Michael Irvin – Dallas Cowboys
For 11 years, everyone regarded the former Cowboys wide receiver as one of the greatest. After he recovered from a collar bone injury, his career in 1997 and 1998 was nothing short of glorious. The 1999 season came and it was only the the fifth game when Irvin was tackled by Eagles defensive back Tim Hauck and was sent flying head-first into the turf. “The Playmaker” was carted off on a stretcher as the Eagles fans cheered joyfully. Years later, Irvin said that he “accepted Eagles fans cheering his injury because he’d been “killing them for 10 years”. The Pro Football Hall of Famer was forced into early retirement due to a non-life-threatening cervical spinal cord injury, known as narrow spinal column (cervical spinal stenosis).
Michael Irvin – Dallas Cowboys
Trent McCleary – Montreal Canadiens
A seven year NHL career brought 192 played games, 8 goals scored and 23 points earned. Then in 2000, in a game against the Flyers, a slapshot changed everything for Trent McCleary. He dropped to the ice, attempting to block a slapshot from Chris Therien but was struck in the throat instead. Unable to breathe, McCleary rushed to the bench, collapsing as he suffered a fracture to his larynx and had a collapsed lung. He was rushed to the hospital where doctors performed an emergency tracheotomy – he remained in full equipment during the procedure as hospital staff didn’t even have enough time to remove his skates. McCleary tried to come back but his air passage was 15% more narrow than before his injury thus forcing his hand to retirement.
Trent McCleary – Montreal Canadiens
