October 9, 1960: The Death of Howard Glenn

October 9, 1960: The American Football League, in only its 5th week of operation, suffers its 1st tragedy.

The New York Titans lost to the Houston Oilers, 27-21 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. But they lost more than a game: They lost a man. Not just to an injury, but to death.

Howard Earl Glenn was born on September 26, 1934 in Vancouver, Washington, across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. A guard, he played at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. In 2020, the school changed its name to Linfield University. However, it is an NCAA Division III school, and, coming out of it, the NFL was not interested in Glenn, despite his being named All-Conference in 1957.

He did not play pro ball in 1958. In 1959, he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. In 1960, the AFL was founded, and they took whoever they could get. They could get Glenn. Wearing Number 66, he played in 4 of the Titans' 1st 5 games.

But in the team's 4th game, a 37-35 win over the Dallas Texans at the Cotton Bowl, Glenn hurt his neck, and it took several minutes for him to get up. Over the next week, having gone to Houston early to get acclimated to the heat, he complained of headaches in practice. Everyone thought it was due to the weather. This was an era in which, if you could walk, you were ready to play.

At gametime at Jeppesen Stadium, it was 90 degrees and humid. This was the kind of weather that would lead to Harris County starting the construction of a domed stadium, in the hope of landing a major-league baseball team. (Which would happen in 1962.)

Ernie Barnes, Glenn's fellow lineman (also a fellow artist, with whom he would compare artwork), said the heat and the humidity made it difficult to breathe after each play. Barnes played left tackle, next to Glenn, who was playing left guard in place of injured starter Bob Mischak. During a huddle, Glenn told Barnes, "I don't think I can make it." Another teammate, who has never been identified, told him, "Suck it up." With a stutter, Glenn said he'd stay.

The only known photo of Glenn playing for the Titans.

It was taking during his last game.

In the 3rd quarter, the Titans tried a run up the middle. Glenn got sandwiched between 2 Oiler players, and fell to the ground, and couldn't get up. He was helped up, and was taken back to the bench, where he sat for the rest of the game, with no one checking him out for injury.

After the game, he was able to take a shower and drink a soda. Teammate Art Powell saw him sitting in a chair, holding his soda, and thought something was wrong. He told the trainer to get a doctor. While the doctor checked him out, Glenn demanded to be taken to a hospital. Before the doctor could respond, Glenn collapsed and started convulsing on the floor. He was taken to the hospital.

His teammates were told they'd be informed of any updates, but that they should get on the plane and fly back to New York. It was only as the plane was taxiing down the runway that an announcement was made that Glenn was dead, at the age of 26. The next day, it was reported that the cause of death was a broken neck. But his symptoms suggest something else, possibly a head injury, or a blood clot to the neck or brain.

He remains 1 of 4 NFL players (including AFL players) to have died as a result of an in-game condition, along with Stan Mauldin of the 1948 Chicago Cardinals, Stone Johnson of the 1963 Kansas City Chiefs, and Chuck Hughes of the 1971 Detroit Lions.

Unlike the NFL, which has always tended to do things only when forced to by overwhelming public opinion, the AFL acted immediately, mandating that all its teams have X-ray equipment available at game sites.

In 1963, the Titans were rebranded as the New York Jets, their navy blue helmets with gold trim replaced by white helmets with green lettering and trim.

Jeppesen Stadium, a high school stadium built in 1942, would later be renamed Robertson Stadium, and was demolished in 2012, with TDECU Stadium, new home of the University of Houston, built on the site.

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October 9, 1960 was a Sunday. Also played in the AFL that day, the Oakland Raiders beat the Dallas Texans, 20-19 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963. The day before, the Boston Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 35-0 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. And the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos had a bye week. had a bye week.

These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 19-17 at Pitt Stadium on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 31-27 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys, 26-14 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. It was the 1st time these teams, eventually among the bitterest of NFL rivals, had ever played.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Detroit Lions, 14-10 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. (It was renamed Tiger Stadium the next season.)

* The Chicago Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams, 34-27 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Baltimore Colts, 35-21 at the new Green Bay City Stadium. (It was renamed Lambeau Field in 1965.)

The NBA season started 10 days later. But the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 4-4 at the Boston Garden.

* And the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings played to a tie 3-3 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

And Game 4 of the World Series was played. The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Yankees, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Bill "Moose" Skowron of the Yankees hit a home run, but, otherwise, Cy Young Award winner Vern Law outpitched Ralph Terry.