Michael Lewis Webster was an American professional football center in the National Football League from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs.
30 Facts About Mike Webster
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Mike Webster is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, class of 1997.
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Mike Webster died in 2002 at the age of 50 of a heart attack.
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Mike Webster was born in Tomahawk, Wisconsin north of Wausau on March 18,1952, the second child of six children.
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Mike Webster grew up on a 640-acre potato farm near Harshaw, Wisconsin southeast of Park Falls.
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Mike Webster attended Rhinelander High School in Rhinelander, Wisconsin northwest of Antigo, earning several awards in wrestling and participating in track and field.
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Mike Webster was regarded as being the best center in the Big Ten during most of his career with the Badgers.
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Mike Webster earned recognition as the team's Most Valuable Player and received All-Big Ten honors.
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Mike Webster showcased his skills in many postseason games including the College All-Star Game, East-West Shrine Bowl, Hula Bowl, Senior Bowl, and the Coaches All-America Game.
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Mike Webster served as a backup at center and guard for two years while being mentored by veteran center Ray Mansfield.
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Mike Webster became the team's starting center in 1976, where he remained for 150 consecutive games.
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Mike Webster was the Steelers' offensive captain for nine years.
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Mike Webster was honored as an All-Pro seven times and played in the Pro Bowl nine times.
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An avid weightlifter, Mike Webster was known for playing with bare arms to keep opponents from grabbing his sleeves.
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Mike Webster was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, who initially made him an assistant offensive line coach before allowing him to return as the starting center.
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Mike Webster played two seasons in Kansas City before announcing his retirement on March 11,1991, after a 17-year career with a total of 245 games played at center.
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Mike Webster was posthumously elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
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Mike Webster was proven to have been disabled before retiring from the NFL.
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Mike Webster lived out of his pickup truck or in train stations between Wisconsin and Pittsburgh, despite friends and former teammates offering to rent apartments for him.
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Nonetheless, Mike Webster continued to disappear for weeks at a time without explanation and without contact with friends and family.
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Mike Webster exhibited unusual changes in behavior, and became so agitated and restless that he used electroshock weapons on himself to induce sleep.
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Mike Webster was cremated and his ashes were returned to his wife and their five children, two sons and three daughters.
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Mike Webster was the first former NFL player diagnosed with CTE.
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Mike Webster's brain resembled those of boxers with "dementia pugilistica", known as "punch-drunk syndrome".
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Mike Webster played during an era when protective equipment was inferior, and head injuries were considered part of the game of football.
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At the time of his death, Mike Webster was addicted to prescription medication.
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Mike Webster was portrayed by David Morse and Dr Bennet Omalu was portrayed by Will Smith.
28.
Mike Webster is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.
29.
Mike Webster's estate brought a lawsuit in Maryland's United States District Court against the National Football League.
30.
The estate contended that Mike Webster was disabled at the time of his retirement, and was owed $1.142 million in disability payments under the NFL's retirement plan.