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It's sad to read about the problems this Packers legend is dealing with.
Willie Wood
You keep hoping for good news about Willie Wood, the great Packers safety of the 1960s, but his struggles continue.
It started with knee, back and hip ailments. Now it's Alzheimer's disease.
According to a front-page column by Greg Johnson in today's Los Angeles Times, it's clear Wood, 70, is slipping away.
Last month, former Packers cornerback Herb Adderley joined Wood at an autograph session.
"There were times that he forgot how to spell his name, and had to be told," Adderley told the Times. "After signing about 10 items, he had to take a break, and he would fall asleep in between signing."
Wood's friends and former teammates, including Adderley, have made sure Wood is taken care of financially. Wood lives in an assisted living facility near his home in Washington, D.C. Bob Schmidt, who played at USC with Wood, has become his legal guardian.
Schmidt recalled a recent conversation with Wood: "He asked me, 'Bob, where am I?' He said that, for a minute, he thought he was at St. Norbert College, in northern Wisconsin, where the Packers practiced. I told him that we're in Washington, D.C., on Thomas Circle. And, after a while, he said, 'Oh, OK.'"
That pains Willie Davis, another former Packers great.
"Almost everything about Willie's situation today is difficult for me," Davis told the Times. "It's heartbreaking ... Willie, to this day, is a very independent guy. He would probably be the last one to ask for something. And yet he would give you anything that he could afford to give. To see him suffer is very devastating to me."
You keep hoping for good news about Willie Wood, the great Packers safety of the 1960s, but his struggles continue.
It started with knee, back and hip ailments. Now it's Alzheimer's disease.
According to a front-page column by Greg Johnson in today's Los Angeles Times, it's clear Wood, 70, is slipping away.
Last month, former Packers cornerback Herb Adderley joined Wood at an autograph session.
"There were times that he forgot how to spell his name, and had to be told," Adderley told the Times. "After signing about 10 items, he had to take a break, and he would fall asleep in between signing."
Wood's friends and former teammates, including Adderley, have made sure Wood is taken care of financially. Wood lives in an assisted living facility near his home in Washington, D.C. Bob Schmidt, who played at USC with Wood, has become his legal guardian.
Schmidt recalled a recent conversation with Wood: "He asked me, 'Bob, where am I?' He said that, for a minute, he thought he was at St. Norbert College, in northern Wisconsin, where the Packers practiced. I told him that we're in Washington, D.C., on Thomas Circle. And, after a while, he said, 'Oh, OK.'"
That pains Willie Davis, another former Packers great.
"Almost everything about Willie's situation today is difficult for me," Davis told the Times. "It's heartbreaking ... Willie, to this day, is a very independent guy. He would probably be the last one to ask for something. And yet he would give you anything that he could afford to give. To see him suffer is very devastating to me."
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