Earsell Mackbee
| Date of birth | January 15, 1941 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Brookhaven, Mississippi |
| Date of death | November 9, 2009 (aged 68) |
| Place of death | Vallejo, California |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Cornerback |
| College | Utah State |
| NFL draft | 1965 / Round: |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1965–1969 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Career stats | |
| |
Earsell Mackbee (January 15, 1941 – November 9, 2009) was a professional American football player.
Mackbee was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi and served as an airman in the USAF. He graduated from Utah State University, where he starred as a cornerback. He played five seasons in the National Football League, all with the Minnesota Vikings. Mackbee was a starting cornerback on the Vikings’ Purple People Eaters defense and made 15 interceptions in his career.[1] He started in Super Bowl IV, but injured himself when he missed a tackle on Kansas City Chiefs' receiver Otis Taylor.
After retiring from the NFL in 1970, Mackbee became an entrepreneur, opening a chain of restaurants and other business ventures. He also worked as a counselor and advisor for City Inc, a Minneapolis outreach and educational program.[2]
In 2005, Mackbee suffered a stroke and was thereafter in a hospice. On October 16, 2009, his condition deteriorated, and his family rallied to fulfill his last wish of returning him to his roots in Vallejo, California.[3] Ten days after donations allowed his family to charter a plane to fly him back to Vallejo, Mackbee died on November 9, 2009.[4] He is interred at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery.[5]