[21] Webster's son Garrett now serves as the administrator to the Brain Injury Research Institute in Pittsburgh, which is dedicated to encouraging individuals who have had head trauma to donate their brains after death as well as being an advocate to players who have similar conditions that his father had. A man whose disturbing end has left his former teammates with questions that will forever haunt them. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. But the towering six-foot-nine, 340-pound teenager figured he was built for the game, and made it clear to his father he was going ahead with or without help. Nicknamed "Iron Mike", Webster anchored the Steelers' offensive line during much of their run of four Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1979 and is considered by some as the best center in NFL history. He stopped hanging out with the family as much. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Other players who retired because of the effects of concussion or other head injuries include Johnny Unitas, Roger Staubach, Merril Hoge, Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Dave Pear, Wayne Chrebet, and Al Toon. My dad had things set up. Negotiation, NFL Players Forfeit Important Legal Rights in New CBA, Open Letter to NFLPA from Ivan F. Soto, Executive Director AFLPU, Real Sports Podcast Lays Bare How Washington Commanders Staff Terrorized Women On The Job, Russell Okung Continues to Fight the Good Fight, The 1985 Chicago Bears: A Legacy of Glory and of Pain, The Conversation Robert Kraft Should Be Having With Gronk, The Proposed NFL CBA is a 456-Page Legal Defense Strategy, Unpacking Roger Goodells Statement on the Death of George Floyd. // -->. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. We couldnt imagine us not being included. Jani began to handle the increasingly frequent crises, bailing Webster out of awkward jams. Mike Webster Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame center Mike Webster was the first NFL player diagnosed with CTE. A couple of months later, they got ahold of the actual paperwork. Webster is also survived by two sons, Colin of Camp LeJeune, N.C., and Garrett; two daughters, Hillary and Brooke; two grandchildren; his father, William, of Harshaw, Wis.; two brothers, Reid and Joe Webster; and two sisters, Wendy and Jane Webster. [18], After death, Webster was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease. 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. The COVID-19 Effect, When the Victim Becomes the Accused: The Kamrin Moore Story, Kelechi Osemeles Saga Reminds Us of NFLs Toxic Culture, Perspective: The NFL Doesnt Need Headhunters, CTE Risk More Than Doubles after Just Three Years of Playing Football, When CTE Steals Your Dad: Garrett Remembers Mike Webster, Two Stanford Alumni. The estate contended that Webster was disabled at the time of his retirement, and was owed $1.142 million in disability payments under the NFL's retirement plan. Learn more about managing a memorial . But then, Maddox wasnt there at Mike Websters funeral. Webster had several million dollars in assets when he retired, so it shocked Pamela when their Victorian house was foreclosed 18 months after he left football. Hed open doors for me, hed call when he said hed call. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. Mike Powell/Getty Images "Iron Mike" Webster helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls in the 70's. After leaving the game, he suffered depression and dementia, dying in 2002 at the age of 50. Three days earlier Maddox had suffered such a serious concussion during a game that he was temporarily paralyzed. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. I saw changes that shouldnt be in a 50-year-old mans brains, and also changes that shouldnt be in a brain that looked normal.. I want to earn, you know, I want to pay off my debts. [citation needed], At the time of his death, Webster was addicted to prescription medication. [2] Webster played during an era when protective equipment (especially helmets) was inferior, and head injuries were simply considered part of the game. At the teams expense, Webster was put up for six weeks at the Pittsburgh Hilton, before decamping to a $25-a-night joint. Mike Webster, nicknamed - Iron Mike, was an American professional football player who played center for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1974 to 1988. On one occasion, Webster showed up at a game on crutches, with torn cartilage in his knee, played anyway and had surgery afterward. Elected to football Hall of Fame in 1997, his 2nd year of elgibility. Bad investment deals drained his assets and his rising anger and confusion, according to his wife, led to fits of rage. He was 50. I had to make sure the slides were Mike Websters slides, Omalu told FRONTLINE. ESPN investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada and his brother, Steve Fainaru, have written "League of Denial," and recently spoke to NPR about it and the league's efforts to deny or at least continue to stall on confirming a link between repeated head injuries and CTE. In high school, Webster moved in with his dad, and went out for wrestling, then football. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? As things came out with the concussion it was a big can of worms. We recommend our users to update the browser. Associated Press. Explore FRONTLINEs collected and ongoing reporting on Russia's war on Ukraine. Omalu published his findings, believing NFL officials would want to know more. cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Webster grew up on a 640-acre potato farm near Harshaw, Wisconsin. U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Index, 1973-1997, Web: Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-2016, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. In the aftermath of the settlement, Webster found that the franchise his father gave his life to enrich, the Steelers, treated him with indifference if not contempt. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. In October 1999, Webster was awarded an NFL disability for traumatic brain injury. Using findings from the autopsy, Dr. Bennet Omalu studies the long-term effects of football collisions on Mike Webster's brain. Almost half of the injuries involve a childs head, face, mouth or eyes. Football injuries associated with the brain occur at the rate of one in every 5.5 games. English [/pullquote]. Dad was never a part of those, even when he was alive. When he needed help, during the whole time when we were suing for that original pension, the NFLPA, the people who were supposed to represent the players, that guys like Dad paid into their pension to support, never reached out, never said, hey Mike, what can we do for you?, If anything the union was in the way of my dad getting his pensions, Webster added. #Concussion #WillSmith #AlecB. 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. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. A lot of people forget this started out as a discussion and examination of the NFLs retirement policy and how almost impossible it was to get the benefits. It was a psychological blow on top of all the physical and mental issues he was going through.. [4] [5], Mike Webster was regarded as the best center in the Big Ten during most of his career at the University of WisconsinMadison. Later, he was treated for depression and symptoms of congestive heart failure. ''I'm not destitute.'' Since Webster was so passionate about football, it was painful for him to accept that the sport had left him permanently impaired. Resend Activation Email. This reliable family man who used to read his children Bible stories at bedtime began to get in his car and disappear for days. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Its too tough. Try again later. There was a problem getting your location. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. I was just out of gas, tired and exhausted, and that's as far as I got that day.''. His wife Pamela stated years later that she felt that she caused Webster's change in personality in the years before his death and placed guilt on herself over her decision to divorce Webster, until discovering after his death about the CTE diagnosis. 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. In 1999, he was ranked number 75 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. During that time, none of us thought he had this revolutionary condition that was going to change the world. A man who, despite his anger at his own fate, was nonetheless trying at the end of his life to teach his beloved sport to a football-crazy son. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Its the number one cause of death in children and young adults. And why it wasnt stopped sooner. Privacy Policy. I dont really remember anything of Dad playing before Kansas City, but there are parts of memories. You know, if your dad is important enough to get a limo ride to the Steelers game in Pittsburgh, he must be the mayor or something like that., I remember Kansas city a little better and the change to a large extent of how dad acted, Webster continued. Everybody noticed that with Dad.