Sad news to start this entry: Reports indicate that former Cowboy running back Ron Springs has “no hope” for survival after falling into a coma on Monday. This is the Dallas Morning News story:
Doctors on Wednesday told the family of former Dallas Cowboys running back Ron Springs, hospitalized in a coma, there is no hope he will survive, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Springs, 50, has been unconscious since soon after he entered Dallas Medical City Hospital last week for what friends say he believed was a routine medical procedure to remove a cyst from one of his arms.
It remains unclear how or why Springs lapsed into a coma. The hospital has refused comment, and family members have been unavailable.
Seven months ago, Springs received a healthy kidney from former Cowboys teammate Everson Walls. That marked the first organ transplant involving former U.S. professional teammates.
The Springs family is expected to consider the possibility of donating any usable organs he might have to help others.
With this sad news, I thought I would devote part of today’s post to Springs, who played six years for the Cowboys and two with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Springs played collegiate football at Coffeyville (KS) Community College and then at Ohio State. He began his NFL career as a tailback, backing up Tony Dorsett. He started his first NFL game in 1979, filling in for an injured Dorsett against the St. Louis Cardinals. After gaining 248 rushing yards and another 251 receiving yards that year, Springs moved to the fullback position in 1980. He has his best individual rushing season in 1981, carrying for 625 yards on 172 carries, which was significant given that 1981 was Tony Dorsett’s best rushing season as well (1,646 in 342 attempts).
Springs most productive season overall was 1983, when he caught 73 passes for 589 yards. Springs biggest game as a pro also came during the 1983 season, when he caught 11 passes for 126 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, in a 27-24 overtime win by the Cowboys over Tampa Bay.
Two seasons later, Springs was a member of the Buccaneers. He played sparingly for Tampa Bay in 1985 and 1986 before retiring.
Here are his career statistics:
| Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
| Year | G | Att. | Yards | Ave. | TD | Rec. | Yards | Ave. | TD | |
| 1979 | 16 | 67 | 248 | 3.7 | 2 | 25 | 251 | 10.0 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 15 | 89 | 326 | 3.7 | 6 | 15 | 212 | 14.1 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 16 | 172 | 625 | 3.6 | 10 | 46 | 359 | 7.8 | 2 | |
| 1982 | 9 | 59 | 243 | 4.1 | 2 | 17 | 163 | 9.6 | 2 | |
| 1983 | 16 | 149 | 541 | 3.6 | 7 | 73 | 589 | 8.1 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 16 | 68 | 197 | 2.9 | 1 | 46 | 454 | 9.9 | 3 | |
| 1985 | 12 | 16 | 54 | 3.4 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 12 | 74 | 285 | 3.9 | 0 | 24 | 187 | 7.8 | 0 | |
| Total | 112 | 694 | 2519 | 3.6 | 28 | 249 | 2259 | 9.1 | 10 | |
He additionally played in nine playoff games for Dallas between 1979 and 1983, including a game in 1981 in which he rushed 15 times for 70 yards and a touchdown vs. Tampa Bay in a 38-0 Dallas win.
Pigskin Pick’em
Week 5: 6/13
Season: 43/89
Average: 41.5/76
Best: 62/76
I went with six underdogs this week, including the Cowboys, but was only able to get two of those picks. Cincinnati, Arizona, and Seattle didn’t help, especially given that the latter two were home favorites.
Fantasy Football: Thurman’s Thieves
Last week: Won 100.8-84.9
Record: 4-2
Standing: T-1
Thurman’s Thieves got a lead last weekend but saw it start to slip away. Nevertheless, the team didn’t panic and pulled through for the fourth win of the season. Team MVP again this week? Derek Anderson.
And here is my dilemma for this week:
Anderson has a bye. That leaves me Drew Brees vs. Cleo Lemon, the latter of whom I picked up when I dropped Matt Leinart. No brainer? Lemon had 26.9 points last week. Brees had 17, and that was a pretty good game.
Nonetheless, I’m going with Brees. Again. Sigh.
Thanks for the Springs info. I was just a little one back then. I barely remember him.