You can listen to “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan’s comments about his NFL career, the issue of concussions in sports and more starting at the 15:14 minute mark in the embedded audio player below. Some of his comments have been transcribed below it:
On how he almost became an NFL football player before becoming a pro wrestler:
JD: I went in as a free agent. I had a good college career. I played my college ball for Southern Methodist down in Dallas. I went with the Falcons and I got injured in training camp right after. Two surgeries in the same year in ’77. I was just hanging on anyway. I was an offensive guard. I was one of those dime a dozen guys. If I had gotten to play a year or two that would have been lucky. Actually it was a blessing in disguise because then I went back to Dallas, met Fritz Von Erich and things took off.
On whether he thinks that the NFL could change or possibly even go away because of all of the new information about concussions coming out:
JD: I don’t think overnight. I tell you, my daughters are 21 and 22. Eighteen months apart. If I had young boys I don’t know if I’d want them playing high school football. Not just the concussions. How many knee injuries? How many shoulder injuries? Now it’s so specialized. When I went to school I did football in the fall, wrestled in the winter and did track in the spring. I wasn’t just specialized in to one sport. I think slowly, with the next generation, it won’t be as popular. Let’s put it that way.
