Ulcerative Colitis

Most of his large intestine was removed and he had to wear two colostomy bags from then on.

His weight dropped to 123 pounds.

Weak and frail, Benirschke still battled back, giving up a number of times but culling encouragement from friends and family.

He returned to the Chargers, won the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award and lasted another seven seasons in the NFL.

A blood drive in San Diego organized on his behalf was such a huge success that it's still going almost 20 years later, under the Chargers' auspices.

It was overwhelming to him, the support, and inspired him to keep the awareness out there.

"This can be a self-centered profession," Benirschke said.

"You get a lot of adulation and pretty soon you can think that you live by different rules, and certainly we see a lot of those athletes.

But I think a lot of the players recognize that it's really a gift, it's a privilege to play and that they can do something very positive with their platform, and you see more and more people doing that." Benirschke's most memorable moment?

Maybe it wasn't that kick after all.

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