Alan Shearer doc about headers causing dementia tonight.
Nov 12, 2017 16:33:10 GMT
Carl LaFong likes this
Post by WullieFort on Nov 12, 2017 16:33:10 GMT
One of Celtic's famous centre-forwards was Billy McPhail, who scored a hat-trick against Rangers in the legendary "Oh Hampden in the sun...." game. He was the best header of a ball that I've seen. He developed signs of Dementia in his 30s and eventually, in 1990, went to court claiming entitlement to disability payments. He lost the case. Attached is a summary from Wiki.
Health problems
According to his wife, Ophelia, McPhail discovered in the 1990s that the left hemisphere of his brain was damaged. Then aged in his 70s, he had displayed signs of dementia since his 30s, and was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[4] McPhail, with the support of medical specialists, associated the neurological symptoms with heading the leather football used in the 1950s, explaining how "the ball used to get very heavy when it rained – when you took that full in the forehead it nearly knocked you over."[7]
In 1999 McPhail launched a legal case claiming he was entitled to disability payments. However, an Industrial Tribunal didn't accept that a clash of heads during his playing career could have caused the dementia. The Tribunal would not consider whether heading the ball might have contributed, as it categorised that as "part of the job [as a footballer]" and not an industrial injury. The decision was upheld by the Social Security Commissioner of Scotland.[4][9]
McPhail's mental health continued to deteriorate and he died in Glasgow on 4 April 2003.
Health problems
According to his wife, Ophelia, McPhail discovered in the 1990s that the left hemisphere of his brain was damaged. Then aged in his 70s, he had displayed signs of dementia since his 30s, and was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[4] McPhail, with the support of medical specialists, associated the neurological symptoms with heading the leather football used in the 1950s, explaining how "the ball used to get very heavy when it rained – when you took that full in the forehead it nearly knocked you over."[7]
In 1999 McPhail launched a legal case claiming he was entitled to disability payments. However, an Industrial Tribunal didn't accept that a clash of heads during his playing career could have caused the dementia. The Tribunal would not consider whether heading the ball might have contributed, as it categorised that as "part of the job [as a footballer]" and not an industrial injury. The decision was upheld by the Social Security Commissioner of Scotland.[4][9]
McPhail's mental health continued to deteriorate and he died in Glasgow on 4 April 2003.