You can’t talk about Thanksgiving in the NFL without discussing John Madden. The legendary football coach and broadcaster will forever be connected with the holiday, thanks to his over 20 years calling games on the November holiday — plus his introduction of the turducken.
This season marks the second year that the NFL has the Thanksgiving games branded as the “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration.” Madden died in December of 2021, and this was a way for the league to forever honor and commemorate an individual who did so much for the sport.
The NFL legend made a number of connections in his time around the game, but there was no bond stronger than the one between Madden and Darryl Stingley.
Stingley was a Patriots wide receiver who was paralyzed during a 1978 preseason game against Madden’s Raiders. While the two were on opposite sides when the accident happened, in typical John Madden fashion, the larger-than-life persona took it upon himself to invest himself in Stingley’s life providing a support system for the wide receiver and his family.
MORE: Why do the Cowboys, Lions always play on Thanksgiving?
Here is more on Stingley’s accident and the relationship he had with Madden.
What happened to Darryl Stingley?
In a 1978 preseason game between the Raiders and the Patriots, Stingley collided with Oakland defensive back Jack Tatum while trying to catch a pass. Stingley reached out to try and catch a pass over the middle as Tatum lowered his shoulder and delivered a hit to break up the pass.
Stingley dropped to the ground unconscious. Training staffs on both sides rushed onto the field at the encouragement of Patriots tight end Russ Francis.
A stretcher was brought out for the wide receiver. He was strapped on it with his head in a stabilizing brace. Stingley was escorted off the field and into an ambulance.
(Video of the hit is available on YouTube; some viewers may find it disturbing.)
There was no penalty called on the play. At the time of the hit, the collision was not against the NFL rules. Tatum himself was nicknamed, “The Assassin”, known around the league for delivering brutal hits on receivers.
However, the league did go on to modify the rules partly as a result of Stingley’s paralysis, putting restrictions on “violent” plays.
Darryl Stingley paralyzed
The collision changed Stingley’s life forever.
As a result of the hit from Tatum, Stingley suffered a compressed spinal cord as well as breaking his fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae. He never walked again
He was left a quadriplegic, losing all motions in his four limbs. Over time, he regained limited movement in his right arm and eventually was able to operate his electric wheelchair on his own.
“I have relived that moment over and over again,” Stingley said in a 1988 interview with The Associated Press. “I was 26 years old at the time and I remember thinking, ‘What’s going to happen to me? If I live, what am I going to be like?’ And then there were all those whys, whys, whys?
“It was only after I stopped asking why, that I was able to regroup and go on with my life.”
Darryl Stingley relationship with John Madden
The hit may have come at the cost of Stingley’s football career and ability to walk. However, it was the start of a long-running friendship.
Madden was the coach of the Raiders at the time of Stingley’s career-ending injury. He was also one of the first visitors to see the receiver at the hospital.
Following the game, Madden went directly to the hospital where Stingley was being treated. In fact, he was the lone visitor there for Stingley. No New England players, coaches or staff members were there to check on the status of the injured player.
The Patriots were getting set to leave via airplane, having not heard yet of the tragic news of Stingley’s paralysis, when Madden called the Oakland airport to tell them the news. He insisted that the carrier return to the gate.
“After the game, when we found out that Darryl was paralyzed, John told him that from now on he was a Raider and we should treat him as one,” said Gene Upshaw, a Raiders player at the time of the accident who also formed a bond with Stingley.
In the weeks following the injury, the Raiders were at their training camp in Santa Rosa, an hour and a half north of Oakland, and Stingley was at Eden Hospital in Castro Valley, just south of Oakland. Madden and his wife, Virginia, visited Stingley as often as possible, sometimes making daily trips to the hospital. There is a chance that Madden may have even saved Stingley’s life at one visit when he noticed a malfunction with Stingley’s ventilator.
The Maddens didn’t just take care of the Patriots player. They took care of his whole family, offering their home and use of their car, as well as bringing clothes for Stingley’s girlfriend. After the 1978 regular-season opener in Denver, Madden flew home with the team to Oakland, but then immediately went to Stingley’s hospital.
MORE: Who invented the turducken? How John Madden popularized the dish on Thanksgiving
Madden made the stunning decision to retire from coaching after the 1987 season. While the Raiders coach cited burnout as the reason for stepping away from the sidelines, many around the league speculated that Stingley’s injury was a part of his decision.
“After an injury, they come back. It might be months later, or even a year later. But they come back,” said Pat Toomay, a defensive lineman for Oakland who was on the field when Stingley was hurt. “When this fails to happen, as it did in the case of Darryl Stingley, our frailty shows through the masquerade of pads and numbers and face masks and helmets, the fake armor of invincibility.
“In such a moment, we don’t like what we see. An explanation outside the norms of the game is needed, and so scapegoats are sought. Disturbing feelings are pushed aside. Only the rarest among us grasp the depth of our frailty and still love the game. Is John Madden such a man? I think so.”
Darryl Stingley cause of death
Stingley died on April 5, 2007 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He was 55 years old.
He had been found unresponsive in his home in Chicago before he was rushed to the hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
An autopsy revealed that Stingley’s cause of death was attributed to bronchial pneumonia, quadriplegia, spinal cord injury and coronary atherosclerosis.
Is Derek Stingley Jr. related to Darryl Stingley?
Stingley’s grandson is Derek Stingley Jr., a cornerback for the Texans.
The No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is the son of Darryl’s son Derek Stingley Sr. The Houston defensive back played for three seasons at LSU before he was selected to the NFL.
Derek. Sr. also played football professionally, but did not make it to the NFL. Instead, he played nine years in the Arena Football League.