Mack Lee Hill (August 17, 1940 – December 14, 1965) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player, a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

and for the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He died suddenly after undergoing knee surgery, two days after a game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Career

Born and raised in Quincy, Florida, Hill made the Chiefs' roster in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

as a rookie free agent out of

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, signing for only $300, with an agreement he would only be paid if he made the lineup. He wound up as the team's second-leading rusher that season with 567 yards and four touchdowns on 105 carries. Hill played in the

AFL All-Star Game The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

after his rookie campaign. He gained 627 yards, second-most on the team, in 1965, even though he did not complete the season, dying in knee surgery after the 12th game. He was nicknamed "The Truck."

Death

Hill tore a ligament in his right knee in a regular season game against the Bills on December 12, forcing him to undergo season-ending surgery on that knee two days later at

Menorah Medical Center Menorah Medical Center is an acute care hospital located in Overland Park, Kansas at 5721 West 119th Street. It is part of the HCA Midwest Division. History The Jewish Memorial Hospital Association was established in 1926 by the Jewish community ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. He was still on the operating table when his temperature suddenly spiked to , triggering severe

convulsion A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a s ...

s, and he died hours after surgery. Doctors said he suffered a "sudden and massive embolism." Team doctor Albert R. Miller said the embolism could have been caused by a fat globule breaking off and entering the bloodstream, or it could have been triggered by a severe reaction to the anesthesia. Head coach Hank Stram said, "Mack Lee Hill was a fine gentleman and a great football player. He was probably one of the most unselfish players I have ever coached. He was completely dedicated to the team. Football was his life." Through Hill's inspiration, the Chiefs created the

Mack Lee Hill Award This page details awards won by the Kansas City Chiefs, a professional American football team from the National Football League. The Chiefs have never had a winner of the Coach of the Year award, Offensive Rookie of the Year, or Defensive Player o ...

, which is given each season to the team's most outstanding rookie. His No. 36 jersey has been

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

. Hill had one son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Mack Lee 1940 births 1965 deaths American football fullbacks African-American players of American football Southern Jaguars football players Players of American football from Florida People from Quincy, Florida Kansas City Chiefs players American Football League All-Star players Deaths from embolism American Football League players 20th-century African-American sportspeople National Football League players with retired numbers

Career

Death

See also

References

External links