SAD NEWS: One NFL player died on the field.widow watched in horror as he collapsed.
Sharon Hughes remained up as late as she could on Monday night, pushing her eyelids open. The widow of the lone NFL player who died on the field during a game needed to know that history would not repeat itself. She needed to know whether Damar Hamlin was still alive.
Hamlin, 24, a Buffalo Bills safety, was in serious condition after suffering cardiac arrest during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. His medical incident astounded supporters in the stadium and those watching on television, including Hughes, who witnessed Hamlin rise up after being hit in the chest, walk a few wobbly steps, and then slump on his back.
“I was very emotional,” Hughes, 77, said on Tuesday from her Texas home.
Hughes said she felt an immediate connection with Hamlin’s family while watching the events unfold Monday. Hamlin’s mother was at the game and apparently traveled in the ambulance with him to the hospital in Cincinnati, much as Hughes did five decades ago when her husband, Chuck Hughes, was carried off a field in Detroit.
“Can you imagine how his mother felt?” Hughes questioned during an interview. “It’s a horrifying feeling, and, well, I just felt so sorry for the whole family last night
On October 24, 1971, Chuck Hughes, 28, a Detroit Lions wide receiver, replaced an injured teammate in the fourth quarter of a game against the Chicago Bears. With the Lions behind 28-23, Hughes got his first reception of the season, a 32-yard throw, and was tackled. Several plays later, with 62 seconds remaining in the game, he collapsed facedown on the ground, holding his chest.
On October 24, 1971, Chuck Hughes, a 28-year-old Detroit Lions wide receiver, replaced an injured colleague in the fourth quarter of a game against the Chicago Bears. With the Lions behind 28-23, Hughes made his first reception of the season, a 32-yard pass, and was tackled. Several plays later, with 62 seconds left in the game, he slumped face down on the ground, clutching his chest.
An undetected condition.
An autopsy found Hughes had undiscovered cardiac disease and that a blood clot in a blocked artery had dislodged, probably as a result of a blow he received during the game. The autopsy also revealed that it was most likely his second heart attack, as the first appeared to have gone unreported. According to Yahoo! Sports, he had been hospitalized seven weeks prior for what physicians described as a spleen, lung, or kidney damage.
He was survived by his wife, Sharon, and their little son, Brandon Shane Hughes.
Brandon Hughes, now 53, said Tuesday that he hopes Hamlin recovers completely and that if Hamlin’s family requires assistance, “they have a support system here.”
“I would be more than happy to speak with them,” he added. “We certainly understand what they’re going through.”
He also expressed optimism that NFL players were getting adequate medical screening for cardiac problems that were not detectable in his father’s day.
“What happened to my father in 1971 is the Stone Ages as far as medicine goes compared to today,” he went on to say. “Are these young men getting the medical care and screenings that they should?
Chuck Hughes had enjoyed football since he was a child, according to Sharon Hughes, and she had always encouraged him to pursue his passion. She believed that heredity had a greater impact on her husband’s death than his chosen sport.
“You can’t blame football,” she explained, adding, “I never did.”
Following Hamlin’s collapse on Monday night, little information regarding his medical condition was disclosed. Sharon Hughes said she was following the news but was now focused on one thing.
“He’s alive,” she confirmed. “Thank god.