Nelson Toburen, a former Green Bay Packers linebacker whose NFL career ended with a nearly fatal neck injury in his first start, has died at 87.
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Toburen died Oct. 4 of pancreatic cancer at his home in Pittsburg, Kansas, according to Packers team historian Cliff Christl. He played two seasons under Vince Lombardi before a 1962 injury forced him to build a life beyond football. He eventually became an attorney and a Kansas state appellate judge.
Those who played alongside him believed he had a long football career ahead of him.
"(Toburen) would have been All-Pro," Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley once said, per Christl. "He was a great athlete."
The Packers selected Toburen out of Wichita State in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL Draft. He appeared in every regular-season game as a rookie and played in Green Bay's 37-0 victory over the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game.
The following season, Toburen backed up all three linebacker positions. An injury to Dan Currie opened the door for his first start against the Baltimore Colts on Nov. 18, 1962.
In the fourth quarter, Toburen tackled quarterback Johnny Unitas and forced a fumble that helped Green Bay secure a 17-13 victory. But the collision fractured his fifth cervical vertebra and completely dislocated his sixth, ending his playing career.
Packers orthopedist Dr. James Nellen held Toburen's head at a precise angle as he was carried off the field and transported to the hospital.
"I always say Dr. Nellen saved my mobility and maybe my life," Toburen recalled.
Toburen remembered Lombardi's emotional hospital visit
Toburen spent nearly six weeks in the hospital. During that stay, Lombardi visited him but struggled to speak after seeing his injured player.
"He walked in the door, looked at me in my cast, couldn't talk and left," Toburen recalled. "He didn't say anything. He just teared up."
Lombardi also provided another year's salary, something Toburen said made a critical difference for his family.
"Vince gave me another year's salary," he said. "He didn't have to, but he did. Thank God he did. I don't know what we would have done."
After doctors advised him to stop playing, Toburen pursued law school and a legal career. His loyalty to the Packers stayed with him, even as he occasionally wondered how long he might have played in Green Bay.
"I looked at it as a rather tragic incident in my career at the time," Toburen said, "but I guess it has worked out pretty well in the long run."
