THE OPENING LINE

Monday, Dec. 11, 2006 | 7:33 a.m.

MEMORY LANE

One of the best things about my mom moving to New Mexico is that she put a lot of my old things from Chicago in boxes. Then every so often, she gets around to looking at what's inside and gives my old things back to me.

That would explain the tattered, amber-hued Chicago Sun-Times, dated Oct. 25, 1971, that I am perusing as I write this.

"Lion player's death chills Bear victory," reads a somber two-deck headline on the front page.

There is a grim picture of the Lion player, wide receiver Chuck Hughes (only they called them split ends or flankers in those days), lying on the field, part of his single-bar face mask imbedded in the turf at Tiger Stadium.

Hughes never regained consciousness after suffering a massive heart attack. He is the only NFL player to die during a game.

Most of my memories of that game are vague, even though I was watching it on TV. I was 14. What I do vividly recall was a shot of the Lions' bench as doctors tried to revive Hughes. I remember the face of Steve Owens, the former Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma. He looked ill.

Three plays earlier, Hughes had made the last catch of his life, his first of the season. It was a 32-yard reception from Greg Landry that kept a Lions' rally going in a game they would lose, 28-23.

When Hughes went down, some of the Bears thought he was faking an injury to stop the clock. Dick Butkus knew better. He was the one who started signaling frantically to the Lions' bench for help.

Until Mom showed me that yellow newspaper, I had almost forgotten about Chuck Hughes. He was a native of Abilene, Texas, who played college football at Texas-Western College (now UTEP). He still holds the Miners' records for most all-purpose yards (401 against North Texas State in 1965) and pass receptions in a single game (17 against Arizona State, also in 1965).

According to Bill Gleason, the old Sun-Times columnist, Hughes' wife, Sharon, was at the game and rode with her husband in the ambulance to the hospital.

I don't know what became of Sharon Hughes. But why is it that as I read the account of her husband's death 35 years after the fact, that suddenly seems important?

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

Texas A&M, Corpus Christi at UNLV, men's basketball, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Thomas & Mack Center

Too bad for Rebels fans the opponent isn't Texas A&M, College Station. Now that would be worth two cans o' corn to sit in the balcony.

TICKETS: $10, $26

ON THE WEB: www.unlvtickets.com

ALSO WORTH A LOOK

Stockton Thunder at Las Vegas Wranglers, 7:05 p.m. Friday, Orleans Arena

The two best teams in the Pacific Division change on the fly, among other things.

TICKETS: $16-$35

ON THE WEB: www.lasvegaswranglers.com