Posted on 08/05/2017 2:16:32 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Super Bowl-winning QB from San Jose faces constant pain and an uncertain future
He rises from a chair next to his Heisman Trophy in a room stuffed with dozens of silver and gold keepsakes that recognize a remarkable sports legacy. At 6-foot-3, Jim Plunkett still commands a room.
But underneath the tanned exterior anxiety grows over an uncertain future.
“My life sucks,” said Plunkett, 69. “It’s no fun being in this body right now. Everything hurts.”
The years of daily pain pulsating from the neck, back, knees, shoulders, hips and head have taken a toll on a quarterback who played 15 NFL seasons and led the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories. His body is a patchwork of medical magic: Artificial knees, an artificial shoulder and a surgically repaired back. After 18 operations, Plunkett’s activities have been reduced to golf and light workouts at home on a Crosstrainer.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Chronic pain is not fun, as I know all too well. That being said, I’m guessing that he has access to prescription pain medication. It’s not perfect, but he’s still apparently living a good life. He’s alive. He can see and hear. He can get around.
I thank God often when I am working out, because I feel so blessed to be able to, regardless of the pain.
I also am thankful for ibuprofen and Quell. I hope that he was just having a bad day.
He needs to visit the local VA hospital in Oakland and see people that suffer everyday far worse than him. He also needs to talk to Jim Otto, a center for the Raiders for over 20 years that was crippled with arthritis from football and bought and ran a chain of fast food restaurants all over California. He did it in severe pain, but his attitude was it needed to be done. Respect him.
I take more pills in the morning than he does all day. And comparing him to the big money players of today and try to get a tear for that, is childish and self-absorbing. When I made military pay for 32 years, have had 9 surgeries, and take 6 injections a day to stay alive, but don’t bitch about it, for a fraction of the money he made, it makes me sick to hear about his hardships.
He talks about playing golf and taking pain pills to do it. I’ve seen many at the VA that can’t even get out of bed to go to the bathroom, let alone exercise. Cry me a river. I used to respect this guy. He just the same cry baby as many of these so called heroes.
rwood
Ding! Or missing a limb or two.
He graduated from Stanford, so he probably wan't an idiot. We all make our choices about the life we lead. Give me a friggin break. Playing golf at 69. Dude ain't doing too bad.
Amen to that. Hope you feel better.
Richestcelebrities.org reports his net worth as $1.2-million.
Recalling that play where Joe had his leg snapped still makes my liver quiver.
Archie took more of a beating in college and the NFL than Plunkett ever did; he was the best player on the squad at Ole Miss (by far), and was the spark for their offensive, as a passer and a runner. If I’m not mistaken, he still holds the SEC single-game record for total offense. He even played one season with a broken arm, because the Rebels stood little chance of winning without him.
And the Saints teams he played on in the 70s were absolutely atrocious; Archie didn’t have much help on offense or defense, and the franchise had some of the worst GMs and coaches in the history of the NFL.
Yet, I’ve never heard Archie Manning complain about aches and pains from his football days—and he certainly has as many as any other NFL QB from that era. Part of that is his character; Archie is a gentleman, but he’s also tough as nails. His father committed suicide when Archie was in high school; he called the police and after the coroner collected the body, Manning started cleaning up the mess that was left behind (his father shot himself).
I am all in favor of former NFL players receiving compensation for long-term medical conditions related to injuries received on the playing field. But Mr. Plunkett is not without resources; as someone else noted, you can find plenty of former military members (airborne, SF) with similar injuries—or combat wounds that are fare worse—and making do with a minimal pension and medical care that is often problematic, at best.
“Then they were asked, “Would you do it all over again?””
This spring I had coffee with a guy who played linebacker in high school and injured a knee. He was 55-60 and just had his knee replaced. The knee had bothered him all his life. I asked him if he wished he had not played football and he said yes.
Two years ago I rode a van with a guy age 35-40. He played college football in the ivy league and went on to be a lawyer. His knees were tore up and he walked like a 60-65 year old. I asked him if it was worth it and he hesitated slightly before saying yes because he couldn’t have afforded the education otherwise.
I guess you have to decide what you think will get out of it. I wonder how many former high school players who never went further regret their decision.
Not very often mentioned, but Plunkett was “Hispanic,” so if he played today that would be a very big deal. Half.
He was a “winner,” in the age of Al Davis. “Win, baby win.”
Jim Plunkett is a genuine nice guy. I too went to James Lick high school and knew him from there. I have been to his old childhood home in East San Jose (East Hills Drive) Yes I know him that well ... My brother (adopted) played for the New York Giants (#54) in the 80’s and contracted the Giants cancer ... he’s in remission now. Danny went on to coach at Leland high school in San Jose where one of his star players was ... Pat Tillman. I used to run into Jim on the Stanford golf course ... yes I’m alumni. Jim would always ask about Danny and my other brother (blood) too whom he had presented the Thomas P. Ryan award (top high school athlete of the district award) back in 1973. When Danny left the Giants and moved back to San Jose ... he and his new wife lived in a little one room apartment off Capital Expressway in East San Jose (not a real good neighborhood). His apartment was decorated with footballs presented to him as MVP for various games with the Giants ... he had about 10 of these. However he did not make a whole lot of money as evidenced by his financial status when he was coaching at Leland. It was sad to come over to the apartment and see all these wonderful mementos and yet know how banged up Danny was from football and how little he was able to save from his time in the NFL. Jim did better financially but he calls Danny and my other brother every so often and checks in on them ... again Jim Plunkett is a class act with a heart of gold. This I know first hand. Though Danny won’t come right out and say it but I know Jim has helped him on occasion
Good to know thanks.
Good to know thanks.
I learned at an early age to work smart, not hard. Now that I’m retired, I have two generous pensions and no medical issues.
Well, money is not the same, either. A million dollars today is worth a lot less than a million dollars in 1974. A $200K contract was pretty good back then.
I feel sympathy for him, but hell, I feel sympathy for anyone getting old with a body that is rebelling against a lifetime of use, often hard use.
I’ve been extremely lucky, having hurt my back playing football as a teenager, being able to work at jobs that don’t involve physical labor. And believe me, I don’t take that for granted. I was typical, thought I was indestructible and didn’t have a lot of guys to see who were in worse shape than me. But I think if you are a pro, even a rookie, you see how guys have to fight with their body. I can’t believe any pro player ever thought they couldn’t end up like that after they get their first few injuries.
I see a friend of mine who did flooring and carpet all his life from his teens, and that is tough work on a body. Your knees, your back, your neck. It all gets beaten up by that line of work.
So I see Jim Plunkett, and it is hard not to feel sympathy. But I think he knew far better the risks to his body than my friend had towards the risks to his. As a pro football player, the older players aren’t as beat up as players were 30-40 years ago. Medical care is more capable.
But in the end...it’s gonna hurt.
I believe that absolutely, and I didn’t need to see a poll. Of course they would do it again.
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>> “Doesn’t actually sound that bad for a 69 year old.” <<
Really???
>> “After 18 operations...” <<
I’m almost 73 years old, and have had nothing but a few stitches and extracted molars.
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The ungrateful Putz are the Davis family.
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Yeah. There is a thing about chronic pain...
LOL, I just wrote about four paragraphs and decided not to post it. NOBODY wants to hear about someone else’s pain! Heh, I had written a bunch out.
We all know it sucks.
I didn’t mean the number of operations, I meant that he can still play golf and use a cross trainer while being 69.
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It doesn’t say he won any golf tournaments.
My late father could still ‘play’ golf at 90.
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