Thread: 30 Year Anniversary of Jack Tatum's Hit on Darryl Stingley

[size=12pt]Where Am I? It Has To Be A Bad Dream
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Five years ago New England's superb wide receiver, Darryl Stingley, went up for a pass in an exhibition game and was cut down by Oakland's Jack Tatum. As a result, Stingley became a quadriplegic. Here is his story of the ordeal that followed
Darryl Stingley , Mark Mulvoy
August 29, 1983

"Prophet" wrote:

[size=12pt]Where Am I? It Has To Be A Bad Dream
[/size]
Five years ago New England's superb wide receiver, Darryl Stingley, went up for a pass in an exhibition game and was cut down by Oakland's Jack Tatum. As a result, Stingley became a quadriplegic. Here is his story of the ordeal that followed
Darryl Stingley , Mark Mulvoy
August 29, 1983

Thanks for the link to the story...I don't remember ever reading the details. But it just proves to me once again what a dirty piece of shit that Tatum was. I do remember how upset Madden was by the hit, and I think it was one of the major reasons he left the game. I didn't know that he saved Stingley's life when he visited him in the hospital. A very sad story...hard to believe it's 30 years.

"VikingMike" wrote:

"Prophet" wrote:

[size=12pt]Where Am I? It Has To Be A Bad Dream
[/size]
Five years ago New England's superb wide receiver, Darryl Stingley, went up for a pass in an exhibition game and was cut down by Oakland's Jack Tatum. As a result, Stingley became a quadriplegic. Here is his story of the ordeal that followed
Darryl Stingley , Mark Mulvoy
August 29, 1983

Thanks for the link to the story...I don't remember ever reading the details. But it just proves to me once again what a dirty piece of shit that Tatum was. I do remember how upset Madden was by the hit, and I think it was one of the major reasons he left the game. I didn't know that he saved Stingley's life when he visited him in the hospital. A very sad story...hard to believe it's 30 years.

Yes.
A piece of shit is a compliment for Tatum.

This happened before I started watching the NFL - was there any payback by the Pat or follow up by the League with Tatum for that cheap shot ?

It was supposedly a clean hit at the time.
According to [size=12pt]Jason Cole's article[/size] and the quotes by Tatum I still say he's an asshole.

...Tatum, as he has said many times, will never apologize for how he played. He didn't then and won't now. He is defiant in that regard...

Conversely:

..."I feel sorry for what happened to him," said Tatum, who lost his left leg recently because of diabetes. "I tried to apologize to him a number of times, but people around him wouldn't let that happen."


Tatum said he spoke with Stingley's attorney several times over the years, but nothing ever happened. In a TV interview several years ago, Tatum expressed sorrow again. That part was cut out, Tatum said, because of his steadfast defense of the deeper issue...

He was on record for many years saying that he owed no apology.
It was a clean hit.
Regardless of whether it was a clean hit or not it would be a minimalist approach to say, "I'm sorry."
We'll never know other than the crap they put in the press.
He probably softened a bit when they hacked off his leg due to diabetes.


He said, "It's about who can hit the hardest," Tatum said. "That's what the game is about." Yes, but, if you paralyze someone, even if it was unintentional, a simple apology wouldn't hurt.