‘THE STRONGEST MAN’

Super Bowl Champion Dies at 56 After 19-Year Health Battle

The Baltimore Ravens have paid tribute to “a beloved legend, mentor and man to everyone who was fortunate enough to know him.”

Former NFL linebacker O.J. Brigance has died aged 56 after a 19-year battle with ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Steve Bisciotti, owner of the Baltimore Ravens, for whom Brigance won the 2000 Super Bowl, announced his death on Monday. “We are devastated by the awful news that we have lost O.J. Brigance,” Bisciotti wrote in a statement. “O.J. was a beloved legend, mentor and man to everyone who was fortunate enough to know him.” He added that it was “a tremendously sad day for Baltimore.” Brigance was told when he was diagnosed in 2007, aged just 37, he would likely live for another five years at most. John Harbaugh, his former coach, called him “the strongest man in the organization” for his 19-year perseverance after that news, continuing to attend games and practices with the help of a motorized wheelchair as his disease progressed. Brigance was married to Chanda Minor-Brigance, whom he met in 1989 and married in 1994. Minor-Brigance remained by her husband’s side throughout his lengthy health battle.