Blackhawks tough guys Bob Probert (left) and Reggie Fleming (below, right)suffered from CTE- the same syndrome fear of which lead Bears great Dave Duerson to take his own life a little over a week ago.
CTE is a dementia that comes from repeated blows to the head, such as those suffered by boxers, football players- and, it seems, hockey players. Hockey players suffering from the syndrome, however, tend- like both Probert and Fleming- to be those who played at least part of their careersbefore the NHL instituted its requirement that players wear helmets.
The syndrome- which often involves personality changes, memory loss, depression, and other symptoms similar to Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias- can only be positively diagnosed on autopsy. Probert, who died of heart failure, left instructions similar to those Duerson gave in his suicide note: to make sure that, after his death, his brain was studied for what it could teach medical science about the consequences of repeated brain injury. Probert and Fleming were both as famous, however, for their fighting abilities as for their hockey playing.
Fleming was a member of the 1961 Hawks Stanley Cup championship team. Probert, before turning away from the Dark Side and joining the good guys, played most of his career with the Red Wings.
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