Do no harm: Retired NFL players endure a lifetime of hurt
They remember the hard hits – most of them, at least. The brain-rattlers that left them blank-eyed and disoriented, they have no recollection of at all. But the ones that snapped ligaments, rendered bones the consistency of crushed ice or bent joints in ways they ought not to bend are still felt every morning years later…
Chuck Muncie, a three-time All-Pro running back known for his imposing size and powerful stye, has died at the age of 60.
The cause of death was a heart attack, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
After a standout career at Cal during which he came in second place in Heisman Trophy voting as a senior, Muncie went to the Saints as the third overall pick in the 1976 NFL draft.
Webster’s Dictionary describes “team” as “a number of persons associated together in work or activity: as a group on one side (as in football or a debate).”
In 12 years in the National Football League, I learned that a team is much more than that. Baltimore Colts’ coach Ted Marchibroda built our “team” into a family, and – with no disrespect to the World War II veterans – in many ways we became a band of brothers. That feeling of family, of brotherhood, has now spanned 40 years.
In recent months, I witnessed and was part of perhaps the most moving example of that bond between and among my Baltimore Colts teammates as we came together to support, encourage, care for, and pray with Toni Linhart as he battled colon cancer. It didn’t matter what position you played; what race, religion or political belief you embraced; or what relationship you’d had with Toni. And across the league, retired players – some of whom had faced the Colts in classic match-ups of the mid- to late 1970s – wrote and called to offer encouragement, support and prayers for Toni.
That, I believe, is the meaning of “team” — and whatever path you take after your playing career, those bonds still bring you back to your team and your teammates.
Throughout his career – and in more than three decades since he retired – Toni has been there for us. Whether it was a game-winning field goal, a golf tournament for a charity, or a visit to wounded warriors, Toni stepped up.
Anton “Toni” Linhart
July 24, 1942 – May 12, 2013
In the end, our lives might appear to be reduced to that – a name, a date of birth, and a date of death. As professional athletes, we may be immortalized in a Hall of Fame, in the memories of fans, in NFL Films. Yet while the sports world may remember Toni Linhart as a good kicker, I’ll remember him as a good man and a good friend.
May he rest in peace.
Bruce Laird
President, Fourth & Goal Foundation
Baltimore Colts, 1972-1981
San Diego Chargers, 1982-1983
Toni Linhart, 1970s Baltimore Colts kicker, dies at age 70
The kick knifed through the thick fog and split the uprights at Memorial Stadium, giving the Colts a 10-7 victory in sudden-death overtime. In a flash, fans swarmed the field. Down came the goal posts. Up went Toni Linhart, on someone’s shoulders.
Linhart’s 31-yard field goal defeated the rival Miami Dolphins late in 1975 and all but clinched Baltimore’s first of three straight AFC East titles.
It was the kick of a lifetime for Linhart, who died Sunday morning of cancer, at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 70.
Do no harm: Who should bear the costs of retired NFL players’ medical bills?
After 24 knee operations, the National Football League’s former Man of the Year leans heavily on a crutch. When Reggie Williams pulls up his pants leg, what’s underneath looks like the trimmings from a butcher shop. His right leg is so ravaged that it’s three inches shorter than his left. Worse, it’s uninsured…
Ahead of the complete list of honorees being announced Tuesday morning, the name of one member of the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2013 has been released.
On ESPN Monday afternoon and in a subsequent National Football Foundation release, it was announced that former Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde has been elected to the Hall of Fame.
As a senior with the Hurricanes in 1986, Testaverde was a unanimous All-American and won the Heisman Trophy, the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Maxwell, Davey O’Brien and UPI Player of the Year awards.
 | Mike Davis on Chuck Muncie dies at 60 |
 | gregg bingham on Chuck Muncie dies at 60 |
 | meatigerman on Chuck Muncie dies at 60 |
 | Brian DeRoo on Team |
 | Tom Matte on Team |
 | George Visger on Déjà vu |
 | David Meggyesy on Déjà vu |
 | arlis2013 on Why Are You Still Here? |
 | Kenny Mielcarz on About Us |
| meatigerman on Why Are You Still Here? |
