Mike Webster, Tomahawk
Nine-time Pro Bowl center won four Super Bowls with Steelers in 1970s; didn't miss a game from '74 to '85.

Sorry if this is in the wrong area, but found it interesting. Never new anyone form Tomahawk made it to the Nfl or for that matter won a superbowl.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazi ... /greatest/

http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/membe ... yer_id=227


Here is some more on him if anyone is interested.

Met Mike Webster once. Nice guy. Made me glad that I wasn't the guy on the other side of the ball that somebody that big was about to run over.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

Didn't Readers Digest have a story on him some years ago? I vaguely remember reading something about him but can't remember what it was. (I got to start writing things down!!) I only remember when I came across the reference that he came from Tomahawk that I did a couple of retakes. Maybe the article was about how he died, but I may be mistaken. His bio states that he died at the age of 50…such a shame.

But there had to be something special about Mike, other than his coming from Tomahawk of course, that made a story in Readers Digest. If anyone knows about this it would be an interesting post. If anyone knew him personally, especially about his days as a kid in Tomahawk, I would like to hear about it....maybe others would too.

_________________
Ken Martell
kenmartell@gmail.com
Thankful to be alive and healthy. Proud to call Tomahawk my hometown.

More on Mike Wilson. Wow!!! What a shame...what a truly sad story.

http://www.post-gazette.com/obituaries/ ... rwebp1.asp

_________________
Ken Martell
kenmartell@gmail.com
Thankful to be alive and healthy. Proud to call Tomahawk my hometown.

Two of the most powerful articles were about football, and despite Lewis's apparent decision to appeal to the Reader's Digest crowd, these essays are not heartwarming. One is about Mike Webster, a retired pro football player who died in 2002 at age fifty after struggling with hypertension, depression, and dementia, all probably brought on by football injuries. The other article is called XXL and it's about the alarming trend in football, at all levels, to encourage players to be heavy. Because of the changes in the game over the past thirty years, physical size is more important, and players in the NFL are on average 65 pounds heavier than they were in 1975. Over 300 players in the NFL today are over 300 pounds, compared to none thirty years ago. Young players who hope to make it to the pros someday start bulking up early. Coaches and even parents encourage the kids to put on the pounds.



This wouldn't be what you where talking about kmartell would it?

Correct me if I'm wrong. Mike Webster may have had a Tomahawk address but I think he went to Rhinelander to high school.

_________________
Life is too short for drama & petty things!
So, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

Deb, you’re right.

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/r ... ase_id=612

Darn, I thought that we (Tomahawk) had some neat bragging rights on Mike Wilson. Oh well, Rhinelander may have Mike but we’re still the greatest little town in the world.
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I added this after I posted the above....

As a side note... how come the Tomahawk coaches 'allowed' Rhinelander to 'steal' Mike away, if indeed they did? If he was from Tomahawk, shouldn't he have naturally gone to the Tomahawk school system? Or was it because he lived outside the Tomahawk city limits, and possibly closer to the Rhinelander schools, that Rhinelander is where he was supposed to go. It's just funny that he had a Tomahawk address but ended up in Rhinelander. But I can understand the logistics that might be involved.

Also, in 2004, Rhinelander named their high school stadium in Mike's honor. Very cool to honor him that way!!!

http://www.hodagfacilities.com/

_________________
Ken Martell
kenmartell@gmail.com
Thankful to be alive and healthy. Proud to call Tomahawk my hometown.

Ken,
First of all it's Mike Webster, not Mike Wilson.

As I recall he lived in the Harshaw area and I am guessing that because that was in the Rhinelander school district that is why he attended that school. At the time they probably received their mail from the Tomahawk post office, which is why he had a Tomahawk address.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

Must be Ken's mistake is due to California Dreamin', I believe there was a Mike Wilson that played for the 49ers.

_________________
Life is too short for drama & petty things!
So, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

Wilson...Webster...Weather...yeah, that's it...it's the hot weather descending on California this weekend. Burnt my brain.

Yup, it was the Webster guy. I have a friend, Mike Wilson. My brain just mixed them up.

NOTHING gets by the Message Board analysts !!!

_________________
Ken Martell
kenmartell@gmail.com
Thankful to be alive and healthy. Proud to call Tomahawk my hometown.

First Ken, is the fact that the heat has burnt your brain braggin' or complainin'? Second, I think (although not PC) message board nazis is closer to the truth than message board analysts. Send some heat this way!

_________________
Life is too short for drama & petty things!
So, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

But it's so true !!!

_________________
Ken Martell
kenmartell@gmail.com
Thankful to be alive and healthy. Proud to call Tomahawk my hometown.

Mike Webster grew up North of Tomahawk in Harshaw and did attend Rhinelander High School. My dad knew him and his family and spent time at his home growing up. Mike had a rough childhood in terms of his home life. I'm not all that familiar with his football career but I do know the physical rehabilitation that is in place in the nfl today was non existent back then. In his later life Mike became addicted to prescription pain killers and often would shock himself with a tazer gun just to settle his nerves and "reset" himself so to speak. His injuries from playing football were profound. His legacy has prompted the nfl to put in place better insurance for players so they may have good medical care post career. Again, I'm not terribly familliar, but these are just a few things to add.