NFL fans across the country were buzzing with anticipation for perhaps the best game of the regular season, but were met with a horrifying silence after one of the most horrific incidents in league history.
Buffalo Bills safety Dumar Hamlin is in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest during Monday night’s game against the Bengals.
Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle and had to be given CPR on the field and was ambulanced off the field as players from both teams knelt down in tears and prayed.
The incident also revealed the only NFL player death on the field that occurred in 1971.
During a game against the Chicago Bears at Tiger Stadium on October 24, 1971, Detroit Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes was in the team’s huddle after a play in which the Lions tied 28–23 with 1:02 remaining. was back to
While running towards the crowd, Hughes collapsed near Chicago’s 20-year line while clutching his chest.
Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus was where Hughes was and desperately moved for medical personnel to come onto the field from the sidelines.
Hughes was taken off the field by ambulance, but was pronounced dead at Henry Ford Hospital later that day, aged 28.
Unlike Monday’s Buffalo-Cincinnati game, which was interrupted and eventually postponed, the Chicago-Detroit game played to the end.
After his death, it was discovered that Hughes had a family history of heart disease and one of his arteries was 75% clogged.
The blood clot broke and became trapped in the artery, preventing the heart muscle from receiving blood.
It turned out to be the last reception of his life and may have been the result of a hit three plays earlier.
Hughes’ wife Sharon, who was in the ambulance when her husband was taken to the hospital, sued doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in 1972 for failing to properly diagnose a heart condition in a May 1971 test. sued for $21.5 million. before his death.
The lawsuit was eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.
His Twitter page following Hamlin’s situationformer Detroit Red Wings trainer and medical expert John Wharton said, “A direct blow to the human heart at a particular point in the cardiac cycle can cause the heart to stop.” I’m here.
Wharton then gave an example during a 1998 NHL playoff game when ex-St.
Wharton did not claim that Hamlin’s injury was exactly the same as Pronger’s, but only that it “was eerily similar.”
As the NFL community and fans around the world eagerly await updates on Hamlin’s situation, it’s a reminder that this isn’t the only time a player has suffered a sudden heart attack during a game.