N/S - Super Bowl XVII starter Woodley's life drifted after football (1 Viewer)

[Buickman]

At the end, David Woodley didn't want to sleep. He was afraid he'd never wake up. Alcohol wrecked his liver and his marriage. He was 44, lying in a hospital bed, waiting to die. The muscle and Louisiana charm that first caught the eye of his wife was gone. She once thought he looked like Christopher Reeve, like Superman. When the ball rocketed from his fingertips, receivers hid in warm-ups. Woodley had a gift.

He was 24 when he led the Miami Dolphins onto the field in Super Bowl XVII. Only 51 men have made it to the Super Bowl as starting quarterbacks and, for many, their lives are never the same. They make Hall of Fame speeches and open restaurants. Maybe Woodley did have one thing in common with them. He was never the same, either.

Twenty years after he left that field in Pasadena, Calif., he died, alone, a sliver of the hunk that Suzonne Pugh, his ex-wife, met at a bayou bar in college. He'd apparently driven himself to the hospital. What happened in that lonely gap between the Super Bowl and his death in 2003 will always be confounding.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3209245

Pretty sad story. I hadn't heard that he'd died.

 

[COsaintsfan]

Thanks for posting this, I wouldn't have seen it otherwise.

What a fall from grace.

 

[saintfan-n-alex]

doesnt sound like he ever had or was in a state of grace - doesnt sound like he enjoyed LSU or the Pros -

 

[ktbarthedoor]

Went To LSU With Woodley

He was, unfortunately, there at the end of the Charlie Mac era, the teams were mediocre and the crowds were restless. Woodley was known as the running quarterback and Ensminger was the passer. What a shock to me when it was Woodley that ended up in the pros, much less starting the Super Bowl.

I remember the '77 game against Rice where the two QBs were alternating throwing TDs to Carlos Carson. It was like a shootout. Both of them must have had 300 yd games and couldn't miss. I remember being impressed because Woodley couldn't usually hit the broad side of a barn.

What a sad story.

 

[ChrisKreager]

Never knew THAT about Woodley.

All I heard is that he was an average QB on a good Miami team who was replaced by that Marino guy, who ended up having a decent career.

I NEVER knew Woodley was dead until just now.

Very sad story.