- “During a scrimmage against the San Diego Chargers in August of 1987, Mike’s second year with the Cowboys, he fractured his tibia and fibula, the bone in his right leg breaking like a pencil through the skin. Danny White, the Dallas quarterback, was so affected by the gruesome sight he asked to be excused from the rest of practice. The doctors inserted a metal plate and eight screws into his leg, which occurred without any input from me. Mike was gone for the season. The following March, while jogging on a beach in California, Mike broke the tibia again in nearly the same spot. A few months earlier, the screws and plate had been removed, but it was too early; the bones were not hardened enough, leaving the leg more susceptible to a second break. Mike would sit out another year, and another after that. He never played for the Cowboys again.” The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game (Steinberg, Leigh;Arkush, Michael)–page 195
- “In 1987, Curt Marsh, one of the cheeriest players I represented, retired after six seasons with the Raiders. It was a testament to his remarkable endurance and will that he lasted as long as he did. He underwent twelve operations, including four on his right ankle and right foot. The pain did not go away once he quit the game. It never does. In September of 1994, his right foot was amputated. I was devastated. Curt, I am relieved to say, was comforted by his strong faith in God and has lived a very productive life. What happened to Kenny was just as frightening. In the spring of 1988, as he was taking a routine physical in Phoenix after the Cardinals acquired him for quarterback Kelly Stouffer, doctors discovered a serious kidney ailment. The trade was called off, and Kenny, only twenty-nine, was forced to retire. When Kenny called to say he flunked the physical and had only about 7 percent function in his kidney, my immediate reaction was, how was it possible the Seattle doctors were not aware of his condition before? Kenny might have died if he hadn’t been traded. He went to dialysis three times a week and in 1990 received a kidney transplant. He later sued the Seahawks, claiming his kidneys were damaged by the ibuprofen the doctors recommended he take to cope with any discomfort after ankle surgery. Kenny ingested about thirty a day. Amazingly enough, a wide assortment of pills was kept in large, open containers in the Seattle locker room; players were free to scoop up whatever they wanted. With Neil Lomax, the problem was a bad hip, misdiagnosed by the Cardinals as a groin injury. Neil started to limp during the 1988 preseason, though he managed to throw that year for nearly 3,500 yards and 20 touchdowns. By the next preseason, the hip was much worse, and the Cardinals put him on the injured reserve list. Perhaps sitting out a whole season would allow the hip to heal. It did not. In 1990, Neil retired, and a year later, he received a new hip.” The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game (Steinberg, Leigh;Arkush, Michael)–page 197
- “It started in 1988. Something every veteran ballplayer eventually experiences. The beginning of the end. What used to be easy begins to become hard. Range in the field. Aggressiveness on the bases.And, most important, bat speed. They fade away, right before your eyes. Nagging injuries take longer to heal. The travel, the autographing, the day-to-day responsibilities you used to take for granted become burdensome. You start thinking the unthinkable: life without baseball.” Clearing the Bases (Schmidt, Mike;Waggoner, Glen) Kindle Location 896-899