National Football League

Gail Cogdill of Detroit Lions, NFL's top rookie in '60, dies

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:26 p.m. ET

foxsports

DETROIT (AP) Gail Cogdill, a star receiver for the Detroit Lions and the NFL rookie of the year in 1960, has died. He was 79.

A statement from his family says Cogdill died Thursday in Spokane, Washington. He had organ failure and dementia.

Cogdill was named the NFL's top rookie in 1960 after catching 43 passes for 642 yards and a touchdown. He played 11 seasons, including nine with Detroit.

He held the team record for career receiving yards - 5,221 - until Herman Moore passed him in the 1990s.

Cogdill played college football at Washington State. His family says his brain and brain stem are being donated to researchers at Boston University who study brain trauma.