'Sense of duty' from NFL fame to infantry leads to early end for Tillman

By Seattle Times news services and staff

	MATT YORK / AP Fans sign a memorial for Pat Tillman, an Army Ranger and former Arizona Cardinal, yesterday at the Cardinals' training facility in Tempe, Ariz.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Related stories In Sports: A wondrous choice for a regular guy

Pat Tillman was mourned yesterday as a fallen fighter in the war on terror, and hailed as a hero who forsook celebrity in a society obsessed with it — one who walked wordlessly away from the life of a National Football League millionaire, and paid the ultimate price.

Tillman was killed in a firefight Thursday night in southeastern Afghanistan when his Army Ranger patrol was ambushed near the village of Sperah, about 25 miles southwest of Khost, according to a Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Two other American soldiers were wounded.

"A lot of times in football, analogies of war are thrown around freely," former Arizona Cardinals teammate and ex-Seahawk Pete Kendall said. "On a day like this, you see how hollow those ring."

Tillman was a Fort Lewis-based member of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. Friends said he declined to be interviewed about his May 2002 decision to leave the Cardinals and enlist because he did not want to distinguish his sacrifice from those made by other troops.

He was lauded at the White House, where a statement called him "an inspiration both on and off the field." A fellow Arizonan, Republican Sen. John McCain, said he was "heartbroken" by the news.

"The tragic loss of this extraordinary young man will seem a heavy blow to our nation's morale, as it is surely a grievous injury to his loved ones," McCain said.

Tillman enlisted with younger brother Kevin, a minor-league baseball player in the Cleveland Indians organization.

Other NFL players killed in wartime Of 638 former National Football League players who served during World War II, 19 were killed. Among them: Jack Lummus, New York Giants, Iwo Jima: After losing both legs on Iwo Jima, he reportedly told medics: "Well, it looks like the Giants have lost a good end." He died that night. Awarded the Medal of Honor. Al Blozis, New York Giants, France: Killed in France. Considered a prospect for Olympic gold after setting a collegiate shot-put record at Georgetown University. One active professional football player died in the Vietnam War: Bob Kalsu, Buffalo Bills: Served in the Army's 101st Airborne Division, killed by mortar fire. — The Associated Press

Pat Tillman, a safety in the pros, walked away from a three-year, $3.6 million contract offer and was earning about $18,000 a year in the Army. He played four seasons for the Cardinals after starring in football at Arizona State University, where as a linebacker he was Pacific-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1997.

The brothers completed basic training and advanced infantry training in October 2002 and graduated from the Ranger Indoctrination Program at Fort Benning in December 2002. They were members of the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, an elite Army light-infantry unit, and served in the Middle East during the Iraq war. It was not immediately clear when Pat Tillman went to Afghanistan.

"It wasn't so much what he was doing, it was what Pat Tillman was about," said Seahawks General Manager Bob Ferguson, Arizona's GM when Tillman was drafted in the NFL. "It wasn't the financial aspect; he just wanted another challenge. ... I know he felt very strongly about what happened on 9-11 and wanted to do and be a part of something larger than the NFL had to offer at the time."

Tillman enlisted shortly after returning from his honeymoon in Bora Bora with his wife, Marie, whom he dated in high school in San Jose, Calif. They had no children and lived in University Place, south of Tacoma.

"When he came to me, I can still see it so vividly," Dave McGinnis, a former Arizona coach and now a linebackers coach for the Tennessee Titans, said yesterday. "He pulled up a chair, pulled it around and said, 'Mac, we need to talk.' He started telling me what he was going to do, and he truly felt committed and felt a sense of honor and duty that this is what he wanted to do."

Tillman is one of the few pro athletes to interrupt a lucrative career to volunteer for war, and his death places him in even rarer company. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 21 active or former players were killed in World War II and two in Vietnam.

	Pat Tillman

Tillman was on a routine combat patrol as part of Operation Mountain Storm, in a spring offensive by U.S. and Afghan troops to kill or capture Taliban and al-Qaida forces believed to have spent the winter along the Afghan border with Pakistan.

He died from wounds suffered when his patrol was ambushed by small-arms fire and then hit by indirect fire from larger weapons, the Pentagon official said.

To those who knew him, Tillman was one of a kind — a meticulous thinker, modest friend and ferocious tackler who rode a beach-cruiser bicycle to practice and let his hair spill over his shoulders.

"I've been in this business for 25 years," said Mark Brand, associate athletic director at Arizona State, where flags flew at half-staff. "He's the first person I have ever seen who came to college for four years and the college learned from him."

University of Washington defensive coordinator Phil Snow, who coached Tillman at ASU, said in a statement, "Pat was a lot of things as a person. He was a tough, good-looking guy. He was extremely competitive. You know there is a saying with older people: He was a 'man's man.' "

Tillman downplayed his achievements in the classroom at ASU, where he graduated summa cum laude in 3½ years with a 3.84 grade-point average in marketing.

When Sports Illustrated visited the campus in 1996, the photographer wanted a shot of him bench-pressing a stack of books. Tillman balked, instead posing for a photo atop one of the Sun Devil Stadium light towers, a favorite thinking spot for him. Tillman had climbed it barefoot.

He switched from linebacker to safety when he turned pro, and beat long odds to make the roster as a seventh-round draft pick.

As a rookie on the second day of training camp, he flattened a starting fullback who outweighed him by 50 pounds, injuring the teammate during what was supposed to be a routine drill.

"I always looked at Pat as invincible," said friend Ryan Tollner, son of college-football coach Ted Tollner. "Pat could do anything he ever wanted to do. Nothing he ever did surprised me. Even the move to join the Army. Pat Tillman lived a heroic, legendary life."

Despite the wealth his pro career brought him, Tillman maintained the lifestyle of a college kid just scraping by. While other rookies rolled around in BMWs and Land Rovers, Tillman pedaled to practice. He never bought a new car, and only later in his pro career splurged for a used Volvo station wagon.

Pat Tillman: 1976-2004 Age: 27 College: Arizona State University College career: Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year as a senior linebacker in 1997. Also honored as school's Male Athlete of the Year. The Academic All-American graduated with a degree in marketing in 3-1/2 years. NFL career: Seventh-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 1998, converted from linebacker to safety. Started 28 games in two seasons. His 224 tackles in 2000 set a franchise single-season record. — The Arizona Republic

"Pat was a little eccentric in a lot of things he did," Seahawks GM Ferguson said. "He was a superior mind for maybe an NFL player. He really had a different way to look at life. Riding the bike to practice, the not wanting to pay the big car payments and interest payments on cars. He knew what he really wanted to do."

Tillman three years ago turned down a five-year, $9 million offer from St. Louis to stay with Arizona out of loyalty. He became a free agent in spring 2002 and had been expected to re-sign with Arizona when he instead announced he was enlisting. Friends say he planned to return to the NFL.

Tillman's jersey was displayed in a glass case in front of the Arizona Cardinals offices yesterday. A makeshift shrine had grown around it. Arizona State announced a scholarship in his name at its business school, and plans to retire his No. 42 jersey Nov. 13 at a game against Washington State University.

"It's interesting that we have so many guys around this league or any league complaining about their salaries, their million-dollar salaries not being enough," said Philadelphia Eagles fullback Jon Ritchie, who played against Tillman in college and the pros. "Then we have a hero like Pat Tillman who gives up those millions of dollars to go and serve his country. Now, he's lost. He gave his life serving our country. I think this speaks volumes about his character and what a good man he is."

Asked how many players would give up millions to fight for the country, Ritchie said: "One. He did it. A paradigm no one else considered following because he's a guy that was prouder of this country than his occupation would allow."

Tillman last visited with his former Arizona teammates and coaches in December, when he and Kevin were on leave and attended a Cardinals-Seahawks game in Seattle.

"The last time I saw him was in our locker room after the ballgame," former coach McGinnis said, his voice quivering. "He said, 'Thanks for letting Kevin, Marie and me do this.' And I said, 'Pat, thank you.' That's the last thing I said to him."

Compiled from the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The Associated Press, The Washington Post and Seattle Times staff and archives.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company