84

Darryl Stingley has died. He was the Patriots receiver paralyzed in a 1978 preseason game on a hit by Jack "They Call Me Assassin" Tatum of the Raiders.

About 15 years ago I read his autobiography, Happy to be Alive, which is hard to find but definitely worth picking up.

Bob Ryan has a nice obituary in the Boston Globe. Bob Kraft's comments (video link on the same page) are worth hearing.

He played before I was watching NFL games with any interest, but for whatever reason, my high school had a copy of a 1978 NFL Preseason Guide, which picked the Pats -- led by "Stevie Wonder" Grogan and Darryl "The Peril" Stingley to go to the SuperBowl against the Dallas Cowboys. I wish I'd smuggled that out under my graduation robe.

Oddly enough, he's not in the Patriots Hall of Fame, but I do recall them honoring him at the old Sullivan / Foxboro Stadium before a Monday Night Football Game. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for a very special player introduction . . . . number 84 . . . . Darryl Stingley!"

A class act who never displayed a shred of hatred for a promising career so unfairly cut short. Rest in peace, number 84.