July 19 (Reuters) - Brett Favre, who will be inducted as a first ballot Hall of Famer at the Canton, Ohio shrine next month, set scores of NFL records during his 20-year career at quarterback, including a seemingly unbreakable Iron Man mark.
Yet the man who ended up playing 297 straight games (321 including playoffs) was nearly shut down by a failed physical exam before his career took off.
"I hurt my hip in the East-West Shrine (college All-Star) game and was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the hip, sort of like what Bo Jackson had, when blood supply is cut off to a joint," Favre told a conference call on Tuesday.