A long overdue scene took place prior to the Cleveland-Pittsburgh game last Sunday, and it had nothing to do with either William Green or Joey Porter.
After the testosterone simmered down and the combatants went their separate ways, Cleveland Browns Stadium held a ceremony to honor a true American hero.
Not many football fans have heard of Don Steinbrunner. After growing up outside of Bellingham and playing football and basketball at Washington State University, he joined the Browns as a rookie offensive tackle in 1953. Steinbrunner didn’t have much of an NFL career, playing in just eight games before a knee injury ended his only season as a professional football player.
It’s what happened later that made Steinbrunner a hero. Not many former NFL players also have Purple Hearts.
Maybe that’s why 48-year-old David Steinbrunner couldn’t help thinking of his father seven months ago when Pat Tillman was killed in military combat.
“He’s a guy who gave his life willingly, and he’s a true hero,” David Steinbrunner said of Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals safety who was killed in the Middle East last April. “Dad was the same kind of person: good-looking, outgoing, he did things for people. That’s just the way he was.”
Don Steinbrunner got called into active duty after his rookie year in the NFL, fulfilling two years of service with the Air Force before being given the opportunity to move on. Rather than continue to chase his football dreams, Steinbrunner opted to stay in the military.
He spent 11 more years in the Air Force – as a navigator, a football coach at the Academy, and, in the end, as a soldier. He was sent to Vietnam in 1966, even though his age (34) could have kept him stationed comfortably in the U.S. According to members of his family, Steinbrunner accepted that assignment because he saw himself as a more experienced soldier than many of the teen-agers being sent overseas.
“He felt it was his obligation to go,” said Joann Otten, Steinbrunner’s sister and a Bellingham resident. “He was a major and had seniority, so he didn’t have to go. He chose to go.
“We weren’t happy about it, but it was his decision. Our mother was very upset, naturally. It was bad thinking about him being over there.”
Son David said that Don Steinbrunner was shot in the knee in 1967, but that he again refused to let the fighting go on without him. He refused to take a less dangerous assignment within the military, instead staying in Vietnam for as long as the war would allow.
On July 20, 1967, Don Steinbrunner became the NFL’s first Vietnam casualty after his plane went down in South Vietnam’s Kontum Province. According to longtime friend Bob Taylor, now a Camano Island resident, Steinbrunner was serving as a navigator in the 12th Air Command Squadron when his UC-123 cargo plane was flying low to the ground and got its wing caught on a tree. The plane crashed, leaving no survivors. Steinbrunner was 35 years old.
Steinbrunner received the Purple Heart and a Distinguished Flying Cross posthumously, but the NFL did not know of his ties to its league until just a few years ago. A Sports Illustrated article three years ago was written about former Buffalo Bills lineman Bob Kalsu, who was then believed to be the only NFL player killed in Vietnam. One of Steinbrunner’s daughters made some calls to set the record straight, and her father was later honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Don Steinbrunner was finally honored by his former team last Sunday.
Steinbrunner’s widow, Meredyth, attended the ceremony with their three children and eight grandchildren. The Browns presented the family with plaques commemorating Don Steinbrunner’s life.
“We weren’t expecting that,” said son David, who got to talk with Hall of Famer Jim Brown before the ceremony. “It was very emotional. It was a nice thing (for the Browns) to do.”
Most people in this part of the country knew nothing of the ceremony. Bob Jacobs, a Camano Island resident who grew up near Steinbrunner’s hometown of Wickersham and later attended WSU with him, was happy to hear that his longtime buddy had finally been honored.
“There are a lot of people like Pat Tillman who are dedicated people. They’re patriots,” said Taylor, a former assistant high school football coach at Edmonds, Lynnwood, Meadowdale and Mountlake Terrace. “I thought of Don as a patriot. He was very serious about his country and serving his country.”
And he was willing of a long overdue honor.
“We never pursued it,” Meredyth Richards, Steinbrunner’s widow, told Cleveland reporters last week. “We thought that if happened, it would be because of God’s will.”
Dolphins at Seahawks
Kickoff: 1:05 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS (Ch. 7)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Stars to watch: Seahawks – RB Shaun Alexander leads the NFL in rushing yards and is on pace to break the team record (1,545, by Chris Warren in 1994). WR Darrell Jackson has a team-high 48 receptions this year. DE Grant Wistrom is expected to return to the field after missing four games with a knee injury. CB Ken Lucas is tied for the NFC lead with four interceptions.
Dolphins – QB A.J. Feeley is taking over as the Dolphins’ starter, presumably for the remainder of the season. TE Randy McMichael leads Miami with 43 receptions. DE Jason Taylor has four sacks this year. MLB Zach Thomas leads the Dolphins with 120 tackles, giving him 52 more than anyone else on the team.
Breaking down the game: While this game appears to be a no-brainer on paper, the Seahawks have a history of struggling against Miami’s defense. Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas and the boys recorded the last Seattle shutout in the 2000 season opener.
Miami’s defense has been decent this year, ranking seventh in the NFL in yards allowed. While the Dolphins’ offense has virtually no stars – Sammy Morris leads the team with just 286 rushing yards – the D can give opponents headaches.
Look for Seattle’s offense to continue to struggle, but the defense should do enough to lead the Seahawks to a win.
Pick: Seahawks, 17-6.
Injury report: Seahawks – LB Anthony Simmons (wrist) and LB Tracy White (hamstring) are out. LB Chad Brown (knee) is questionable. WR Bobby Engram (ankle), QB Matt Hasselbeck (thigh) and S Ken Hamlin (toe) are probable.
Dolphins – G Jeno James (knee) is out. WR Marty Booker (ankle) and DT Mario Monds (hand) are questionable. S Yeremiah Bell (ankle), QB Jay Fiedler (neck/shoulder), K Olindo Mare (calf), RB Travis Minor (ankle) and T John St. Clair (ankle) are probable.
Little-known fact: The last time the Seahawks had three consecutive home games, they swept San Diego, Houston and Minnesota in the middle of the 1996 season. Seattle hosts Miami, Buffalo and Dallas in back-to-back-to-back games starting Sunday.
Other NFL games
Atlanta (7-2) at New York Giants (5-4), Sunday, 1:15 p.m.: The Eli era begins at a strange time. The Giants are still in the thick of the playoff race, yet they’re throwing a wet-behind-the-ears rookie into the fire. Genes tell us that Eli Manning could be up to the task, but we just don’t see him starting any Roethlisbergian streaks. Pick: Falcons, 20-16.
Green Bay (5-4) at Houston (4-5), Sunday, 5:30 p.m.: A Packers victory could be the only thing saving the NFC North from a four-way tie of 5-5 teams. Green Bay is staking its claim as a legitimate NFC contender, while the Texans are hoping to put together a new streak. This year, a middle-of-the-pack AFC team outweighs a top-line NFC contender. Pick: Texans, 31-28.
New England (8-1) at Kansas City (3-6), Monday, 6 p.m.: Tom Brady might be lingering around the locker room before this one … just in case a housewife shows up. Speaking of desperate, the Chiefs are on the verge of officially becoming bowl ineligible. Pick: Patriots, 34-20.
Scott Johnson is The Herald’s pro football writer
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