updated 4:13 p.m. ET March 22, 2005

PITTSBURGH - David Little, a durable linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers who was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1990, died while weightlifting at home in Miami. He was 46.

Little had heart disease, and a cardiac fluttering Thursday caused him to drop on his chest 250 pounds of weights, which rolled onto his neck and suffocated him, the coroner said Tuesday. Little was found by his sons, David Jr. and Darien.

Little played his entire 12-year career in Pittsburgh after he was drafted out of Florida in the seventh round in 1981. He started 125 of the 179 games he played for the Steelers and once played in 89 in a row. His last season in the league was 1992.

His older brother, Larry Little, was an All-Pro guard for the Miami Dolphins.

Little is also survived by his wife, Denise, his mother, daughter and four sisters.

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