Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/810972
reached Chris on the phone and was stunned when he told me about the de- bilitating effects of his injuries 30 years later. He talked easily and matter-of- factly about what happened and in a pleasant tone and manner that made it seem like we had been friends for years. "Everything stemmed from my shoul- der injury as a freshman," he said. "I tore all the ligaments in my right shoulder and they had to put a plastic cup over the bone just to hold it in. After that came the neck injury [in 1986]. I moved two of the bones in my neck when I hit with Ray Isom in a scrimmage." Isom was a three-year starting defensive back known for his hard-hitting tackles, and when I brought that up, Chris and I chuckled in our gallows humor. "They weren't sure what had happened," he said. "I tried to come back twice, first in '86 and then when I moved to linebacker the next season. I got hit in that Virginia game and knew something wasn't right. "I think it was at the Tuesday practice after that Virginia game. I was hit and I felt something in my body. I took my helmet off and started walking off the field, and Joe walked by and said, 'Hit the locker room.' I met with him after- ward and he told me, 'It's not worth it.' We had a squad meeting the next day when Joe an- nounced it. Joe said, 'Chris Thorpe is done just because of his neck injury and we've decided his career is over. But one thing I know about Chris is I'm not worried about him and his suc- cess. He'll be OK.' That's the one thing that stayed with me throughout my life and motivated me, that comment from Joe that whether it was football or what- ever, I was going to find some success." We went on to talk about his life after Penn State and the recruitment of his son, but it wasn't until the end of our conversation that he told me how that initial neck injury 32 years ago still af- fects him. In late February, he had a spinal fusion performed on his neck, and he is house-bound and heavily restricted in what he can do until sometime in May. "They just put in two plutonium rods in my upper neck where the original in- jury was," Thorpe said. "This was the worst pain I ever felt in my life. My sur- geon told me my neck bones are very small and my neck muscles were com- pensating for the size of the bones. Over time, the muscles and nerves have been so over- worked that I started losing feeling in my hands. They had to go in and put the rods in my neck just to take some pressure off my muscle. My surgeon said, 'You're really lucky that you made it this far. If someone was looking at those X-rays today, they wouldn't even allow you to play soccer. You're ex- tremely lucky.' " As he recovers from the surgery, he is virtually im- mobile. "I literally have to just sit here," Thorpe said. "They moved my office into my bedroom, so I have my computer and every- thing. But I can't move a lot. I do nothing." He paused. Then with a laugh one can describe as another example of his indomitable spirit and gallows humor, he said, "I watch a lot of Netflix." Thorpe now understands he could have been paralyzed years ago, or worse, and it makes him appreciate Paterno and Penn State even more. He was heavily recruited in high school and narrowed his choices to Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa, Georgia and Tennessee. Tom Bradley was the Lions' point man in his recruitment, and Thorpe also had a relationship with Frank Rocco, a former NEXT GENERATION Among the more prominent members of the Lions' legacy recruiting lineage are Michael Mauti (left) and Michael Zordich. The two team- mates helped steer PSU through some of its most turbulent times. Photos by Steve Manuel