Former linebacker Mills dead at 45

[bloodsunday]

Former linebacker Mills dead at 45

NFL.com wire reports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 18, 2005) -- The Carolina Panthers say linebackers coach Sam Mills has died from intestinal cancer.

Mills retired in 1997 after a 12-year playing career -- the first nine with New Orleans, and the final three with Carolina, which he helped lead to the 1996 NFC Championship Game. Mills is the only player in the Panthers' Hall of Fame.

Mills was elected to the Pro Bowl in 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992 and 1996.

He joined the Carolina coaching staff in 1999.

[bronco militia]

wow!....RIP

what a heck of player.

[bloodsunday]

R.I.P. Sam Mills. Always a sad day when a quality person goes so young.

[Mile High Shack]

R.I.P.

http://www.profootballhof.com/images/content/photos/Mills_SaintsHistory.jpg

[bendog]

ohhh, he was a good guy.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

That had to have been some kind of weird cancer to get him at 45... or he had a familial syndrome of sorts... frightening

[Pendejo]

He was a very good player, and wasn't he like 5'9" or 5'8"? Exactly the type of player you'd want on your team.

Seemed like a good guy too...I'm sure he'll be missed.

[DarkHorse]

Wow - terrible news. Great player and an even better man.

RIP Sam Mills

[watermock]

He was a great player. 45.

I need to start talking to Kenny and Cartman.

It was like yesterday I wanted Denver to pick him up. I don't really know anything about him, but that's cancer for ya.

I tried to make a joke but it just won't fly. Mock has allready seen Cancer. The worst are woman freaking out. I simply can't handle it, then I turn into a blathering idiot because they can't handle death anymore than I can.

What I hate the worst is dragging that casket around on my back and trying to look stoic. Mock isn't very good at that kind of stuff. I can do it, but damn. Mock is a cryer at funerals, and always makes a fool of himself.

I can't stand funerals.

[bloodsunday]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sam Mills, an undersized linebacker who became a Pro Bowl player with New Orleans and Carolina and was later an assistant coach for the Panthers, died Monday after fighting cancer for nearly two years, the Panthers said. He was 45.

Mills, who was diagnosed with cancer of the small intestine in August 2003 but continued to coach Carolina's linebackers between chemotherapy treatments, died at his home.

"Sam was one of the finest people you will ever meet. You would never know that he was a player who made Pro Bowls and had all this attention because he treated everybody the same no matter who they were," Carolina general manager Marty Hurney said. "He never had a bad thing to say about anybody and had a great ability to laugh at himself.

"He was the type of guy you want your kids to grow up to be."

A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Mills spent the final three seasons of his 12-year NFL career with the Panthers, beginning with their inaugural season in 1995.

There is a statue of him outside Bank of America Stadium and he is the only player in the team's Hall of Honor. Mike McCormack, Carolina's first team president, is the only other inductee in the Hall.

Mills spent his first nine NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints, following three seasons in the United States Football League. He finished his career with 1,319 tackles while starting 173 of 181 games.

He joined the Panthers' coaching staff upon his retirement.

Mills was an undersized linebacker out of Montclair (N.J.) State who tried -- and failed several times -- to catch on with NFL and Canadian Football League teams. He gave professional football one last shot when the USFL debuted in 1983, and a tryout with the Philadelphia Stars led to a roster spot.

"The USFL came at a perfect time for me," Mills, a three-time All-USFL selection who helped the Stars win league titles in 1983 and '84, said in an interview in March. "It was the most fun I ever had playing football."

Every day, Stars coach Jim Mora asked his assistants who the best player on the field was. Every day, they told him "Sam Mills."

"I don't need a 5-9 linebacker," Mora kept saying.

Mills ended up as one of Mora's favorite players and when Mora went to the Saints after the USFL's demise, he brought Mills with him.

Born in Neptune, N.J., Mills is survived by his wife Melanie, sons Sam III and Marcus, and daughters Larissa and Sierra.

[bloodsunday]

Every day, Stars coach Jim Mora asked his assistants who the best player on the field was. Every day, they told him "Sam Mills."

"I don't need a 5-9 linebacker," Mora kept saying.

-- That's classic. Every team needs more men like this. --

[Rascal]

Great guy. RIP Sam.

Think he will get into the HOF?

[SoCalBronco]

RIP Sam.

[ro_50]

RIP Sam. Sad day. Another person taken away too early and another great one from the ERA of the late 80's and early 90's with Reggie White.

My heart goes out to him and his family and friends.

[Hogan11]

RIP Field Mouse....Man, that LB core the Saints had was something when he was there...Jackson, Johnson, Mills & Swilling.

[Alkazar]

Good bye Sam. You will be missed. I sure hope he is inducted, he sure deserves it...

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Wow! Sad news. I had the upmost respect for him. Small in stature, a huge man on the playing field!

[Dr. Broncenstein]

Cancer of the small bowel.... must have been a lymphoma... yikes

[bpc]

This is sad. All deaths from cancer are sad, however Sam Mills sticks out in our minds because he was a guy that succeeded against all odds. He truely transcended his size and stature in the NFL to become a hero for people to look up to for his hard work, determination and heart.

RIP Sam. Thanks for letting us be inspired by parts of your life.

They really don't make players like him anymore.

[FADERPROOF]

RIP Sam Mills, one hell of a linebacker.

[Mr. Trout]

That had to have been some kind of weird cancer to get him at 45... or he had a familial syndrome of sorts... frightening


It was intestinal cancer. I haven't heard too much about it but it must have been pretty brutal.

[Crushaholic]

Sam Mills deserved a better life after football than to be stricken with cancer. He will be missed...

[Breck Bronc]

RIP Sam. Truly sad news today.

http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/tipytoe/mills2.jpg

[dbroncos31]

This sucks. i hate it when good people die young. RIP Sam Mills

[TheManeMan]

First Reggie White, then Sam Mills?? Sad day when people with such character die at a young age...

[DB-Freak]

Wow....damn

Peace Sam.

[kappys]

Cancer of the small bowel. Talk about bad luck, and at age 45. Small bowel cancers are about as rare as they get.

[Sir Mawn]

Damn.