SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Jim Tyrer retired as one of the best offensive linemen in NFL history in 1974. He was on the line as tackle for 14 years, almost all of them but the great Kansas City Chiefs of the 1960s and '70s. He won a Super Bowl, six-time all-pro and was thought to be a surefire first-ballot hall of famer. But in 1980, in a shocking act, Jim Tyrer shot and killed his wife, Martha, and then turned the gun on himself. He'd reportedly been suffering from headaches, depression and money problems. His name disappeared from the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot.
Now, 45 years after his death, and scientific studies showing a possible connection between football and brain disease, some people, including his children, are calling for Jim Tyrer's inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Mark Fainaru-Wada is a longtime investigative journalist who's written about Jim Tyrer for espn.com. Thank you so much for being with us.
MARK FAINARU-WADA: It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me, Scott.
SIMON: What was Jim Tyrer like as a player?
FAINARU-WADA: He was a dominant force for the Chiefs in the American Football League and then in the NFL after the merger. I mean, this is - you know, he played the position of left tackle, which was the sort of major protector of the quarterback. He protected the Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson. He was just a stalwart on that offensive line. He played 180 consecutive games for the Kansas City Chiefs.
SIMON: And I have to ask - he used his head a lot, didn't he?
FAINARU-WADA: He did, and he had a big one, notably. I mean, his teammates nicknamed him the pumpkin. He had a large head, so big that it required a custom-made helmet. He was also very big, even by offensive line standards at that time. He stood about 6' 6", went 300 pounds. This is at a time when players were using their head even much more aggressively than they do now. The head was almost like a battering ram for offensive linemen.
SIMON: What's known about any turn that Jim Tyrer's life took that might have led to this reprehensible act?
FAINARU-WADA: Most of what's known comes, obviously, after the fact. He'd struggled to find work afterwards. He had some money issues. And The Washington Post a piece a few days after the murder-suicide, which described him as a man crumbling within, battling depression, paranoia, money problems and just breaking down - somebody who was essentially unrecognizable to his family.
SIMON: Of course, he played football before there was much medical knowledge about CTE - chronic traumatic encephalopathy - right?
FAINARU-WADA: Yes, that's right. I mean, this is not a topic that really becomes part of the public discussion until the mid-2000s.
SIMON: How does Jim Tyrer's family feel? On the one hand, he killed their mother. On the other hand, he was their father.
FAINARU-WADA: Yeah. I think in terms of the Hall of Fame vote, they're very supportive. You know, I spoke to two of his sons. One who was 17 at the time was very clear that, you know, he forgave his father almost immediately, recognizing that this was somebody who was not really his dad, in his words. You know, his dad was a very well-regarded person in the community, beloved, really - a captain not only of his team, but a Little League coach loved by anyone who really sort of came in touch with him and described as sort of a gentle giant.
SIMON: What's the movement behind calling for his inclusion in the Hall of Fame ballot?
FAINARU-WADA: Well, I think what happened was over the years, there's a senior committee that deals with players who did not get in for any number of reasons. There are some voters on that senior committee who looked at Tyrer and looked at the body of work, which, you know, unquestionably Hall of Fame material. And so it was those folks on that senior committee that considered over 180 players at the start and winnowed that down to three finalists. And Tyrer was one of those three finalists that they brought forward. And in the Hall of Fame, interestingly, unlike Major League Baseball, the NFL Hall of Fame does not have a clause that affords you to consider anything other than what happens on the field when you think about whether someone is worthy of being in the Hall of Fame.
SIMON: Any indication how members - people who cast ballots for the Hall of Fame feel or how the NFL feels?
FAINARU-WADA: Well, I think, amongst voters, I got a sense of a mixed bag. There were many people who were very supportive of his candidacy. At the same time, there were definitely voters I spoke to who said, look, the idea of putting a murderer into the Hall of Fame is something I can't possibly abide.
SIMON: I feel the need to point out that a great many football players have certifiably suffered from CTE but haven't murdered anybody.
FAINARU-WADA: No, I think that's true. And obviously, that's one of the arguments that one of the voters said to me, is, like, look, I believe he probably had CTE, but having CTE doesn't necessarily mean you're going to end up committing a heinous crime. And I think that's very true. At the same time, the argument from the folks who support Tyrer's candidacy is, like, look, this guy clearly became a different person as a result of playing football. And it's football that is the reason, they believe, that led him to sort of commit the murder-suicide and become this sort of different person. And so I think it's a very challenging issue for those guys - the voters. And it obviously opens up, as one voter said, a giant can of worms for them to consider CTE as a place in how they vote.
SIMON: ESPN investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada. Thanks so much for being with us.
FAINARU-WADA: Thank you for having me, Scott. I really appreciate it.
SIMON: And the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2025 will be announced on February 6.
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