Chuck Hughes

For the admiral, see Charles Frederick Hughes. For the Canadian chef, see Chuck Hughes (chef).
Chuck Hughes

refer to caption

Hughes in 1971
No. 85
Position: Wide Receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1943-03-02)March 2, 1943
Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of death: October 24, 1971(1971-10-24) (aged 28)
Place of death: Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Career information
College: Texas Western
NFL draft: 1967 / Round: 4 / Pick: 99
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Charles Frederick "Chuck" Hughes (March 2, 1943 – October 24, 1971) was an American football wide receiver in the National Football League from 1967 to 1971. He is, to date, the only NFL player to die on the field during a game.[1]

Early years

Hughes was born on March 2, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] He moved with his family to Texas when he was young, along with his fourteen siblings.[3] Hughes attended high school in Abilene, Texas.[4]

College career

Hughes played college football at Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso,[2] where he is still listed in the all-time football records; his accomplishments include:

He was inducted into the UTEP Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.[5]

Professional career

Hughes was drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1967 NFL Draft and played three seasons with the Eagles before he was traded to the Detroit Lions prior to the start of the 1970 season. Although listed as a wide receiver he saw most action on special teams, being a backup at wide receiver. In his five-year career he caught only 15 passes.

Death

On October 24, 1971, the Lions were hosting the Chicago Bears at Tiger Stadium. Late in the game, with Detroit trailing 28-23, the Lions were driving into Chicago territory and Hughes, who entered the game as an injury replacement, caught a pass from Greg Landry for thirty-two yards and a first down at the Bears' 37-yard line.

Three plays later, Landry threw a pass that tight end Charlie Sanders dropped near the end zone. Hughes, a decoy on the play, began running back to the huddle with 1:02 showing on the clock. Suddenly, he dropped to the turf clutching his chest around the 20-yard line.[3] Hughes collapsed near Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, who saw him begin to convulse violently on the field. Realizing what was going on, Butkus motioned to the sideline frantically to get Hughes assistance. [6]

Both teams' doctors and trainers, along with a physician who happened to be attending the game, ran to Hughes to try and save him. An ambulance was called for and arrived to take Hughes to Henry Ford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:34 pm that afternoon. The game was played to its conclusion in front of a now-stunned silent crowd in Tiger Stadium, with the Bears' lead holding. The Lions awaited word of Hughes' condition after the game and the players were informed once word had broken that he was dead.

A postmortem examination revealed that Hughes was suffering from undiagnosed and advanced arteriosclerosis (one of his coronary arteries was 75% blocked) and that he had a family history of heart disease. The direct cause of death was a coronary thrombosis, which caused a massive myocardial infarction which cut off the blood flow to his heart. [7] [8] Hughes was buried in San Antonio, Texas, and all 40 of his Lions teammates attended his funeral, including head coach Joe Schmidt.[4] He is survived by his widow, Sharon Leah, and his son, who was 1 year and 11 months old at the time, Brandon Shane.[3] A $10,000 trust fund was set up for his son Brandon by an insurance company.[9] His widow filed a $21.5 million malpractice lawsuit against Henry Ford Hospital in 1972 for not diagnosing his condition when he was hospitalized after complaining of chest pains. The lawsuit was settled on October 3, 1974 for an undisclosed amount of money.[10]

The Lions retired his number, 85, in his honor, and annually make an award to the most improved player in his name.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Add loss of Corey Smith to list of Lions' tragedies http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/03/add_loss_of_corey_smith_to_lis.html
  2. 1 2 "Hughes Collapses, Dies After Game". Herald-Journal. October 23, 1971.
  3. 1 2 3 "Chuck Hughes Tragic Death Stuns Players, Fans". Sarasota Journal. October 25, 1971.
  4. 1 2 "Lion Teammates At Hughes' Rites". Victoria Advocate. October 28, 1971.
  5. ↑ "2006 Inductees". UTEP Athletics. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  6. ↑ "Shocking moments in NFL history". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  7. ↑ "Hughes Had Bad Arteries". Star-Banner. October 26, 1971.
  8. ↑ "Hughes Family Had History of Heart Trouble". Times-News. October 25, 1971.
  9. ↑ "Heart Disease Ran In Family". St. Petersburg Times. October 27, 1971.
  10. ↑ "Hughes Suit Is Settled". Argus-Press. October 4, 1974.

External links

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