Former Detroit Lions quarterback Eric Hipple recalls the hit he took in that 1985 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His helmet flew off and he lay temporarily dazed and in pain on the field.
“I went right back in that game. Concussions weren’t diagnosed like they are today,” he told me.
Hipple, one of the most physical quarterbacks of his time, paid a price with concussions and other injuries. His career ended in 1989.
The Tampa Bay hit not only stood out to Hipple but to hundreds of thousands who have watched it on YouTube.