[terry]

Thanks Terry, great memory.  Didn't he suffer a complication from sickling that forced him to retire?  For some reason I associate him with a splenic infarct that finally forced him to retire for good.  Also, my recollection is that he may have had more than just sickle cel trait, maybe SC disease (a mix whete one of the beta hemoglobin genes has the sickle cell mutation and the other one has the beta thallasemia mutation).  It produces a slightly less severe disease than sickle cell anemia (both copies of the sickle cell gene), but its's definitely more severe than sickle cell trait.  For some reason I remember being surprised that he would have been able to play football, which wouldn't have been the case with sickle cell trait.

I don't remember Zuttah's medical details (or never knew them). My memory is that his condition was less severe than full blown sickle cell, and he thought he might be able to play with proper management, but ultimately he was medically unable to continue with football. I don't know whether there was a specific incident that caused him to retire.

[terry]

Thanks Terry, great memory.  Didn't he suffer a complication from sickling that forced him to retire?  For some reason I associate him with a splenic infarct that finally forced him to retire for good.  Also, my recollection is that he may have had more than just sickle cel trait, maybe SC disease (a mix whete one of the beta hemoglobin genes has the sickle cell mutation and the other one has the beta thallasemia mutation).  It produces a slightly less severe disease than sickle cell anemia (both copies of the sickle cell gene), but its's definitely more severe than sickle cell trait.  For some reason I remember being surprised that he would have been able to play football, which wouldn't have been the case with sickle cell trait.

I don't remember Zuttah's medical details (or never knew them). My memory is that his condition was less severe than full blown sickle cell, and he thought he might be able to play with proper management, but ultimately he was medically unable to continue with football. I don't know whether there was a specific incident that caused him to retire.