12 Chuck Hughes
To this day, Hughes is the only NFL player to die on the field during a game. Hughes was a member of the Detroit Lions and the team was playing the Chicago Bears at the time. With only minutes left in the game, Hughes was running towards the team huddle when he suddenly collapsed. Everyone thought he was faking an injury until Chicago’s Dick Butkus waved for help on the field.
His cause of death was determined to be atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) that caused a blood clot. His family had a history of health problems and his widow filed a lawsuit for malpractice. During a previous hospitalization at Henry Ford Hospital, doctors failed to diagnose his illness even though he had reported chest pains.
