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Retired NFL Player & Professional Athlete
Jeffery Fuller was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1980. Fuller was recruited to Texas A&M in 1980 and was later drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1984. He played in two Super Bowls as a Niner and would go on to win Super Bowls XIX and XXIII.
As the result of damage caused to Candlestick stadium by the 1989 Loma Pierta earthquake, Fuller played his last professional game at the Stanford stadium. On October 22, 1989. In the second play of the game, he was partially paralyzed after a helmet-to-helmet hit on New England running back John Stephens. This collision resulted in a brachial plexus injury. Fortunately, amid the event, the team was close to Stanford’s hospital and Jeff received immediate care. In the months and years preceding Fuller had several surgeries to try and regenerate damaged nerves including nerve graphs, a shoulder joint fusion, and repair broken bones that were directly or indirectly caused by the paralysis. He and his wife Leslie, traveled around the US and Canada for four years after Fuller sustained his injury, consulting doctors from Stanford to Duke. His fifth surgery was a nerve graph in preparation for a muscle transplant in 1994, which was his “last hope” to regain movement in his arm. After exhausting all other options. Doctors informed him there was nothing else they could do at that time. He then realized he had no choice but to embrace his new life. Fuller would later become a coach, working alongside Doug Williams at Morehouse College in Atlanta for one season. He enjoyed being on the field, but the lingering pain would take a toll on his coaching.
Obviously with his right arm being paralyzed, Fuller had to learn how to get things done with his left arm. There was a point when he did not know if he could adapt. Numerous sessions of physical therapy and medication only temporarily subside the massive pain that Jeff endures. Fuller was also diagnosed with CTE just before 2010 – of which has taken a mental and physical toll on his body. CTE has affected Jeff cognitively and emotionally, making social interactions and organized tasks difficult.
Jeff now lives in the Dallas area and enjoys life with his family. He attends his local church and occasional NFL events.
Friday, March 17, 2023
8:15 AM – 8:40 AM EST