Chuck Hughes' Fatal NFL Collapse

In 1971, Detroit Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes became the only NFL player to die after collapsing on the field during a game. With 1:02 remaining against the Chicago Bears at Tiger Stadium, the 28-year-old clutched his chest and fell near Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, who urgently signaled for medical help. After an ambulance carried Hughes to the hospital, officials played the final minute before a stunned, silent crowd, and doctors pronounced him dead later in the evening. An autopsy found that a coronary thrombosis had caused a massive heart attack and that one of his arteries was 75% blocked by undiagnosed arteriosclerosis.

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