Al Lucas, who died in an Arena League game Sunday, is remembered as fun-loving.
By FRANK PASTOR, Times Staff Writer
Published April 12, 2005
TAMPA - Hours after the Storm's 59-28 loss March26 in Los Angeles, players and coaches gathered in a hotel bar with former Tampa Bay lineman Al Lucas, who played for the Avengers.
They talked about the Storm's 2003 championship season, how much they missed playing together and Lucas' recent marriage.
No one knew it at the time, but they also were saying goodbye.
Lucas died Sunday from a presumed spinal cord injury sustained during a kickoff in the first quarter of the Avengers' 66-35 victory over New York in L.A.
As Lucas, 26, bent down to make a tackle, the ball carrier and a blocker tumbled over him and the blocker's leg appeared to hit Lucas in the head. He lay on the ground, motionless, and was taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, Avengers physician Luga Podesta said.
"It's really sad because this doesn't just touch the L.A. family out there. It obviously is touching us here, and I'm sure it's touching a lot of other teams," Storm quarterback Shane Stafford said. "It's a reality check."
Though Lucas played only one season in Tampa Bay before signing with Los Angeles, Storm players and coaches responded to news of his death as if they had lost a family member.
"He was part of the '03 championship," said Dave Ewart, Lucas' line coach with the Storm. "There's not many guys left when you start singling them out. He was definitely special to us, a special football player, and I'm happy to be a part of his career."
Lucas is remembered as much for his fun-loving personality and religious faith as his tenacity and intimidating presence.
Though bowlegged and short for a lineman, the 6-foot-1, 300-pounder used his quick hands and superior strength to provide a push from the middle of the defensive line. While viewing videotape before games, he often told teammates what he was going to do, then backed up his boasts on the field.
Lucas was named to the all-rookie team in 2003 after recording 191/2 tackles, 11/2 sacks, a blocked kick and a safety while helping the Storm to its fifth ArenaBowl title.
"He just had a heck of a year in 2003 for us," Storm coach Tim Marcum said. "He dominated that middle, and that really was a big, huge part of the push to the championship. He didn't get a lot of sacks, but he caused a lot of havoc back there. And that enabled Kelvin Kinney, Nyle Wiren and B.J. Cohen, those edge rushers, to make the plays."
Before signing with the Storm, Lucas played with the Carolina Panthers in 2000 and '01. He was the fourth pick in the 2003 NFL Europe draft but passed up a chance to play in the NFL's developmental league because he believed the Arena League and its NBC television contract gave him the best chance to showcase his skills.
Lucas hoped to return to the NFL and appeared to be on his way after a 2003 Sports Illustrated article identified him as one of five Arena players with NFL potential. Former teammates believe only a knee that bent outward, causing him to walk awkwardly, kept him from returning to the league.
"If you ever saw it, it looked painful," Kinney said. "He said it never hurt, never bothered him, never nothing. It just looked like it did."
Lucas was impossible to miss on the field. Aside from his gait, he wore a long goatee he combed down to a point and had a habit of slapping himself in the chest with both forearms and shouting, "Ping! Pang!"
One day, Lucas' teammates were watching videotape in the locker room when a few nodded off. Lucas slammed his hand on the side of a locker, awakening his stunned teammates.
"He was a fun guy," Wiren said. "He was different, but he was fun. Really entertaining, pretty happy-go-lucky all the time. I never really saw him mad. Just a real good guy."
Lucas' teammates thought enough of him, a couple recently approached coaches with the idea of bringing him back.
"It'd be good to have Big Al back with his presence in the middle," fullback/linebacker David White said. "He was under contract in L.A. and doing well there, so it was wishful thinking. But it would have been good lining up behind him again."
Instead, White will have only memories of their final night together in L.A. After a few drinks at the hotel bar, Lucas joined a few of his former teammates upstairs, including White, one of Lucas' brothers in Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. As Lucas was leaving, White wished him what had become a customary farewell between the players.
"Continue doing what you're doing," White said, "and stay healthy."
"If that's saying goodbye," Kinney said, "then that's what it was."
The league plans to establish or contribute to a trust fund for Lucas' wife, De'Shonda, and daughter, Mariah, who live in Macon, Ga. Tributes are planned for this weekend's games.
--Information from the Associated Press was used in the report.
