A pass sails incomplete as the clock winds down in the final quarter. Just before the fourth quarter ends, the player lines up on the right side of the formation. He then races down the field on a post pattern. A pass sails incomplete as Greg Landry’s pass toward Charlie Sanders, who was positioned near the end zone, sails wide of its mark.
A small, second-string wide receiver believed he was too small to play football. So one day, he started walking back the line during a huddle after his college and high school years in Texas. Eventually, he made it to the NFL but never got very far.
Chuck Hughes, 28, died while pitching forward awkwardly and face-down on the Bears’ half of the field. Joe Falls would write in The Sporting News that he was watching Hughes fall; why he doesn’t know. Fifty years ago on October 24, 1971, this coming Sunday.
He is the only NFL player to die during a game played over a century.
Shortly after catching a 32-yard pass from Landry, Hughes — who was injured and filling in for Larry Walton as the game’s starting quarterback — was tackled by Gary Lyle and Bob Jeter. Despite being knocked down, Hughes got up and wore his helmet before returning to the Lions’ huddle. Falls believed that his day ended with just one catch. He had only three more plays left in him, he declared.
Colorization in the mind’s eye can be seen in the black-and-white image. The Honolulu blue Lions’ home jersey and silver pants paired with Dick Butkus’s white-over-white Bears’ helmet and navy pants. Kaline and Cash stand upright, big Gates Brown watches from the grass of Tiger Stadium.
Butkus’ motionless state is obvious to everyone when the photograph was snapped. His subsequent frantic motions to attract help are hard to perceive in the image, as is the gravity of the current situation for those present. A disembodied voice in the press box suggested someone needed to leave in order to rescue Butkus, who lay motionless at that moment.
Time seems relative and stretched when it comes to measurement. For this reason, Jeter found it odd that it seemed so long for anyone to get to him when they were in need. With both trainer and doctor on each side specializing in Hughes, a doctor from the stands removed the lid from his box to assist with the process.
With his back to the press box, a player with a bolo was apparently about to mouth-to-mouth with Hughes.
