973, solidifying his status as a top-tier prospect. The Chicago Bears ultimately selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 1974 NFL Draft.

Gallagher spent one year with the Bears before making his way over to the Big Apple. After two seasons with the New York Giants, he announced his retirement from football and returned to the University of Michigan to pursue a doctorate in medicine. Although he briefly returned to the NFL to suit up for the Detroit Lions, he ended up getting involved in the medical field just like his father.

"It wasn’t so much that I knew what a doctor did, how he cared for people when they were sick, it was just that I admired my father so much and saw the respect he got from the community," Gallagher said.

Unfortunately, it wasn't discovered until this week that Gallagher passed away. It turns out he died at his home in Indiana on Jan. 20.

ANN ARBOR, MI - SEPTEMBER 10: A general view of the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on September 10, 2005 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Gallagher's obituary revealed that he's survived by his former wife Carole, his daughter Bryn, sons Pat and Drew, his brother John, and his five grandchildren.

"Dr. David Dillon Gallagher, 73, of Columbus, Indiana, passed away on January 20, 2025, at his residence in Columbus," his obituary states. "Dr. Gallagher attended Piqua city schools and graduated from Piqua Central High School in 1970. He attended the University of Michigan on a football scholarship and was a consensus College All American in 1973. He had planned to attend medical school, but decided to forgo that to play professional football. He later finished medical school at the University of Michigan as an orthopedic surgeon and practiced medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, for many years, in Columbus, Indiana."

There's no question Gallagher left his mark as an NFL player and orthopedic surgeon.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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