Boulder – Anthony Weatherspoon, a power-running fullback who helped transform Colorado into a national power in the mid-1980s, died Tuesday in Houston after a long struggle with leukemia. He was 39.
Weatherspoon also suffered from a rare blood disorder. He needed a bone marrow transplant and had found a donor. But he was never healthy enough to have the surgery. He started on kidney dialysis Nov. 5 and was placed on a respirator the night before he passed away as infections had spread to his lungs.
When coach Bill McCartney switched the Buffaloes to the wishbone offense in 1985, “Spoon,” as CU fans loved to call him, led the team with 569 yards and was second in rushing in 1986 with 581 yards. He ran for 101 yards in Colorado’s 21-17 victory over Oregon in 1985, one of the big wins in the team’s return to national prominence. He ranks 35th on the school’s career rushing list with 1,193 yards.
“Spoon was a tenacious fullback, and his talents helped lay the foundation that turned the Buffs into a national power,” former teammate Brad Robinson said. “He had that brilliant smile in the locker room and on campus with his teammates and friends.”
Weatherspoon, who resided in Orange, Calif., working as a financial adviser, went to Houston last year for treatment.
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and three daughters: Tasha (9), Julissa (8) and Destiny (5).
The Anthony Weatherspoon Memorial Fund has been set up at Wells Fargo banks to help the family with medical and funeral costs. Services are pending.
