On Monday night, Sharon Hughes forced her eyelids open and remained up as late as she could. She needed to know that history was not being repeated because her husband was the only NFL player to pass away on the field during a game. It was important for her to know that Damar Hamlin survived.
The Buffalo Bills’ 24-year-old safety, Hamlin, suffered a heart attack during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and is currently listed in critical condition. Fans in the stadium and those watching on television were caught aback by Hamlin’s medical crisis. Hughes witnessed Hamlin get up after taking a blow to the chest, take a few unsteady steps, and then pass out on his back
Hughes claimed that as she saw the events of Monday unfold, she instantly connected with Hamlin’s family. When her husband, Chuck Hughes, was taken off a field in Detroit five decades prior, Hamlin’s mother reportedly accompanied him in the ambulance to the Cincinnati hospital.
“Can you imagine the feelings his mother had?” In an interview, Hughes enquired. “It’s a terrifying sensation, and last night I just felt so bad for the entire family.”
Chuck Hughes, a 28-year-old wide receiver with the Detroit Lions, replaced an injured teammate during the fourth quarter of a Chicago Bears game on October 24, 1971. Hughes was tackled after hauling in a 32-yard pass, his first of the season, with the Lions trailing 28–23. He clutched his chest as he fell facedown to the ground with 62 seconds remaining in the game, following many plays.
He had had a heart attack that proved fatal. Medical staff pounded on his chest in a desperate bid to resuscitate him, but they were unsuccessful. He was taken away on a stretcher as the stadium’s spectators watched in stunned silence.
Bears defensive lineman Ed O’Bradovich told the Detroit Free Press in 2021, “I knew something horrible had happened because when they were rolling Chuck off the field, one of his arms fell down and his hand was flopping around back and forth, and I thought to myself, ‘Holy Christ, I think he’s dead.'”
The game was resumed in front of a numbed crowd as life-saving procedures carried out in the hospital.
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