One hundred twenty-three rushing yards and a 13-7 upset of the Los Angeles Raiders at the Kingdome: that was the afternoon Seattle Seahawks fans never forgot, Dan Doornink grinding out one more first down behind a line that had opened just enough room in the 1984 AFC Wild Card game. Doornink, who went on to spend more than three decades practicing internal medicine in the Yakima Valley under the nickname "Dr. Dan," died on October 31, 2026, at age 70. Seattle Seahawks The Seahawks announced his death in a statement calling him "a beloved member of the Seahawks early days, both on and off the field." Seattle Sports (MyNorthwest)

Doornink grew up in Wapato, Washington, near Yakima, where his father practiced medicine for more than four decades. He enrolled at Washington State University in 1974 and, after converting from quarterback to running back, became one of the most complete players the Cougars had fielded: 1,739 rushing yards, 105 catches for 968 yards, and 2,838 all-purpose yards, the second-highest total in school history at the time. He was a Pacific-8 Conference Scholar-Athlete and a Second Team Academic All-American, and was named MVP of the Challenge Bowl in his senior season. Washington State inducted him into its athletic Hall of Fame in 1986. Washington State University Athletics

The New York Giants made him their seventh-round pick, 174th overall, in the 1978 NFL Draft. Washington State University Athletics He played one season in New York before moving to Seattle for 1979, where he earned the nickname "Mr. Third Down" for his knack of moving the chains and scored a 50-yard touchdown against Pittsburgh that same year. Washington State Magazine He finished an eight-year NFL career with 1,836 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns across 105 games with the Giants and Seahawks. Union-Bulletin

All the while, Doornink had been attending medical school at the University of Washington between practices, and after his playing days ended he completed a residency at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. He returned to the Yakima Valley around 1990, hung out his shingle as an internist, and eventually practiced alongside his brother, Dave, also a physician, at Memorial Cornerstone Medicine. In his final years of practice he worked at the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, where he diagnosed an estimated 150 to 200 COVID-19 cases in the valley during the pandemic.

In August 2021, Doornink nearly lost his own fight for life. A severe case of COVID-19, complicated by a rare blood disorder, put him in intensive care at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital for 23 days, cost him 38 pounds, and required blood transfusions sourced from outside the state after local matches ran short. Doctors twice told his wife, Sharon, that he might not make it through the night. "Truly a miracle," she said afterward of his recovery. The Spokesman-Review

He is survived by Sharon, their four children, including son Tyler, who became a physician himself, and daughter Danielle, a Spokane elementary school teacher, and five grandchildren. Doornink's name still sits on the record boards at Washington State and in the memory of the Kingdome crowd that watched him grind out that playoff win in 1984, but in Yakima it was the quieter chapter that mattered most: four decades after his father and alongside his brother, he kept a family medical practice running in the valley where he grew up, treating the same community that once cheered for him on Sundays.