Steve Hendrickson, a feisty linebacker at Cal in the late 1980s who went on to play seven seasons in the NFL, died Friday at the age of 54.
Hendrickson was a two-sport star at Napa High before going to Cal.
No cause of death was given. According to a story in the Napa Valley Register, Hendrickson said that he sustained an estimated 20 concussions during more than a decade in college and pro ball.
Hendrickson was a member of the 1988 Pac-10 All-Academic team and the MVP of the 1988 Blue Gray All-Star game. A native of Napa, Hendrickson was an honorable mention All-Pac-10 player as a senior in 1988 then was a sixth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1989 NFL draft.
Hendrickson played 100 games over seven NFL seasons with five teams.
Hendrickson was given the team’s Joe Roth Award in 1988, for representing the courage, sportsmanship and attitude of the late Cal quarterback legend.
Hendrickson is survived by two children, daughter Courtney, who was an all-conference goalkeeper on Cal’s field hockey team in 2013, and son Kyle, who played football at Fresno State from 2015 through 2017.
