Al Lucas (lost on-field death footage of an Arena Football League player; 2005)

This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its description of an on-the-field sporting death.

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A photo showing Al Lucas' motionless body on the field.

Status: Lost

On Sunday, April 10, 2005, at 12:00PM Pacific Standard Time (PST; UTC−08:00) the Los Angeles Avengers hosted the New York Dragons in a week 11 Arena Football League matchup at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, with 11,000 spectators in attendance. This game would go down in infamy as Al Lucas, a lineman for the Avengers, tackled Dragons returnman Corey Johnson during a kickoff return at 10:17 in the first quarter. Johnson's knee hit Lucas' helmet, and Lucas' head would then be hit by blocker Mike Horacek's leg, with other players forming a pit during the play; all of these factors combined crushed Lucas' neck and spinal cord, leading to an immediate loss of consciousness.

Team physios ran onto the field initially suspecting a concussion, but then realized the gravity of the situation and summoned the paramedics to help revive Lucas. Medics were able to immobilize him on a stretcher and move him into an ambulance, while players from both teams formed a prayer circle around him. Despite the physicians' best efforts, Al Lucas was pronounced dead at 1:28PM (13:28) at California Hospital Medical Center on 1401 South Grand Avenue in Los Angeles, while the game was still in progress.

TV footage of Al Lucas' on-the-field death exists, corroborated by contemporary news articles and eyewitness accounts from fans. However, no footage of the match exists online. The incident is particularly notable as it is one of the few documented on-the-field American football deaths.

Background

Al Lucas was born on September 1, 1978 in Macon, Georgia to David Lucas, a Democratic State Representative in Georgia's House of Representatives, and Elaine Lucas, a Macon City Councilwoman. According to Lucas' former coach in high school (Northeast High School in Macon, GA), Steve Edwards, he had grown up in an "athletically and politically-based childhood". He had an older brother named Lennie who also played football, playing the tight end position and would join Al at Troy State. Edwards described Al as a "super person and a super athlete", and Lucas commanded respect from the rest of the Avengers locker room, with various teammates commenting on his great attitude. By all accounts, Al Lucas was respected both on the field, in the locker room and in his community.

Prior to Al Lucas' death, on-the-field deaths had occurred on the gridiron pitch but were extremely rare compared to other sports such as association football (soccer). The first recorded death of a gridiron player occurred on October 9th, 1960, in a regular season AFL (American Football League) game between the New York Titans (later Jets) and the Houston Oilers. Howard Glenn sustained a neck injury during the first half and died 3 hours later due to his injuries. On August 30, 1963, Kansas City Chiefs running back Stone Johnson was severely injured on a kickoff return during an AFL preseason match against the Houston Oilers, suffering a fractured vertebra in his neck. Johnson succumbed to his injuries on September 10th, and the #33 remains retired in the Chiefs organization.

The most infamous on-the-field American football death occurred on October 24th, 1971, in a game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears in Detroit, Michigan. Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes suddenly collapsed after an incomplete pass by quarterback Greg Landry. He collapsed near Bears linebacker Dick Butkus, who immediately recognized that Hughes was convulsing to death and pleaded for help. Both teams' physicians and paramedics desperately attempted to revive Chuck Hughes, and he would be pronounced dead at Henry Ford Hospital at 5:34pm Central Standard Time (17:34 CST; UTC−6:00). It was revealed that Hughes suffered from arteriosclerosis, and that his condition was never screened properly during his career. The excessive physical strain of the sport lead to Hughes suffering from a coronary thrombosis, which cut blood flow to his heart and then lead to a massive myocardial infarction. Similarly, footage of Chuck Hughes' death is also lost, though it is known to exist. A few years later on October 21, 1975 during a Canadian Football League game, Hamilton Tiger Cats linebacker Tom Pate died from an aneurysm after being tackled by Calgary Stampeders fullback Rick Galbos and landing harshly on the turf, being pronounced dead 3 hours later.

Al Lucas played high school football from 1992 to 1995 at the aforementioned Northeast High School in Macon, Georgia. During his high-school career, he set the school record for the bench-press at 440 pounds (200kg). He was recruited by the Troy State Trojans, where he would play college football from 1996 to 1999; he won the Buck Buchanan Award (given to defensive lineman for outstanding play) in the NCAA Division I-AA and was given All-American and All-Southland Football League honors in 1999. His final stats at Troy State stood at 255 tackles (36 for a loss), 25 quarterback hurries, and 11.5 sacks. He went undrafted in the 2000 NFL Draft and was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers before being cut and later signed by the Carolina Panthers, where he would play two seasons. After being released he was selected by the Frankfurt Galaxy in the 2003 free-agent draft, but instead signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League, where he played one season in 2003.

In Tampa Bay, Al Lucas would experience a significant amount of success, where he racked up 19.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a blocked kick, a safety, and would play a major role in the Tampa Bay Storm's victory in the 2003 ArenaBowl over the Arizona Rattlers. He was named to the 2003 Arena Football League all-rookie team and would become one of the most sought-after free agents heading into the 2004 season. Al Lucas would sign a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Avengers on October 27, 2003. In 2004, Lucas would continue his good form, leading the Los Angeles linemen with 18.5 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries and a safety. Heading into the week 10 matchup against the New York Dragons, Al Lucas had made 9 tackles with 4 assists on the season.

The Infamous Play

As stated above, the match was well underway. The Los Angeles Avengers took an early 6-0 lead over the New York Dragons after wide receiver Greg Hopkins scored on a running play, with the kick by Remy Hamilton missing the upright. The Dragons were due to receive the kickoff.

The kickoff was returned by Dragons return specialist Corey Johnson, and it was a standard kickoff. During the return, Corey Johnson was tackled by Al Lucas; on the play, Lucas' body went in a falling motion while making the tackle, with Johnson's knee hitting Lucas' helmet; another Dragons player, Mike Horacek, made a block which hit Lucas in the head, with the collisions between Johnson's knee, Horacek's leg and Lucas' helmet being so severe that it twisted Lucas' neck and injured his spinal cord. Additionally, other players came in to make a tackle, forming a pit of players, likely aggravating Lucas' injury. Player witness accounts generally state that the play looked typical for a football game. However, immediately after, Al Lucas stayed down on the field, lying down on his back and never regaining consciousness.

Despite this, most players did not think much of what had happened. In fact, Greg Hopkins called out to Lucas, telling him to "suck it up... and let's go", as Lucas was lying down in a similar motion the week prior with a minor finger injury. The only player to think something serious had occurred was New York Dragons player Mike Horacek; according to Grantland writer Robert Weintraub, footage shows Horacek give a serious look of concern at Al Lucas, as if he had heard a groan.

Team doctors immediately rushed on to the field, initially suspecting a concussion but the gravity of the situation soon set in, with paramedics then rushing on to the field in a desperate bid to save Lucas' life. Avengers quarterback Aaron Garcia described the scene: “He wasn’t responding when they were calling his name... we thought it was a serious injury. They came out with the board immediately and we were worried that the worst had happened. You see that board and you just start praying". Players from both teams would form a prayer circle before Lucas was stretchered off the field and into an ambulance. Unfortunately, Lucas would be pronounced dead at 1:28PM (13:28) at California Hospital Medical Center, with the news being announced by Avengers team physician Luga Podesta. Apparently, Avengers' teammates were not informed of his passing until the match was over, with the Avengers defeating the Dragons 66 to 35. Al Lucas is survived by his wife De'Shonda and their daughter Mariah.

During the game, AFL commissioner David Baker was across town at the Los Angeles Coliseum, watching his son Sam (who would coincidentally go on to play multiple successful seasons for the Atlanta Falcons, Al Lucas' hometown NFL team) practice for the USC Trojans. He received a call that Al Lucas had suffered a severe injury and rushed to Staples Center, having to make a decision whether to continue the game. Controversially, Baker decided to let the game continue; Baker defended his decision by saying he had consulted both teams' players, coaches, and owners, with the decision being to continue the game, and that the team didn't want to scare spectators (including children) by announcing through the public address system that Al Lucas had died (in fact, by the time Baker arrived at Staples Center before half-time, he had no official confirmation that Lucas had died). Despite this, the post-game autograph session was cancelled, which was extremely unusual for the league.

None of Lucas' family members were watching the game as it was not a nationally broadcast match and internet streaming options for a relatively minor league were nonexistent at the time. Al's father David was at the golf course, while Al's brother, Lennie, was an arena league player for a minor league team called the Macon Knights. The entire family was notified of Al's passing via phone. To this day none of the family members blame football for Lucas' death and have come to terms with his death being a freak accident.

Aftermath

Owner of the Avengers team Casey Wasserman addressed the media with the following statement: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of Al Lucas. At this time, the thoughts and prayers of the entire Avenger organization are with his wife and family".

Al Lucas' other teammates expressed their shock and condolences. Quarterback Aaron Garcia said that “This really puts things in perspective... we are extremely saddened by this unthinkable tragedy and we’re thinking only about his family. He was a guy we all knew and all respected". Fullback Lonnie Ford was quoted "When you've got a player lying on the ground the only thing that goes through your mind is that it could be any of us out there, Al was a great teammate".

On the night that Al Lucas passed away, the entire Avengers team gathered for a team barbecue in memory of their fallen teammate; teammates are quoted paying tribute to Al Lucas, with all accounts stating that he was a great teammate, leader, and whose presence was felt in the entire organization. The Avengers' press release addressing his death was archived and is available to read.

James Joyner, a political scientist who runs the web blog Outside the Beltway and a former professor of political science at Troy State University, described Lucas as "...a solid student with an air of maturity and decency about him... this is sad news, indeed".

On May 27, 2005, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner determined that Al Lucas died of blunt force trauma to his upper spinal cord and was ruled an accident. Specifically, the cervical vertebrae that protects the spinal cord adjacent to the skull were demolished severely, which lead to the spinal cord being disconnected from the brain; this meant that attempts to revive Lucas were likely futile, and that he may have passed away shortly after suffering his injury.

The AFL Player of the Year and Hero Award were both renamed in Al Lucas' honor, and this was honored until the original incarnation of the Arena Football League went bankrupt in 2019.

As of 2024, the Lucas family runs a scholarship fund called the Al Lucas Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to high school students in Bibb County, Georgia. Al Lucas was entered into the Troy State Trojans Hall of Fame in 2016.

Many of the players on that fateful day expressed disgust at the fact that the game was allowed to continue without knowing of Lucas' condition. Corey Johnson, one of the players involved in the play, was quoted as saying "It was horrible... it was really disrespectful. We were lied to, and we should never have played on", and Dragons players recall being told that Al Lucas was recovering and well; neither team found out of Lucas' death until the game was over.

Al Lucas was buried on April 20th, 2005, and his funeral was attended by at least 600 hundred people, including former US presidential candidate and civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson. The funeral was attended by other prominent members of the Macon community and many of Al Lucas'friends, colleagues and teammates. Lucas is buried in Middle Georgia Memory Gardens in Jones County, Georgia.

Footage and existence

Multiple accounts corroborate the existence of Al Lucas' on-the-field death being filmed by television cameras. NBC Sports, which had the national TV contract for the AFL, had decided not to air that game nationally, and it was only broadcast by the local sports network Fox Sports West. While writing his retrospective on Grantland, Robert Weintraub saw footage of the injury itself, describing the play and reactions from players and staff.

The existence of a broadcast is also corroborated by a Facebook user named Mike McDermott, commenting on a post honoring Al Lucas, who says that "I remember watching it, much like Hamlin from the Bills (in reference to Damar Hamlin's infamous near-death collapse on January 2nd, 2023 against the Cincinnati Bengals) the play/hit itself didn't look like anything unusual at first. He was a really good player too, tragic".

There has been no confirmed footage of the match being seen on the internet since its initial broadcast in 2005. During this time smartphones were nonexistent, YouTube was only two months old, and the predominant social media platforms of the time were MySpace, Digg, and del.ici.ous.

In addition to the match, ESPN's SportsCenter aired a segment that night reporting on the death of Al Lucas. The report was read out by Fred Hickman, which included footage of the infamous play. A contemporary account of this segment was recorded by Dan Brekke on his Typepad blog Infospigot: The Chronicles in the article Please -- Please! -- Don't Look, written on the night of April 10th, 2005. Brekke lambasted the SportsCenter segment, quoting that Hickman said "in the interest of decency, we invite you to look away". Brekke wrote that it was a "nauseating display of false piety" in his view. Brekke, like others who saw footage of the play, said that it looked like "generic rough football stuff", which corroborates other accounts that the play that lead to Lucas' death looked innocuous.

The only surviving photo that is available is a photo of a motionless Al Lucas lying down on the field in the immediate aftermath of the play, lying down on his back while a player attempts to motion him to get back up. The photo is credited to an unnamed photographer who worked at the Associated Press and has circulated since 2005.

Miscellaneous

Rob Bironas, kicker for the New York Dragons that game, would later play in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans from 2005 to 2013, achieving significant success. However, he would also meet an untimely demise on September 20, 2014, being killed in a car accident in Nashville, Tennessee.