Justin Skaggs

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Justin Skaggs
Date of birth: April 22, 1979
Place of birth: Wentzville, Missouri, U.S.
Date of death: June 15, 2007 (aged 28)
Place of death: Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Career information
Position(s): WR / LB
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 202 lb (92 kg)
Jersey №: 80
College: Evangel
Organizations
 As player:
2001-2002
2002
2004
2005
2006-2007		 Washington Redskins
Amsterdam Admirals (Europe)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Orlando Predators (AFL)
Utah Blaze (AFL)
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Justin Skaggs (April 22, 1979 – June 15, 2007) was an American football player. After several years as a backup player in the National Football League, he moved to the Arena Football League, where he played one year for the Orlando Predators and two years for the Utah Blaze before an untimely death due to brain cancer.

Skaggs graduated from Evangel University in 2001, and was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent late in the 2001 season. He was released in 2002 after playing only one NFL game, though in 2002 he also played for the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe. In 2003, he was invited to San Francisco 49ers training camp, but was cut from the team. In 2004, he went to training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was again cut.

After his failures in the NFL, Skaggs turned to the Arena Football League, where he was signed by the Orlando Predators for the 2005 season. He had 33 receptions for 370 yards with 3 touchdowns in his first year.

His breakout year came in 2006, when he moved to the expansion Utah Blaze, becoming one of its inaugural players. In that first year, he had 52 receptions for 665 yards and 13 touchdowns. The team's "iron man", he also had 34 tackles, 26 assists on tackles, and three forced fumbles, recovering one of them.

Skaggs did well in 2007, with 4 passing and 4 rushing touchdowns, as well as 22 tackles. However, he began suffering headaches. Thinking it was a problem with his neck, Skaggs visited a doctor in late May. MRIs and CAT scans located several tumors in the left lobe of his brain, and doctors diagnosed him with stage III oligodendroglioma, an inoperable brain cancer, on June 1. In spite of the diagnosis, he showed up for a game three days later against the Colorado Crush. Although he did not play, he inspired his team to an important 51-14 win that kept their playoff hopes alive. [1]

He started suffering extremely severe headaches in the early morning on June 14, and was admitted to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where doctors discovered an increase in intracranial pressure. He underwent emergency surgery, but emerged unresponsive and on a ventilator. Family was gathered, and he was taken off life support on June 15, dying shortly afterward. His funeral, held at EnergySolutions Arena on June 18, was attended by over 300, including AFL Commissioner C. David Baker and Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.

On March 29, 2008, the number 3 was retired by the Blaze in Skaggs' honor.

Skaggs was survived by his wife, Tara, and two children: Jake (b. 2002) and Abbie (b. 2004).

[edit] External links