Have you guys heard about this before?
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I had heard some mention of this briefly before but read about it in Bill Simmons book and it kinda blows the mind. One of the most brutal things ever to happen in any profession sports that's for sure.
A bit more about it:
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Washington was engaged in a brawl when he saw Tomjanovich running toward the altercation; Washington swung around and hit Tomjanovich with a roundhouse. The punch, which took Tomjanovich by surprise, fractured his face about one-third of an inch (8 mm) away from his skull and left Tomjanovich unconscious in a pool of blood in the middle of the arena.
Players involved often say that right after Tomjanovich collapsed, the silence at the arena, filled with shocked fans, was "the loudest silence you have ever heard."As it turned out, Tomjanovich came very close to dying on the court. Besides having the bone structure of his face detached from his skull, he was leaking blood and spinal fluid into his skull capsule. Tomjanovich would later recount that at the time of the incident, he believed a scoreboard fell on him
Players involved often say that right after Tomjanovich collapsed, the silence at the arena, filled with shocked fans, was "the loudest silence you have ever heard."As it turned out, Tomjanovich came very close to dying on the court. Besides having the bone structure of his face detached from his skull, he was leaking blood and spinal fluid into his skull capsule. Tomjanovich would later recount that at the time of the incident, he believed a scoreboard fell on him
I had heard some mention of this briefly before but read about it in Bill Simmons book and it kinda blows the mind. One of the most brutal things ever to happen in any profession sports that's for sure.
A bit more about it:
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In a moment of sheer instinct, Washington turned and crushed Tomjanovich with a vicious right hand that Lakers assistant coach Jack McCloskey called "the hardest punch in the history of mankind."
Tomjanovich suffered fractures of the face and skull. His nose was broken, and he suffered a separated upper jaw, a concussion and lacerations around his mouth. He was leaking spinal fluid into his nose.
In an article on the incident, Sports Illustrated reported the "bone structure of his face was knocked loose from his skull." Doctors compared the injury with hitting a windshield at 50 mph.
Tomjanovich spent two weeks in the hospital while nurses and family kept towels over the mirrors to hide his face from himself.
"When I was (in the emergency room), I wondered if I would ever play again," Tomjanovich said. "I thought I was gonna be the Elephant Man and have to be put away and, 'Oh, my God, look at the face on that guy.' "
Tomjanovich recovered, won a $3.2 million lawsuit from the Lakers and went on to coach the Rockets to an NBA title. Washington was fined $10,000 and suspended for 60 days (a loss of about $75,000 in pay), and saw his career start circling the bowl like a deceased goldfish.
He played with four teams over the next five years and retired in 1982 at age 30.
Tomjanovich suffered fractures of the face and skull. His nose was broken, and he suffered a separated upper jaw, a concussion and lacerations around his mouth. He was leaking spinal fluid into his nose.
In an article on the incident, Sports Illustrated reported the "bone structure of his face was knocked loose from his skull." Doctors compared the injury with hitting a windshield at 50 mph.
Tomjanovich spent two weeks in the hospital while nurses and family kept towels over the mirrors to hide his face from himself.
"When I was (in the emergency room), I wondered if I would ever play again," Tomjanovich said. "I thought I was gonna be the Elephant Man and have to be put away and, 'Oh, my God, look at the face on that guy.' "
Tomjanovich recovered, won a $3.2 million lawsuit from the Lakers and went on to coach the Rockets to an NBA title. Washington was fined $10,000 and suspended for 60 days (a loss of about $75,000 in pay), and saw his career start circling the bowl like a deceased goldfish.
He played with four teams over the next five years and retired in 1982 at age 30.
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