Wally Hilgenberg, an outstanding and long-term starting linebacker for the Vikings, died on Sept. 23, 2008. He was 66 and the cause of his death was first believed to be ALS.
Fred McNeill, another outstanding linebacker who replaced Hilgenberg as the Vikings starter on the right side in 1977, died this week at age 63. The cause of his death has been stated as ALS.
The Vikings alumni also have lost Orlando Thomas, a very good safety, to ALS at age 42 on Nov. 9, 2014. He had the disease for a decade.
The Hilgenberg family donated Wally's brain to a study for the damage caused by football. In 2010, the researchers behind the study deemed Wally's death to have been caused not by ALS, but by repetitive brain trauma that can lead to a disease that mimics ALS.
McNeill was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy several years ago. His condition also has been described in news reports as dementia, but that memory loss undoubtedly can be traced to CTE, the brain disease that has afflicted way too many former NFL players.
There would seem to be a probability that McNeill died from the same disease as Hilgenberg, his teammate and predecessor as the Vikings right side linebacker – that being the football-related, repetitive brain trauma that causes the disease mimicking ALS.
McNeill's death caused Matt Blair to receive numerous interview requests, including with the Star Tribune. Blair was the left-side linebacker, and such a terrific player that he overshadowed the good work of McNeill on the right.
McNeill was a first-round choice out of UCLA and Blair was a second-round choice out of Iowa State for the Vikings in 1974. They lived together when in the Twin Cities early in their careers. They were more like brothers than friends, Blair has said.
