His marriage broke up. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Mike was also on the sidelines at every game. A system error has occurred. Disclaimer | The Hall of Famers sheer fortitude is celebrated in the caption: Webster played the most seasons (15) and games (220) in Steeler history., But in Websters rented town house in the Pittsburgh suburb of Moon Township, his family has kept a much sadder tributea sheaf of Websters scribbled notes torn from a legal pad, page after page of heartbreaking gibberish, the legacy of a brain injury sustained while playing center for the Steelers. There's a broad definition of what living out of your car is. My dad was just shocked because he did so much for these people. Bad investment deals drained his assets and his rising anger and confusion, according to his wife, led to fits of rage. I just thought he was angry at me all the time.. But when he died, I felt this calm come over me. 87% of professional boxers have sustained a brain injury. I remember going to the Steelers locker room. The son, at 6 feet 9 inches and 340 pounds, is a high school senior and an offensive lineman on his football team. Gary Pomerantz's book "Their Life's Work" details Webster's playing days as well as his final ones, highlighting how Dan Rooney appealed on Webster's behalf for disability benefits - something the league did not immediately grant him. The head is involved in more baseball injuries than any other body part. Omalu noted that Webster's brain didn't look like any fifty-year old that he ever examined as he . [dropcap]S[/dropcap]oon after his last season in 1990, Webster moved, at his wifes urging, back to her hometown of Lodi, Wisconsin. But play after play, year after year, Webster slammed into much bigger players, their helmets crashing into his like battering rams, their forearms pounding his head. based on information from your browser. Signs and symptoms of concussion include headache, nausea, fatigue, confusion or memory problems, sleep disturbances, or mood changes. At the time of his retirement, he had played more seasons as a Steeler than anyone else in franchise history (15 seasons), one season ahead of Terry Bradshaw and Hines Ward. Failed to remove flower. [8] At the time of his retirement, he was the last active player in the NFL to have played on all four Super Bowl winning teams of the 1970s Steelers. It was a psychological blow on top of all the physical and mental issues he was going through.. ''I'm not seeking a pardon for my actions, and I'm not really asking for your understanding, even though grown men need understanding. Professional Football Player. [1], Webster died in 2002 at the age of 50 of a heart attack, and subsequently was the first former NFL player diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He transformed himself into a 260-pound tough-minded professional, a man known as Iron Mike who played bare-armed in freezing weather and helped set the tone for a Pittsburgh offense that included the future Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. In the film, which premieres Tuesday, Oct. 8 beginning at 9 pm EST, FRONTLINE investigates the hidden story of the NFLs response to head injuries. Mike Webster, 50, Dies; Troubled Football Hall of Famer, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/25/sports/mike-webster-50-dies-troubled-football-hall-of-famer.html. We were cut out even more. But Webster's transition to post-football life was filled with setbacks. Site Map | Documenting evidence of potential war crimes in Ukraine. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Rather, a league doctor would tell him, the trouble was in the implications for football. The following years were rough for Websters family as his fathers cognitive decline affected his ability to provide for the family. After his retirement, Webster suffered from amnesia, dementia, depression, and bone and. Mike Webster autopsy 'one of the most significant moments in the history ofsports', Kiper Mock Draft: 3 1st Round trades has a familiar name falling to the Steelers. ''If you finish, you won. I wasn't in danger. ''I don't think it's anybody's business,'' he said of his problems. (Photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images) Mike Webster attended the University of Wisconsin from 1970 to 1973. . Please enter your email and password to sign in. Webster's wife Pamela divorced him six months before his death in 2002 of a heart attack at age 50. Hed open doors for me, hed call when he said hed call. As Omalu recalls in the following clip from League of Denial: Inside the NFLs Concussion Crisis, suddenly the criticism was no longer about his research. Michael Lewis Webster (March 18, 1952 September 24, 2002) was an American football player who played center in the National Football League from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He said he was using the drug to treat brain damage caused by repeated head injuries that had led him to behave erratically. On one occasion, Webster showed up at a game on crutches, with torn cartilage in his knee, played anyway and had surgery afterward. He preferred it if people didnt recognize him., The last year of Websters life brought new woes: His divorce became final, his health worsened and his finances collapsed again. The financial strain couldnt fully explain his increasingly bizarre behavior, however. He taught his son plays, watched game tapes with him, even tried to run with him despite knee and back injuries. Gambling problem? Mike Webster works for the University of St Andrews. It was in that spirit that Dr. Omalu, then a junior pathologist at the Allegheny County medical examiner's office in Pittsburgh, began an autopsy on a Saturday morning in September 2002. Contact Us | Grieving teammates were, and they felt shaken by this glimpse of their own mortality. Three days earlier Maddox had suffered such a serious concussion during a game that he was temporarily paralyzed. ''You get more and more demented. In its March 2003 issue, Readers Digest wrote about Websters shattered life. For males, the leading cause of high school sports concussion is football; for females the leading cause of high school sports concussion is soccer. He never came out and said that he was hurt by it but it was a feeling of you were being cast aside, being thrown out. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. While Dr. Omalu provided answers regarding Mikes behavioral and neurological issues, the concussion settlement in 2013 did anything but for the Webster family. Pittsburgh Steeler center Mike Webster was the first NFL player Omalu autopsied. They didnt. Mike Webster George Gojkovich/Getty Images Mike Webster was the center for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, including the '75 Steelers team, but there was no coaching position, charity events, or broadcasting jobs in his future. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Grateful to be playing in the big time, Webster overcompensated for his size by becoming the hardest-working, play-with-pain member of the team. A lot of guys look back, and they love the game, says Harris. // -->. All these guys were talking at the funeral about maybe they should get checkups, says Franco Harris. Just finish the game. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974, he played for 17 seasons, 15 with the Steelers. Advocacy for Fairness in Sports is a nonprofit dedicated to investigative sports journalism. Webster - aka 'Iron Mike' - died of a heart attack in 2002. It started with Mike Webster's brain. His toughness made him a winner: He was voted onto the All-Pro team six straight years, won four Super Bowl rings, and joined the greatest players ever in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [citation needed], At the time of his death, Webster was addicted to prescription medication. I was born in 1984 and my sister Hillary was born in 1987, Garrett Webster said. Webster was honored as an All-Pro seven times and played in the Pro Bowl nine times.