- Mike Utley
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For the keyboardist for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, see Michael Utley.
Mike Utley Date of birth: December 20, 1965 Place of birth: Seattle, Washington Career information Position(s): Offensive linemen College: Washington State NFL Draft: 1989 / Round: 3/ Pick 59 Organizations As player: 1989-1991 Detroit Lions Career highlights and awards Awards: MVP of the Aloha Bowl in 1988 Honors: 1st Team All-American Honors for WSU Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com Michael Utley (born December 20, 1965) is a former American football player. He is known for being paralyzed during an NFL game.
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NFL career
Utley was an offensive lineman with the Detroit Lions, picked in the third round of the 1989 NFL Draft. In his rookie year, Utley became the starting right guard for the Lions. He started the first five games, but was injured in the fifth game against the Minnesota Vikings. Utley was put on injured reserve for the rest of the year. In his second year, he fractured two ribs in the third preseason game. He was sidelined for the last preseason game and the first three regular season games. Utley came off the bench by playing in the second half of the next two games. He started in the sixth game, but dislocated his shoulder in the 3rd quarter. He finished the season playing only in the 2nd half for the rest of the season.
Paralysis
In his third year, Utley started every game and was the full time right guard until a paralysis injury forced him to retire. An injury to his sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae occurred in a game against the LA Rams on November 17, 1991. Although he would later learn he was largely paralyzed from the chest down,[1] Utley flashed the crowd a "thumbs up" as he was being taken off the field. The thumbs up sign has become the symbol for the Mike Utley Foundation, a foundation created in 1991 by Utley and his agent Bruce Allen to help seek a cure for paralysis.
While the location of his injury makes him a quadriplegic by the standard medical definition, he has essentially complete use of his upper extremities, making him functionally a paraplegic.
References
External links
Walter Camp Man of the Year Award winners 1967 — Hamilton Fish 1968 — Ted Blair 1969 — Pete Rozelle 1970 — Harry Kipke 1971 — Doc Blanchard 1972 — Clinton Frank 1973 — Duffy Daugherty 1974 — Jake Gaither 1975 — Pete Dawkins 1976 — Edward Krause 1977 — Fred Dunlap 1978 — Floyd Little 1979 — Jack Kemp 1980 — Gale Sayers 1981 — Otto Graham 1982 — Merlin Olsen 1983 — Roger Staubach 1984 — Don Shula 1985 — Rocky Bleier 1986 — Willie Davis 1987 — Levi Jackson 1988 — Andy Robustelli 1989 — Paul Brown 1990 — Nick Buoniconti 1991 — Mel Blount 1992 — Bob Griese 1993 — Warren Moon 1994 — Dick Anderson 1995 — Reggie Williams 1996 — Lynn Swann 1997 — Calvin Hill 1998 — Lou Holtz 1999 — Gil Brandt 2000 — Howie Long 2001 — Mike Singletary 2002 — Jim Kelly 2003 — Ozzie Newsome 2004 — Anthony Munoz 2005 — Dwight Stephenson 2006 — Mike Utley 2007 — Dick Butkus 2008 — Morten Andersen 2009 — John Elway 2010 — Will ShieldsCategories:- 1965 births
- Living people
- People from Seattle, Washington
- American football offensive guards
- American football offensive tackles
- Detroit Lions players
- Washington State Cougars football players
- People with paraplegia
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