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First-ever Falcon Nobis dies at 74

 
FILE - In this Dec. 14, 1965, file photo, All-America Texas linebacker Tommy Nobis, left, and Rankin Smith, owner of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League announce Nobis' signing of a contract with the team in Austin, Texas on Dec. 14, 1965. Nobis, the first player ever drafted by Atlanta in 1966 and a hard-hitting linebacker who went on to spent his entire 11-year career with the team, died Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, after an extended illness, the team announced. He was 74.  (AP Photo/File) NYDD205
FILE - In this Dec. 14, 1965, file photo, All-America Texas linebacker Tommy Nobis, left, and Rankin Smith, owner of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League announce Nobis' signing of a contract with the team in Austin, Texas on Dec. 14, 1965. Nobis, the first player ever drafted by Atlanta in 1966 and a hard-hitting linebacker who went on to spent his entire 11-year career with the team, died Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, after an extended illness, the team announced. He was 74. (AP Photo/File) NYDD205
Published Dec. 13, 2017

ATLANTA — Tommy Nobis, the first player drafted by the expansion Falcons and a hard-hitting middle linebacker who was never fully recognized for his talents on a struggling franchise that failed to make the playoffs during his long career, died Wednesday. He was 74.

The team said he died at his suburban Atlanta home after an extended illness with his wife of more than 50 years, Lynn, at his side. Mr. Nobis was among hundreds of ex-players who struggled with physical and cognitive ailments after their careers ended, having played in an era when no one paid much attention to the lingering impact of concussions nor thought twice about groggily going back on the field after a shot to the head.

When the Falcons reached the Super Bowl last season, his wife told the Houston Chronicle she wasn't sure if Nobis had any idea what his former team had accomplished.

"We've told him the Falcons are in the Super Bowl, and we wear red and black," Lynn Nobis said. "But it doesn't seem to click. I don't know if he understands."

A San Antonio native who sported a red-headed crew cut, Mr. Nobis starred on both sides of the line at the University of Texas, where his No. 60 is one of six retired numbers. Despite being slowed by a knee injury during his senior season, he won the Maxwell Award as the nation's best all-around player and the Outland Trophy as top lineman. He finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting and appeared on the cover of Life and Sports Illustrated.

He was drafted first overall by the Falcons and also picked by the Houston Oilers of the American Football League, leading to a spirited bidding war. He wound up signing with Atlanta, becoming the first player in franchise history and a beloved figure who would forever be known as "Mr. Falcon."

He earned rookie of the year honors and the first of five Pro Bowl berths in 1966, the launch of an 11-year career spent entirely with the Falcons. No. 60 has never been worn by any other Atlanta player.

Mr. Nobis was among the initial inductees into the team's "Ring of Honor" in 2004.

RODGERS' RETURN: The Packers stayed afloat in the postseason race while hoping for nearly two months that Aaron Rodgers would return. News that the two-time NFL MVP was cleared medically to come back from a collarbone injury finally arrived Tuesday night, and Rodgers is in line to start Sunday. "The strength and the flexibility came back the quickest," Rodgers said after practice. "It was just waiting on the bone to be ready to play."

GOODELL PLANS EXIT: Commissioner Roger Goodell intends to retire at the end of his newly completed contract extension in 2024, league spokesman Joe Lockhart said. Goodell will work with owners to identify and have his successor in place by the time he plans to step away, Lockhart said.

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