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It has been called the most violent hit in NFL history.

It also has been called simply a case of bad luck in the extreme, a fluke.

It was almost certainly among the most unnecessary hits ever put on a player.

Many fans have forgotten it; others are too young to remember it.

Anyone who saw it would not, could not, forget it. I saw it, and I think about it often.

I think about it during every preseason game I watch.

I think about it every time I see a player for any team being carried off the field on a stretcher.

I think about it every time someone complains that the NFL has become “pansied down.”

I will never forget it.

Darryl Stingley was a five-year wide receiver for the New England Patriots, a member of the Class of 1973, one of the most productive drafts in Patriots history.

He was the 19th pick overall, the Patriots' third first rounder, behind John Hannah and Sam Cunningham.