Phillies in 1993. After three seasons in their organization, having added the weight necessary to play, he returned to football.

He played for the Louisiana Bayou Thunder, a semipro team, before signing in the Arena League. He then spent less than a week on the New York Jets practice squad before returning to the arena league—first as a player and then as a coach.

It was at this point, after practice, that he began to realize just how gifted his son was. When Stingley Jr. was 11, his father would have him compete against some of the defensive backs he was coaching in individual drills. Stingley Jr. would often hold his own against grown men trying to keep their dreams of playing professionally alive.

"For him, it's just like walking ormost devastating football moments, Stingley Sr.'s father, Darryl, was paralyzed during a game in 1978.

Darryl had been in the NFL for five years after being drafted by the Patriots in the first round in 1973. The Patriots were playing a preseason game against the Raiders, and safety Jack Tatum, nicknamed "The Assassin" for his violent playing style, contacted Darryl's helmet with his shoulder pads on a throw that had no chance of being caught.

The hit broke two of Darryl's vertebrae and left him paralyzed from the neck down. He was 26.

Uncredited/Associated Press

Stingley Sr. wasn't sure what "paralyzed" meant at the time. It wasn't until months after the hit, when at age seven he visited his father in the hospital, that he realized his dad would no longer be