Brain Injury-related Fatalities in American Football, 1945–1999

Abstract

Brain injury-related fatalities accounted for 69% of all football fatalities from 1945 through 1999. The greatest number and percentage of brain injury-related fatalities occurred during the 5-year span from 1965 through 1969, and the smallest number and percentage occurred during the 2 decades from 1975 through 1994. Most brain injury-related fatalities involved a subdural hematoma sustained by high school football players while either tackling or being tackled in a game. In the 2 decades from 1975 through 1994, there was a dramatic reduction in these fatalities, and the preventive measures that have received most of the credit are 1) the 1976 rule change that prohibits initial contact with the head and face when blocking and tackling and 2) the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment helmet standard, which went into effect in colleges in 1978 and in high schools in 1980.