On a gloomy, damp afternoon 50 years ago Sunday, 54,418 excited football fans made their pilgrimage to Tiger Stadium to see if the Detroit Lions, sporting a four-game winning streak and tied for first place with Minnesota in the NFC Central Division, could defeat the “Monsters of the Midway,” led by Chicago’s Dick Butkus.

Local radio listeners—the regional telecast was blacked out in Detroit—were glued to the play-by-play of Van Patrick and Bob Reynolds on WJR-AM (760).

With the Lions in a two-minute drill and trailing, 28-23, little-used Chuck Hughes, who entered the game in the fourth quarter, replacing the injured Larry Walton, made a 32-yard catch from quarterback Greg Landry for a first down on the Bears’ 37-yard line.

However, by 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 24, 1971, the game’s outcome seemed meaningless. The tragedy that occurred with a minute left to play would forever serve as a glaring reminder of life’s fragility.

It is believed Hughes is the only player to die while competing in a game.