Bobby Nystrom and Curtis Martin. Two different sports, same long term concussion symptoms

In the same 1980 season when NY Islander Bobby Nystrom scored the winning overtime goal to win the Stanley Cup, Nystrom suffered one of his 6 career concussions.  “It was a 2-on-1 drill in practice, and I was knocked out cold by a teammate who caught me from behind,” he remembers.  “It didn’t seem that unusual at the time.  Yet 37 years later, I still feel the impact.”  NY Jets and New England Patriots Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin is unsure how many concussions he suffered.  But he certainly remembers one more than the others.  “It was when we were playing the Oakland Raiders at their home stadium, which they called ‘the black hole’ because the Raiders’ uniforms are black, and all the fans wear black too,” he explained.  “I remember running, then getting hit, but I still felt like I was running.  Then I went into a huddle, and everything seemed all black.  That’s because it was…I was knocked so hard that I didn’t even know that I was in the Raiders huddle.”  Since retiring in 2006 as the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher in NFL history, Curtis has been active in head injury awareness work with youth athletes.