David Thelen (born September 2, 1936) is a former Canadian Football League running back for the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Toronto Argonauts. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Dave Thelen played semi-pro baseball and was drafted by the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball and by the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League before joining the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League in 1958.