Death
The San Francisco 49ers announced that Perry died on Monday April 25, 2011 in Arizona of complications from dementia at the age of 84.
49ers owner John York said:
I was deeply saddened to hear of Joe Perry's passing. He was a dear friend to my family and I and to the entire 49ers organization. He was also an integral part of our rich history. A truly remarkable man both on and off the field, Joe had a lasting impact on the game of football and was an inspirational man to the generations of players that followed him. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his wife, Donna, and his entire family. He will be sadly missed by all of us.
On June 9, 2011, it was announced that Perry and his fellow "Million Dollar Backfield" teammate, John Henry Johnson, who died on June 3, 2011, would have their brains examined by researchers at Boston University who are studying head injuries in sports. Both men were suspected of suffering form Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disorder linked to repeated brain trauma. Perry's widow, Donna, told the San Francisco Chronicle that she believes her husband suffered from CTE. She further told the newspaper that "When Joe was playing, they'd give them smelling salts and put them back in. "Now the equipment is better, and they're looking into ways to protect them. We have to look at what this is doing to our children."
Read more about this topic: Joe Perry (American Football)
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“if thou slip thy troth and do not come at all.
As minutes in the clock do strike so call for death I shall:
To please both thy false heart, and rid myself from woe,
That rather had to die in troth than live forsaken so.”
—Unknown. The Lady Prayeth the Return of Her Lover Abiding on the Seas (l. 19–22)
“...here he is, fully alive, and it is hard to picture him fully dead. Death is thirty-three hours away and here we are talking about the brain size of birds and bloodhounds and hunting in the woods. You can only attend to death for so long before the life force sucks you right in again.”
—Helen Prejean (b. 1940)
“I can only see death and more death, till we are black and swollen with death.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)