Willie Daniel’s pro football career eventually cost him his memory, but it also brought a good life for his family. The former NFL player, a Mississippi native, died at his home after a lengthy illness surrounded by his loving family and devoted friends.

Willie was born on November 10, 1937, in New Albany, MS. He grew up in Macon, MS, where he lettered in basketball, track, baseball, and football at Macon High School all four years. He received a scholarship to Mississippi State University where he lettered in track and football for four years before graduating in 1959.

His professional career took an unexpected turn, said wife Ruth. “Willie wasn’t drafted out of college and was hired as an assistant football and head track coach in Cleveland, MS. He received wide publicity when an irate parent became physical with him because the coach didn’t play his son in a game. When approached by the Steelers to turn pro, he quickly changed his mind about being a coach, joking that “Pro-ball wouldn’t be any rougher than this.”

Willie became a nationally known sports figure in the 1960s as a result of a stellar football career which began at Macon Mississippi High School and continued though Mississippi State University. His professional career took off quickly and he spent nine years with the National Football League where he gained a reputation as a speedy defensive back. The Pittsburgh newspapers listed him as one of the prize rookies of the year in 1961. In 1986 he was inducted into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame. He spent six years with the Pittsburg Steelers and three years with the Los Angeles Rams until a knee injury forced him to retire in 1969.

He returned to Starkville, Mississippi, and became a partner in a very successful general insurance agency. Willie also recognized that the fitness industry was about to explode and he saw an opportunity to become one of the pioneers in the operation of health clubs which have remained a national obsession. He opened the Willie Daniel Athletic Club in 1970 and offered weights, aerobics, massage therapy, sauna, steam baths, karate, and a nursery for children. In 1975 he built the first of two racquetball courts which led to the formation of the Mississippi Racquetball Association.

Somehow Willie found the time to give back to his community. He coached and sponsored Starkville junior baseball teams as well as the Starkville Open Football League. He served as chairman of the annual Oktibbeha County Cancer Crusade which became the first county in Mississippi to triple its annual contribution quota. He was a member of the Mississippi State “M” Club, Bulldog Club, “Old Dawgs” Club, and the National Football League Players Association. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Starkville, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Savage Bible Class where he served as President. He was one of the original members of the Starkville Kiwanis Club, and the Starkville Country Club where he made the club’s first “hole-in-one” in 1975.

Willie and his wife, Ruth, raised three children, Sandra (husband Jeff), Kent (wife Evalin), and Richard. They have four grandchildren and one great grandchild. Life was busy, but good—as one of the neighbors used to say, “When I grow up, I want to be Willie Daniel!”

By the time the clock registered the new millennium, Willie was facing the most monumental challenge of his lifetime when his mental health began to deteriorate. Actually, his mental health had begun to deteriorate in the 1980s but he was able to work until 2001. This downward spiral into the world of dementia was attributed to the numerous concussions he suffered during his football career.

Willie became very frustrated, angry, and sad. He lost his short-term memory, couldn’t even remember his birthdate or the birthdates and ages of his children and grandchildren. One very traumatic event for him was the day his family had to take his truck keys and remove his truck. He would actually cry and beg to get his truck back. He never could understand why he couldn’t drive and this became a daily verbal confrontation.

By 2009, he was becoming more and more combative. He never actually hit anyone, but he was threatening to his wife and his caregivers. His family made the agonizing decision to move him to an Alzheimer’s facility. He lived there for a year, but then had to be moved to a full care nursing facility. For the last six years of Willie’s life, he was incontinent, could not sit up, had very little movement in his arms or legs, and hadn’t spoken in six years. He was moved from his bed to his wheelchair with a lift, and was tube fed.

The road that Willie and his family traveled over these past several years has been difficult to say the least. But as Ruth says, “My heartbreak is nothing compared to what Willie has faced. He loved his God, his family, his life, his friends, his church with all his heart. He lost that all far too soon.”

Willie qualified for and became a part of a state-of-the-art research project at Boston University being conducted on football head injuries. He donated a portion of his brain and spinal cord for the research project in hopes of developing procedures and equipment to make the sport safer for athletes of the future.

DeLeone was considered too small to play offensive line in the NFL, was discarded by three teams in his first two seasons, and lost his first wife to cancer in his second year as a Brown. Despite facing a mountain of adversity, DeLeone pressed on to become a two-time Pro Bowler and a member of the Browns Hall of Fame.

Born in Ravenna, Ohio, in 1950, DeLeone graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent, Ohio in 1968. He attended Ohio State University and was coached by the legendary Woody Hayes. His play and leadership earned him Buckeyes team MVP honors his senior season.

“He was just a great teammate. If you were going to get in a fight, you wanted Tom on your side,” said fellow Browns lineman Doug Dieken.

Drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1972, DeLeone was later traded to the Atlanta Falcons and traded again to the Houston Oilers. The Oilers cut him before the Browns signed him in the middle of the 1974 season. He quickly became the Browns’ starting center, a position he’d hold for the better part of a decade.

“He had all the linemen’s backs, and if anything would go wrong, he was the first one to be there to take care of them. He was the ultimate teammate,” said former Browns teammate Cleo Miller.

DeLeone’s performance and personality cemented his role as a leader on the Browns’ famed “Kardiac Kids” playoff teams in the early 1980’s. He was also a dedicated member of his community, serving as a volunteer for his neighborhood Medina Police’s special unit.

After retiring from football in 1984, DeLeone started a career as a criminal investigator with the US Department of Treasury. He dealt with a variety of fraud, drugs, and anti-terrorism cases, including serving on the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He retired after 23 years of service at age 57, the mandatory age to retire. DeLeone quickly found retirement boring, so he filled his days substitute teaching and coaching high school football in Park City, Utah.

In 2011, while driving home with his son, DeLeone suddenly became completely disoriented and didn’t know where he was. Doctors later found a large tumor on his brain and diagnosed him with Stage 4 brain cancer. His surgeon told him his attitude would dictate his prognosis.

Anvil Head was up for the challenge.

“I ride my bike 25 miles a few days each week. I’m not giving in to this,” said DeLeone in 2011.

His relentless spirit followed him to his post-football career and all the way through his battle with cancer.

“Nothing scared him. Even when he told me about the cancer, I could hear it in his voice. No feeling sorry for himself. He’s just determined,” said Dieken.

After fighting cancer for nearly five years, DeLeone passed away on May 22, 2016 in Park City at age 65. Before his death, DeLeone asked for his brain and spinal column to be studied at the Boston University CTE Center. Researchers later diagnosed him with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

Often, CTE is mistakenly connected to the number of diagnosed concussions an athlete suffered in their career. The DeLeone family hopes Tom’s CTE diagnosis will inform parents about the risk of repetitive nonconcussive impacts causing CTE. DeLeone spent decades playing as an interior lineman and was exposed to countless hits to the head over his life in football, likely contributing to his CTE.

He will forever be known as a loving father and husband, a dedicated teammate, and an upstanding citizen.