BROKEN BUCS
Though only in their 50s, the medical histories of many players on the 1979 Buccaneers reveal decades of suffering.
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BROKEN BUCS
Mark Cotney (33) and his teammates fell just short of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1979 NFC Championship game. Staff file photo
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BROKEN BUCS
Jerry Eckwood deals with constant pain because of injuries he endured during his short NFL career. Staff photo by BOB HANSEN
BROKEN BUCS
Repeated collisions left Jerry Eckwood with an aching body and a mind dulled from multiple concussions.
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BROKEN BUCS
Players on the 1979 team met at The News Center to talk about the physical effects of their NFL careers. Staff photo by CLIFF McBRIDE
BROKEN BUCS
Five ex-Bucs covered a range of topics. Also, a profile of disabled running back Jerry Eckwood, and more.
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Our interactive graphic shows how these retired players compare physically to typical U.S. men in their 50s.
Our player cards show various members of the '79 team on the field, plus how they look (and sound) today.
Photos: Look at the players from that historic '79 team, past and present.
Beyond these Bucs – archive coverage
Gay Culverhouse, daughter of the original Bucs owner and former team president, strives to help retired NFL players get health benefits.
The ex-Buccaneer, who died at 45 in 2009, had severe brain damage caused by years of hits in the NFL, researchers say.
Conrad Dobler, once called the NFL's dirtiest player, now resists doctors' recommendation to amputate his badly damaged leg.
A 10-year center for
the Bucs, he struggled
to overcome a lethal addiction to pain meds
to have knee replacement surgery.
The game is getting bigger, faster, stronger, and it's getting more dangerous. That means more pain, more injuries.
NFL players count on painkiller medication during and after their careers - and some of them get addicted.
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