Poignant message at the Hall

CANTON, Ohio -- Former Cleveland Browns defensive back Bernie Parrish put it this way: “Jim Brown didn’t just happen to get all of those yards.”

The legendary running back who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971 had the good fortune to be behind a wall of blockers studded with perennial Pro Bowlers. One was Gene Hickerson, who will be inducted into the Hall today.

But this is a bittersweet day.

Since retiring in 1973, Hickerson has gone from being a dominant offensive guard over a 15-year career to a 72-year-old man who suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Bobby Franklin, a friend of 52 years who, like Hickerson, also played for the University of Mississippi before being drafted by the Browns, will handle the introduction, reminding everyone about No. 66’s football greatness.

“It’s going to be tough in this speech to introduce him, because of the shape he’s in,” Franklin said. “I’m not really sure how much he will comprehend. It’s a shame he couldn’t have gotten in earlier when he really could have enjoyed it.”

By all accounts, Hickerson has many days where he struggles with simple words and thoughts. So it was no surprise that at Friday’s media event here, the ranks of this year’s inductees were one man short. Michael Irvin, Bruce Matthews, Charlie Sanders, Thurman Thomas and Roger Wehrli arrived to reap the acclaim of their memorable NFL careers. There was no Hickerson.

For Hickerson’s friends and former teammates, it has been a slow realization that his mental acuity was fading, in large part because his wry sense of humor and quiet way of moving through life deflected concern.

No acceptance speech is expected from this giant of a man at today’s ceremony, but his appearance is eloquent in its own right because it comes amid an increasingly strident debate over what the league and NFL Players Assn. owe to retirees with financial and medical hardships.

Some former NFL players, for example, say that a growing body of medical evidence supports their claim that hard hits endured on the field -- particularly those that lead to repeated concussions -- are partly to blame for Alzheimer’s and dementia. And pro football needs to help more, they say.

Yet last week, Hall of Famers Mike Ditka, Joe DeLamielleure and Gale Sayers angrily dismissed an NFL and NFL Players Assn. program designed to help struggling retirees as little more than a public relations gimmick. And in recent months, a House subcommittee held two hearings to review football’s pension and medical disability system.

At last year’s Hall ceremony, former New York Giants star Harry Carson used his induction speech to gently prod professional football to “do a much better job of looking out for those individuals.”

“You got to look out for ‘em,” Carson said. “If we made the league what it is, you have to take better care of your own.”

He since has joined the board of a nonprofit group that helps former NFL players in need.

Hickerson, who now lives in a nursing home, recently was cleared to receive benefits from the 88 Fund, a league- and NFLPA-funded program that helps former players who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia. He will join about three dozen other former players who have qualified for benefits that will total $88,000 or more per year for healthcare.

Dick Schafrath, the former left tackle for the Browns, plans to be in Canton today to cheer for his former teammate. Hickerson’s health issues, he said, will give the football establishment one more look at the plight of veterans.

“The plus that might happen on this occasion is that it would open someone’s eyes,” said Schafrath, who roomed with Hickerson for 13 seasons. “The NFL has been putting its head in the sand on this for too long. There are guys who need help and who won’t ask for it. They just go homeless or curl up in a shell. That’s sad.”

Franklin said he had heard talk of a possible protest at today’s ceremony, although none of the former NFL players contacted for this story indicated that any protest would take place. Franklin said he understood the frustration in some quarters, but believes that protests would sully a special day that most aging football stars can only dream about.

Fans who study film footage and photographs of Hickerson in action see ample evidence of why he is a Hall of Famer. Hickerson weighed in at about 245 pounds, small by today’s standards but hefty for his era. The athlete described by many NFL observers as the best pulling guard of his generation always seemed able to stay ahead of whoever was carrying the ball.

“He could run like a deer,” said Monte Clark, who lined up alongside Hickerson for seven years. “That speed made him a superb downfield blocker. His man almost invariably ended up on the ground.”

And, Clark said, Hickerson made very few mistakes. Parrish described Hickerson as a natural athlete who, like Jim Brown, always showed up in training camp in perfect physical condition. Yet, when other players lifted weights Hickerson was likely to be fiddling with a 10-pounder; and when they ran laps, he rarely joined the pack. With the exception of a broken leg early in his career -- compounded by a freak accident in which he was hit while standing on the sideline -- Hickerson rarely was injured.

As serious as he was when facing a defense, Hickerson had a wry sense of humor off the field. When coaches had players take quizzes, for example, his paper was filled with notes to the coach or a joke -- in short, everything but the answers. Though Hickerson usually was the first player in the locker room on game day, his pregame warmup consisted of leaning against the goal post while teammates went through drills.

Clark, who subsequently went on to an NFL coaching career, simply laughed when asked how he would have coached that kind of a free thinker.

Hickerson played in four NFL title games, including the Browns’ 27-0 victory over the Baltimore Colts in 1964. In addition to Brown, he also blocked for Hall of Famers Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell during a career that began in 1958 and ended in 1973.

Said former New York Giants linebacker and Hall of Famer Sam Huff: “The one thing you never wanted to see on the field was Gene Hickerson coming at you with Jim Brown behind him. Gene was a good blocker, a good puller, to the right and to the left, which is what you look for in a guard. He could do it all and belongs in the Hall of Fame.”

Brown himself agreed.

“He was a real agile, great pulling guard,” he said. “He was very fast, able to get outside and get downfield. He was a fast learner, a kid from Mississippi. And we’ve been waiting for him all these years to get to the Hall of Fame, and why not? Because he was the best lineman on a real fine offensive line, and he was one of the best pulling guards of all time.”

Some former teammates wonder what Hickerson would say about being inducted. Franklin suspects that his friend would have used his sense of humor to put things into perspective. A few years ago, Hickerson was asked by a fan how long it would take for the former Browns lineman to get to the Hall.

Recalled Franklin with a laugh: “Gene said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, I might drive down there on Saturday.’ ”

Hickerson, who had a successful business career after his playing career, never has been comfortable in the off-the-field spotlight, former teammates said. “I never saw him speak before a group,” Schafrath said. “He never felt comfortable doing that. It just wasn’t Gene. He did his job, took good care of his garden, and was a quiet guy.”

Former players said that Hickerson has lived life his way.

“Gene marched to his own drumbeat,” Schafrath said. “He was born to be free, that was Gene. He did his own thing and didn’t show a lot of emotion, so you could never tell if he was kidding or serious.”

Franklin still holds out hope that Hickerson will emerge from his shadowy world long enough to recognize that he’s made it to the Hall.

“He never campaigned for himself,” he said. “He was quiet, he sat back and believed that his laurels would get him in.”

Today, Hickerson is proved right.

--

Times staff writer Sam Farmer contributed to this report.

greg.johnson@latimes.com

sam.farmer@latimes.com

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Class of 2007

The following six will be inducted today at the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

* Gene Hickerson: Guard for the Cleveland Browns from 1958-1973 .

* Michael Irvin: Wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys from 1988-1999.

* Bruce Matthews: Guard, tackle and center for the Houston Oilers and the Tennessee Titans from 1983-2001.

* Charlie Sanders: Tight end for the Detroit Lions from 1968-1977.

* Thurman Thomas: Running back for the Buffalo Bills from 1988-1999 and the Miami Dolphins in 2000.

* Roger Wehrli: Cornerback for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969-1982.