Article Last Updated: 2/05/2006 09:57 AM
Pain is the price of glory for many old-time football players
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
ANOTHER SUPER BOWL, the 40th, takes place today in Detroit, matching four-time champion Pittsburgh and first-time participant Seattle.
The focus is on the Vince Lombardi Trophy and whether East or West will claim it. The Steelers and Seahawks are physical by nature, and their impending collision could rank among the most macho of Super Bowls.
Blitzes will be coming, bodies will be flying and the hardest-hitting team likely will emerge triumphant. But the aftershock will not be felt for years to come, not until these same Steelers and Seahawks reach middle age.
Then they will join a growing football fraternity of the sick and the suffering, men who willingly sacrificed their bodies to achieve the ultimate glory that Pittsburgh and Seattle are seeking in the Motor City.
Only a small percentage of NFL players reach the Super Bowl, but a much higher percentage will be broken down physically by their 40s and 50s, when the pain they once played through now refuses to go away.
And by the time they become senior citizens, they will hurt too much to walk normally or sleep regularly. Their agony will be ongoing from too many surgeries. Even artificial body replacements won't guarantee them comfort.
Today's heroes are tomorrow's infirmities. It's the nature of the beast, or beasts, 300-pound bodies striking with incredible force, very often after a running start. The most vulnerable target in sports is an unsuspecting, stationary quarterback who's about to be steamrolled from behind by a full-speed-ahead, licking-his-chops pass rusher.
At least a batter in baseball can see a beanball coming.
However, today's football players, as a rule, won't suffer nearly as greatly as their predecessors from 30 years ago. That's because the field of medicine has advanced, and so have salaries. This means current players are cared for much better any way you examine their working conditions.
"A lot of the young so-called heroes don't play like the old heroes," former Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto said. "They will leave the game sooner in many ways. You will get a Jerry Rice, who had one or two knee surgeries. But he didn't get beat up like an interior lineman or a linebacker.
"Guys today don't play as long because they have money. They don't have to worry about their future. I always felt I had to do good to take care of my family."
Otto, who never missed a game for the Raiders (210 straight), is the poster boy for retired NFL players. His dedication to duty was unparalleled. He was named All-Pro after playing a full season with every ligament torn in one knee. Even getting him to sit out a practice was inconceivable.
Otto's loyalty to the Silver and Black, though, has led to post-career physical afflictions unlike any other NFL alumnus. He has had more surgeries, more factory-made body parts and more near-death experiences, yet he pushes onward with 10 times more grit, too.
"I don't want people to say, 'He played too long. I'm not going to do what he did,'" Otto said. "I enjoy my life every day."
So much so that Otto refuses to be seen by current Raiders players while walking with the aid of crutches or a cane, even though he certainly warrants additional support. He leaves the crutches and cane at home.
The subject of whether retired players are taken care of properly in terms of their ailments raises as many doubts as assurances.
Joe Montana first became aware of NFL afterlife at a 49ers alumni function.
"I was watching some of the older guys go up three steps to get onto a platform," he said. "It was almost embarrassing that we can't do something about that."
Montana then discovered for himself how the NFL treats its retirees.
"You want to know how bad they are?" he said of the league. "I'll give you a perfect example. I've been getting my knee done, and my neck. I won a judgment against whoever it is — the 49ers or workman's comp — and the NFL sued me. They fought my case, and all I wanted was medical coverage.
"So I won medical coverage for life. I get a call from my doctor, because I'm working on my knee right now, that (the NFL) has been refusing my claims. They've decided they're not going to pay — after I won my case! I blame it as much on the players association as the teams. ... We have the worst medical coverage, the worst retirement plan of any of the major sports."
Injury grievances for retired NFL players were set up — intentionally? — to reach stalemates. There would be three representatives for the players and three representatives for the owners. Thus 3-3 ties every time.
But longtime 49ers defensive tackle Charlie Krueger, victimized by disguised medical information by a team physician over a debilitated knee condition, sued the 49ers. He was awarded $2.36 million in damages in a San Francisco Superior Court in 1988, then settled out of court for a reported $1 million. He was the first player to defeat the NFL in an injury case.
"It has to do with informed consent," Krueger said recently. "Having the player know what danger he's in, what his situation really is. If he consents to it, he's OK. If he doesn't, he's defrauded."
Otto views it somewhat differently.
"The NFL has come a long way with different types of disabilities. Years ago, there were no provisions for it, but there is now," he said. "I've been able to be treated by some of that disability. It's not a large sum of money, but you're remembered."
Gene Upshaw agrees. Upshaw, like Otto a former Raiders lineman and a Pro Football Hall of Fame member, is executive director of the NFL Players Association.
"In 1993, when we got the collective bargaining agreement. we improved the pension plan like it had never been improved before," Upshaw said, "and we included all the people who played the game.
"We're the only players association to improve the pensions of players who aren't in the game any longer. The money came from the current players — $110 million. They wanted to do that. Guys now are making more money in pensions than when they played.
"We also dropped the vested period for (NFL players) from five years to four years. We're paying out $5 million a month to 2,100 players and their dependents. There have been all these improvements that people take for granted."
Upshaw, in addressing the physical malaise of former players, said the old 3-3 stalemate is a thing of the past.
"The medical people are making those decisions, not the (NFLPA's) board of trustees," he said. "This all changed in 1993 when we became a true partnership. We're negotiating right now on a new contract extension. We've improved pensions and (coverage for) disabilities. The record speaks for itself. But we can't satisfy everyone."
Regardless of how post-career infirmities are perceived or administered, the reality is that NFL alumni continue to suffer badly.
ANG Newspapers interviewed five former NFL players about their physical hardships — Otto, Krueger, Jim Plunkett, MacArthur Lane and Dan Colchico. Here are their first-person accounts of their daily ordeals:
JIM OTTO
Age: 68
Residence: Auburn
Position: Center
College career: Miami (Fla.), 1957-59
Pro career: Oakland Raiders, 1960-74
"I really haven't gained any strength yet since my illness this summer and fall. On June 7, I was in toxic shock. My wife was in Colorado Springs. It was a very difficult situation that came up for her. She called, I mumbled something. She found a young deputy sheriff to come to the house.
"I went from the hospital at UC Davis to Stanford, where doctors took my leg apart. The artificial knee was inflamed — the fourth major infection I've had in my right knee in eight years. I'm very fortunate to be alive. (Ex-Rams wide receiver) Jack Snow died a month ago from an infection in his hip.
"I got very sick at Stanford. I thought I could die at any moment. Then I had a heart problem come up in the hospital; the infection attacked my heart. From June 6 to November was one of the most miserable times of my entire life.
"There are all kinds of things happening to me. I'm in remission from (prostate) cancer. There's scarring on my liver from infections. I'm on heavy antibiotics every day. I feel puny, but I'm getting better.
"I've had 52 major surgeries, three this summer. I've had 12 artificial knees, and four artificial shoulders. I've had steel rods put in my back a couple different times, because some vertebrae were wiped out.
"I'm a Christian man, and I pray every day. I kept asking God this summer if he wanted me now. Everything turned all white around me. Things grew calm. By the grace of God, I'm still here.
"A doctor told me that if it wasn't for what I put my body through as a football player, I would not have been able to handle the stress of the infections, and the stress of the fevers. My body was that strong.
"I was driven to win, driven to accomplishment, driven to prove something: I wanted to be the best. And all I wanted was a pat on the back; I didn't need any money. I just wanted people to appreciate me.
"I still get around to functions, and people say, "Gosh, you look great, Otto." That's the pat on the back that keeps me going, and I'm ready to take on the world."
CHARLIE KRUEGER
Age: 69
Residence: Clayton
Position: Defensive tackle
College career: Texas A&M, 1955-57
Pro career: San Francisco 49ers, 1958-73
"I played 16 years and didn't sit out too many games. In 1963, I had a knee tear in Los Angeles and missed the last half of the season. Another year, I sprained the other knee. Then I had back spasms against Cleveland. The coaches asked me at halftime, 'Can you?' So I went ahead and played, and I never suffered more in my life. I spent the next four days in a hospital.
"But the left knee continued to bother me from that day in 1963 to this day. I had four or five operations on it. The last one, I was in a cast for eight months. So I wanted to know what my state of health was. I had a physical. They said, 'You're fine, son. Go on your way.' That was 1973.
"My (49ers' $1 million injury settlement) situation was a landmark case. A precedent-setting case. They should have known they were messing with a hard-headed old dog. All in all, nine judges were involved, and only one ruled against me, the first one.
"Today's players don't owe me a thing. I'm just glad that (the system) didn't stick it to me. That's one thing I'm proud of, that I fought the system, as grievously unfair as it was. It has to do with right of consent, having the player know what the situation really is, what danger he's in.
"Players want to play. They grow up in a situation that encourages manhood. Right now, my ears are pain-free, but the rest of my body hurts.
"The worst time of the day is when I wake up, 3 or 4 a.m. The first 30 minutes, I don't feel good. I take different medicines to get going. Getting down the steps, or going up, it hurts. I'm too beat up, like a truck that's been over too many rough roads, and the shocks and springs are gone.
"Both my wrists, and both my shoulders, are arthritic. I had calcium deposits in my foot that were removed. I had a back problem to where I thought, 'If I live 10 more years, it won't be worth it.' But my knees are still my own. I need an artificial knee, but I don't want one. If I get an infection, I'm on my back for six months. I'll be crazier than I am now."
DAN COLCHICO
Age: 68
Residence: Concord
Position: Defensive end
College career: San Jose State,
1957-59
Pro career: San Francisco 49ers, 1960-64, 1967; New Orleans Saints, 1968-69
"It's all a mental game. I played with all of my fingers either broken or dislocated, and with knees that were unreal. One season, I had over 140 shots of Novocain and cortisone in my knees. Never missed a minute of play.
"The following January, I had an operation on one knee, and in March, two operations on the other knee, and I played every game the next season. But I worked out so hard that I snapped my Achilles against Chicago.
"They repaired it, but I came back too quick and I severed three-quarters of it again. So the 49ers offered me a coaching job, but that wasn't me. So I played two more years in New Orleans, and I snapped my other Achilles against Houston. I came back too quick and severed two-thirds of it again.
"I was out that year, and came back in'69. I had a complete dislocation of my elbow. It took me 10 days to get it going, then I did 60 pushups with it. I had three broken ribs, taped them up, and kept playing.
"You didn't go off the field or somebody else would play. I always reported to camp with the rookies. We only had 30 to 36 players back then. You had to protect your position, even if it meant taking shots at halftime.
"I just wanted to play ball. (Baltimore Colts lineman) Jim Parker hit me in the head. I played the rest of the game with Charlie (Krueger) telling me what to do on every play. I had a helluva game. Was it worth it? What else are you going to do on a Sunday, go to church? I'd do it all over again.
"The NFL isn't too kind to the old players, the guys who laid the foundation. I've been cut on 13 times. I've had both knees replaced. The more I sit, the more I hurt. I feel pain from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, which are going dead. My shoulders are killing me. When I have physicals, doctors just shake their heads. I sleep three hours a night, but at least I wake up."
JIM PLUNKETT
Age: 58
Residence: Atherton
Position: Quarterback
College career: Stanford, 1968-70
Pro career: New England Patriots, 1971-75; San Francisco 49ers, 1976-77; Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders, 1978-86
"Some days, I feel better than others, but there's not a minute that goes by that I'm not in pain. I hurt everywhere. It's not fun being in this body right now. It's mostly from getting knocked around and having the joints twisted and turned and bent, some of the things you expect playing in the NFL.
"I've had 13 surgeries, and I'll have more. I'll probably have my knees replaced at some point. I have a tremendously bad back, but I don't want to have it operated on. Sometimes, getting out of bed and getting around without being hunched over is very difficult.
"I have a really bad shoulder, which I've separated and dislocated, and which has been operated on six times. It's still not right and never will be. I can't run anymore. I can't play basketball or tennis, the things I used to love to do. I can still play golf, but I don't play it well anymore.
"If I could go back, I would have done some of the things differently. When I retired, I felt pretty good, but I used to run for a hobby. I wouldn't have run nearly as much because that helped with the wear and tear on my body. Gradually, the degenerative process accelerates. I'll wake up in the middle of the night aching. It might be my shoulders, my knees or my back. So I'm awake a lot.
"But I loved playing the game. It was such a thrill for me to be on the football field. I enjoyed the people I played with for the most part. You can't get that adrenalin rush unless you're on some athletic field. I can't imagine it being the same in business. So I really have no regrets. Heck, I'm still around. I'm having a great time. I get to see my (two) kids grow up and spend time with them.
"Wheelchair-bound one day? I hope that's not the case. I've got a bad disc in my back that spasms a lot. I've got a herniated disc in my neck. Oh, and I've got arthritis.
"But I love life, and I love what I'm doing, and that's kind of the price you pay."
MacARTHUR LANE
Age: 63
Residence: Oakland
Position: Running back
College career: Utah State, 1965-67
Pro career: St. Louis Cardinals, 1968-71; Green Bay Packers, 1972-74; Kansas City Chiefs, 1975-78.
"I played fullback during my 11-year career — a fullback who wore a collar. That tells you something, that this guy has some neck problems. The neck was strong as heck, but if you pinch a nerve, then everything just goes numb. Then it starts tingling, from your neck to your hands.
"But it was something you just dealt with. Hey, go ahead and line it up again. You can't let the enemy know you're hurt.
"I also dislocated my elbow in 1977, missed the last half of the season. But I kept playing with broken ribs. They didn't have a flak jacket back then. They'd put a pad over it, tape you up, and you go right back out there. If you sat on the bench, you lose your job. And they just might cut you. So you were always battling, with injuries or not.
"To get ready for a season, I'd take a month off in the offseason to lick my wounds a little bit. Then I'd run every day on Alameda beach. Running on the sand prolonged my career because it got me in the best possible shape. I'd run at least a couple of miles, sometimes with heavy boots. The tide's in, it's softer sand. The tide's out, the harder the sand. I'd run in the rain. They don't stop football games in the rain, do they? Only lightning.
"That's what made you better, though. You learned to live with that pain. I had a family to feed. Today's players are breastfed. You can't yell at them. Coaches used to yell at us all the time.
"I just had a knee replacement in April. A doctor told me I've got another 50,000 miles on the other knee. I've had to deal with a lot of sleepless nights because of the neck injury. I wake up and my hands are numb. Sitting here right now, my hands are getting numb, because of the neck. It's all related, a combination of all the hits.
"If I can't run that beach today, I'll walk it. I'm still at my playing weight of 225, though everything's in moderation. It's a maintenance program. But my body's my life."
