Mike Webster
| Mike Webster | |
|---|---|
|
Position (s): Center |
Jersey numbers: 52, 53 |
| born March 18, 1952 in Tomahawk , Wisconsin | |
| died on September 24, 2002 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1974 - 1990 | |
| NFL Draft : 1974 / Round: 5 / Pick: 125 | |
| College : Wisconsin | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Total games | 245 |
| Play as a starter | 217 |
| Fumble secured | 6th |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
Michael Lewis "Iron Mike" Webster (born March 18, 1952 in Tomahawk , Wisconsin , † September 24, 2002 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ) was an American football player. He played from 1974 to 1990 in the National Football League (NFL) on the position of center for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs . He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame .
Football career
Webster played during his college years at the University of Wisconsin . He was selected in 1974 in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. First he played here on the position of the guard before he was able to establish himself from 1976 for the rest of his career in the position of the center. Between 1975 and 1986 he played 177 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a row. This as well as his stamina and physique earned him his nickname "Iron Mike". Together with Ray Mansfield , Dermontti Dawson and Jeff Hartings , he was one of only four players from 1964 to 2006 who started regularly for the Steelers on the position of the center. This ensured stability in this position that was not achieved in other NFL teams. For nine years he was the offensive captain of the team.
After his contract with the Steelers expired in 1988, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a coach for the offensive line. However, after just a few weeks he began to train again as an active player and played the next two seasons until his retirement in 1990 with the Chiefs as a center.
Overall, he won the Super Bowl four times with the Steelers , was elected nine times in the Pro Bowl and nine times in the All Pro Team. Webster was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997 . He is also a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team , the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, and the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team . In 2007 he was posthumously inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame .
After the professional career
Webster first tried to make a living as a salesman. However, he had to give up after a short time because he suffered from the post-concussion syndrome . This was accompanied by speech disorders, partial loss of hearing, persistent head and hand tremors, concentration disorders and temporary memory loss. As with Harry Carson , the cause is the untreated concussions during his time as an NFL player.
Because of his illness, he was unable to do regular work. He got into debt and lived in his car at times before moving in with his youngest son. He faked prescriptions for Ritalin to fight his memory problems. His wife divorced him. After his illness could be traced back to his time in the NFL through expert opinions in 1999, he sued the NFL for pension payments, which were intended to compensate him for the mental and physical impairment he suffered. Before the trial could be finalized in 2005, Webster died of a heart attack in 2002 at the age of 50 . He left two daughters and two sons. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy ( CTE ) was diagnosed in an autopsy following his death, as has many former NFL players who have experienced multiple concussions during their careers.
Webster's life is at the center of the American film drama Shattering Truth (original title Concussion ) from 2015, in which the subject of CTE is taken up.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1] pittsburgh.about.com, accessed December 8, 2010
- ↑ [2] ESPN.com, accessed December 8, 2010
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. pabook.libraries.psu.edu, accessed December 8, 2010
- ↑ Jason M. Breslow: Jason M Breslow: The Autopsy That Changed Football . In: pbs.org. PBS, October 6, 2013, accessed January 4, 2014 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Webster, Mike |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Webster, Michael Lewis (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 18, 1952 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | tomahawk |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 24, 2002 |
| Place of death | Pittsburgh |