Frank Dees and his older brother, Ricky, were both on their high school football team. One week, in 1964, the team played two games. In Tuesday’s game, Ricky made a tackle on a hard hit, and told Frank afterward that his head hurt. At Saturday’s game, Ricky got another blow to the head — and died. Ricky’s number, 54, was retired. Frank shared his story with The Enterprise in 2012 when the newspaper was editorializing on the need for local high schools to adopt a testing program that provides a baseline so athletes suffering concussions aren’t sent back to play too soon. Frank Dees has, since then, shared the Enterprise editorial that tells his story with hundreds of people and has a binder with hundreds of letters, personal responses to his plea. In this week’s podcast he talks with heart about his mission of protecting athletes from themselves.

 

 

Podcast Transcript

[00:00]
Hello. This is Melissa Hale Spencer, the editor of the Altamont Enterprise here today, with Frank Dees of Knox and Frank is someone, I would describe him as a man on a mission, maybe more than one Mission, but where Frank? And I intersected before was a number of years ago.

[00:24]
2012 to be exact and he came into our Newsroom at the Altamont Enterprise with an incredibly heartfelt story.

[00:35]
We had been writing about concussions and high school players that had suffered them and some of the long lasting effects and I have done an editorial on a program called impact urging high schools in our area, which they have now, done to employ a program that we give a baseline. So if someone was hurt,

[00:58]
In a game in a practice, the coaches would have some way of judging if they were able to go back in and play.

[01:06]
so, Frank told me his story and I'm going to ask you to just recap that really

[01:14]
Powerful story about your brother.

[01:18]
Thanks Melissa.

[01:20]
You are a great writer and I have probably for the last seven years, spread the word, what a good writer you are because I have sent in probably hundreds of envelopes, your story that you capsulated in the editorial.

[01:35]
It was from to be exact August.

[01:40]
16th 2012, that I came into your office and

[01:47]
I had been in your words, Frankie said something to say. He came to our news office to say it. He had laiden with stuff and very much like today, I'm always carrying a lot of yes, he's coming in with piles of notebooks papers and a very important shirt which will hear about. Go ahead though, with the story of your brother for the for that past seven years, what I have my mission statement is sometimes we have to protect athletes from the cells and the story and Cliff. No Farm. Well familiar with Cliff Notes, is that

[02:26]
Oh, Rick had told me on a Tuesday game that we had, he was just gonna interrupt back up for a little setting here. Frank is one of six, brothers, and raised in Litchfield. Illinois with a father who was a hero to them and athlete Roy and both Frank and his older brother. Ricky were on the high school football team.

[02:55]
So go ahead, I just thought people needed a little setting, their Rick was 20 months older than me. And what I had not shared with any of my brothers and I had not shared with anybody else over the years, which was

[03:12]
50 years.

[03:15]
That Rick on a Tuesday game that we had been playing.

[03:19]
And told me that and that Tuesday game in Stanton, he was an end and it was tackling and he came up to me and the hallway.

[03:32]
And with another individual.

[03:38]
Who at this particular time was Lenny. I remembered since I've seen Melissa and he pointed to his head and he said, don't tell Mom and Dad, but I heard my head.

[03:50]
so,

[03:51]
I didn't his brothers do and on a Saturday game, which was in the evening game? I, I didn't get to go. I was a defensive back. And, and a quarterback second string quarterback and

[04:09]
I was grounded at home with the phone rang and Rick was hurt in the game and that evening from this second blow which is second concussion syndrome. He went down and was transferred to start and high school Staunton Illinois the hospital. Yeah he went to Saint John's Mercy hospital and where he died from I hit concussion and

[04:41]
Yeah, what a terrible terrible thing the editorial if you really interested.

[04:48]
Is well-framed and beautifully written by Melissa. I could read different excerpts from it or if you think that's appropriate if do whatever you want Frank but what struck me that day you came to the office as you'd been bearing. This burden.

[05:09]
For so long and you decided to speak about it and it was just so moving. And now catching up. All these years later I happened to run into Frank at getting gas at the corner here and he has

[05:25]
Distributed this message through the editorial to countless people, and just showed me.

[05:33]
Letters, sheaths of letters, from people who've been moved by his story. So tell me a little about how, how this became your mission and how you've been carrying it out. Well, one, one of the things so it was a great lived was like a ticking

[05:55]
Punctured in and being able to express it, openly and so forth. In the morning, I have over the last few years spoke the easier it is.

[06:06]
I actually have met people, countless people throughout the country on an airplane and in everywhere and just to give you some data since 2012, when I spoke, there were 35,000 fewer individuals playing High School football. Now I want to make this very clear, I love sports, I love football and I know part of what you told me too, was after this happened, after your brother's death, the school board Litchfield School Board had wanted to do away with football and your father spoke to the board and said, no, actually Dad safe football and and the town of Litchfield. And he wasn't pressuring, any of us to play or not play. I very vividly. Remember, going out on the front, porch. And Dad saying, to me, this is immediately after my brother had passed and in the story, I had found out how my brother had passed since. I was grounded that night, I went the next day after

[07:06]
Us going to church to get donuts from my uncle, his name. I'm going to put in here because I love Uncle Scott's. I was not a whole lot out. Uncle Scott's out their Uncle Scott's condo from Hillsborough and he said go get some donuts and while I was in line, getting donuts, is when I heard overheard, somebody said, did you hear Rick die? And that's how I found out.

[07:31]
Things have changed. Thankfully since they 60s, we have counselors. We have people that

[07:38]
And nurses in schools and so forth. But there was no such thing back then. And

[07:47]
Basically, the I kind of with the other brothers, and the mom and dad. We kind of made our way through life that I think we all turned out pretty good. I'm real proud of all of them and and but the important thing going back to on the porch where I was talking with daddy, said it's up to you.

[08:08]
If you want to play football, your mom and I will support you if you want to do that or and I ended up playing all sports like all my other brothers and we played football but I know as Melissa wrote in the article, I'll quote her.

[08:24]
All this played football before the game Mom's heart hurt and and it did, I am right now, the mission with sometimes we have to protect athletes from themselves as well. Grandparents are grandpas or or moms, and dads and so forth. And

[08:44]
I think we're getting smarter, we're trying to, to make the game safer through helmets and all kinds of equipment. But the key that I think we need to know and this is my mission. This is what what we need to know. We have to let the kids know. It's okay to say I'm hurt. It's okay, Mom.

[09:09]
That I I know you don't don't want me to play tonight, but I want to let you know open and honestly I hurt myself.

[09:19]
Because no game is worth the life of a child or anybody. I'm concerned about professional athletes. Now, they get paid big bucks. As I said right before, I was talking with Melissa.

[09:33]
about at bat, there's athletes making 44,000 per time, and back, and a lot of those athletes will go out and play hurt today, concerned about, I'm going to Cardinal fan, and I, I'm concerned about a couple of the ball players that go out there and day out no matter whether they want whether they're

[09:58]
they want to play simply because they that's that's their job and they don't want to lose their job and so

[10:06]
getting back to that, the high school and and

[10:10]
Younger folks. Here's where the graveling comes in Melissa getting back to the younger kids. I'm right now and there's been a lot of talk about tackle football for Pop Warner football now. I don't want to attack pop wonderful because you've got a lot of Advocates on that side.

[10:31]
But I do not believe.

[10:34]
Kids under 13 should be playing tackle football and the reason they should not be playing tackle, football is the brain. It's not ready for that there. They are not ready for that. The coaches are ready for that and there was

[10:49]
Flight football's wonderful. You can learn the same. Same skills, teamwork leadership, going. All kinds of

[11:00]
Teaching moments in and, and that, but without the impact. Yeah, but I was just moved, you shared with me some of the letters people have written back to you. After you've talked to them right behind you. There was about what there's about 200 of them.

[11:14]
Three-ring binder and oh my gosh 200. Wow, wow. Just that was as you see those are just some of the latest ones but the connection is so personal. Like, here's someone writing about

[11:30]
I think it's a, he, his daughter Monica and it says that he read the editorial, and it taught it really touched me. It's because of reading your article that I insisted my daughter's Susanna a West Point Cadet. See a medical staff after she fell off of her horse head first. So I mean, just how it was really, very, but I was coming from

[11:59]
Illinois, drive driving to stop and I know every rest stop between here and and Illinois. As you age used, you tend to use those places. Why was this lady? And she is the one that actually wrote, and she had Ellyn, Illinois plates. And so I said, I from Eleanor.

[12:20]
Yes, you probably haven't heard of a carbon Dale. And I said, well, I went to school there, so Southern Illinois University and

[12:28]
A one thing led to the next and then I got her address and she works as you see as a counselor at what's it? Say there in the very bottom.

[12:39]
It just has crossed it out. She's the executive director and her name. I mistook it for its the newly Del Rio, right? Like she's the executive editor for

[12:52]
Which is a town down in, Southern Illinois. It's a county. And so

[12:58]
After that, she has a daughter going to West Point and she pointed out. Yeah. And who would fall off a horse? And here's another one. This must be somebody that you met on a plane because she said, I know I mentioned on the plane and you must have centered the editorial because she goes what a heartfelt story. I know this must have been a hard to share so many years later, but it's worth. It's what people need to hear. Is that the lady? That had the boating accident? Yes, her name is Amy gasoline. She would, Amy was that? I just met her when we were taking my brother's and

[13:31]
My brothers were going down to New Orleans, where we donated my mom and dad's, while they were 270 letters from my father, to my mom during World War Two. Let's take a side trip in here about that because that's seems to be another mission that you're on, and you've come with no books involving that. So tell us, first of all, how did your parents meet each other? How did they?

[13:57]
Dad was from, I went to Carbondale Hammond graduate of Southern, I want to White University. They have it is, and dad was from Edwardsville. And when I was going to school down there, there was the branches, what it was SIU was just starting and I will bring in how Mom and Dad met him, but Carbondale was a school of about 30,000, and it's hurting right now, it's only about 15,000. And the reason it is hurting is because a lot of the scholarships have been cut and they've lost, but the branch is an Edwardsville and it was just a couple thousand and it's now about 15,000. So, a lot of the folks have gone there but Dad, being from Edwardsville and Mom was in

[14:46]
Granite City where I was born in a couple of my other brothers were born.

[14:52]
Is.

[14:54]
Ah, they met at a Halloween dance, know, were they in costume? I wonder if I'm not really sure. Mike my brother Bill, and I want to give him. Because a lot of credit for he scanned five volumes of those letters that we donated the original. So, your father was either drafted or volunteered for World War Two and served from 1943 to 1946 and where what theater he was in the European theater. Yes. And he was under patents Army and there's, there's the

[15:30]
Individuals that we met. And that's going back to that lady, who I meant that on the plane, we will go down to meet with the curator of the national World. War Two Museum. What's happened to be in New Orleans, to donate the original letters and you told me when I asked why New Orleans. So, can you share that with our listeners, too? Higgins boat, where you everybody is pretty familiar with that, was the used in the D-Day invasion, right, where they dropped and you see the folks going on to the the beach and, and so forth. The Higgins boat, was created by a man there in New Orleans and 92% of these boats were manufactured in there and that's why they're the the

[16:23]
The.

[16:24]
Museum started out small. And then, I think 2006 became the national World War Two Museum. It is just exploded and I I highly recommend folks to

[16:37]
If they get a chance to go down there. But whether Tim is the oldest brother, I'm going to put in some

[16:44]
Little nice words to him. He's a silver star recipient to purple hearts. Two bronze Stars, Green Beret. So he serves in the Vietnam era, right? And he he's the oldest brother and I think I showed you a picture of him and then Rick was the one that passed away in a football game. And then, I was number three. We used a number systems, like a lot of families. I was number three. Number four, brother Bill. That's the one that's the genealogist expert and he's the one that scanned and did a lot of the, the leg work on

[17:24]
Pulling together, the the gift to National World. War, Two Museum. Brother, Chuck is, was a photographer and as fallen on some hard times, but it was a forensic photographer and I, I'll just mention this that I think one of his tough issues was the day that my brother.

[17:46]
Died.

[17:47]
Was his birthday at 12 years old and that's something I think that.

[17:54]
It was tough to tough to deal with for 12. Yeah and brother Dennis is the youngest he's he's up in Vermont and has been battling. He's has his Master's in substance abuse counseling and has been dealing with the opioid epidemic that exploded in this country. Over the last, oh he must have his hands full. So for us are Salukis. Tim myself, Bill and Dennis and we all

[18:25]
paid our way through college without dad, couldn't afford.

[18:30]
Wellness. A car much less give us any money. Go to college so. Well I remember you're saying we were poor but we didn't know it.

[18:37]
one cool thing about

[18:39]
thing about going back.

[18:41]
To Southern Illinois.

[18:45]
Tim.

[18:46]
Started out as a busboy bus and dishes in Lentz Hall and what that's how I did it. And then, but he got a job as a University operator.

[19:01]
And that was in probably 1963 or 64 and I'm proud which was the University was about 30,000 and a University operator at that particular time was responsible for all nine one. One which there wasn't such a thing but emergency calls and all of that for 30,000 and one of the D's boys had that job from about 1964 to the mid 80s. Oh my goodness.

[19:26]
Well, so you're older brother was responsible for scanning these and that's number four brothers. Okay, the genealogists? Yes. Yeah. Okay. And they were handwritten letters that were sentenced. And is it just the letters that your father sent to your mother just a collection? Include the letter that your mother sent back to your father? I almost brought you to show you a picture. Yeah, but moms, they were mostly dad's letter and, and some other documents postcards and so forth, but they moms letters were sent to Dad and Dad was out there in a theater. So he didn't know place to save them, you know, he wrote some of the letters on the back of envelopes at that mom had sent him. So he was using paper from the field and so forth. But well, I saw a picture. You showed me the stacks them tied up and ribbon. It's just so romantic. So, were they mostly? I

[20:26]
I guess the censoring would have taken out a lot of the descriptions of battles or places where they mostly love letters. What, what's in the letters they are, they are, they are leveled letters and what's, how dads feel? And that day, and they're very, very touching actually. Actually the very interested in Nancy, my sweetheart, a 45 years, we work with deaf blind, kids, back in the day, said, Frank this reads like a love story, should be a playwright and I've heard a couple people there at the curator's office talking about that. So oh my wouldn't that be something? Well, so the mute what was the Museum's interest in this collection of letters? Do they have a number of such collections or their what is their mission with it? Not only the letters. They have a room with him. They the museum is is

[21:27]
You. I mean, it's started, it's exploding and it is just because

[21:34]
that greatest generation is dying every day and they have different floors of

[21:43]
Artifacts from from cookies that were The Inn. At the time of World War, Two to what type of machineries to the northern.

[21:56]
Bombardier where they said they could drop a bomb from 20,000 feet inside of a pickle jar, but they were that was a little exaggeration. But they they bombardier's were told that they had to guard that with their life. If it went down, they couldn't let that enemy Hands Across The Street. They have.

[22:19]
A theater, which is 4D, where the chairs they actually take you from the beginning of the World War.

[22:26]
Two to the End of the World War Two. So it's very educational. I mean it's just it's it's super, it's has

[22:39]
I would say if you're going to go there, you gonna spend easily.

[22:43]
A couple days if you really went into it but a few hours, it costs you up for the cost. It's about 21 bucks to get into the place and it's it's just what with the time.

[22:56]
So was it hard for you as a family to give up this? You know, very sentimental, important piece of your own family history, not really, I mean, I think the way we look at it and

[23:12]
Is that the grandchildren are very interested and we made copies my daughter's interested and I made copies bill.

[23:21]
giving it to all the brothers, but those

[23:24]
pieces of paper. If not

[23:27]
A preserved in the right, climate are just going to end up in somebody's basement getting wet or destroyed or whatever. So I think that's that's that's it. I'd like to talk a couple more minutes about concussion stuff. Yeah, we can go we took a long side trip but I just find you. Do everything you do with such passion and I don't think these notebooks are a coincidence because you have a sense of like, Gathering up something. But yes, let's hear more about the the mission with it concussion with with, and I hope this is fine with you that I've always shared. Oh, I think it's wonderful. And I want to say something about, I've never met Carol but she Carol Coogan. Yes, she is a wonderful artist and and in the editorial, which I want to say it again, it was in the optimum Enterprise on Thursday, August 16th 2012, seven years ago, can you know, that went very fast, they do but and Carol has done one of her lovely.

[24:27]
Penetrating drawings with all of her cross hatching that I love and there's you on a train because you were a train conductor for so many years and a large heart, it's almost glowing like a moon.

[24:40]
Held carefully. There's my brother's and you're yes his football jersey number 54 and how did you come to have that? It was in the trophy case along with I think you quoted the

[24:58]
They retired the numbers. I remember yes, they retired them out. Ricky had a lot of friends, which he did. He had a lot of girlfriends, I'm finding out more and more at 17. This guy had a lot of girlfriends, but busloads of kids from all the schools came to the wake for Rick. Ricky had a lot of friends said Frank, one of his friends, Jane eiaj wrote a poem about him. It's on his, it's his Epitaph on his, on his, the Last Dance, it was engraved.

[25:30]
From the poem. And that's not. And it says, now we're better for having known him for a taught us to live each of life's little parts and even now, now, he's not really gone.

[25:41]
For Rick lives within our hearts. And that's on the back of

[25:47]
The yearbook picture, they entire poem but that's the last stands up and I I like a lot of folks go out and visit Rick off and I think a Jane when she she did that age 17 would ah whatever articulate.

[26:02]
Lady. She was well, do you feel like your mission in spreading the word about concussions is kind of a tribute to your brother? Is that part of what fuels you and doing this or

[26:13]
That's a good question.

[26:19]
What I think.

[26:22]
Why I do what is I don't think I want any family to go through the pain.

[26:30]
And any parents to go through the pain that that our family did and it was because of our loving mother Saint Elizabeth, she's up there Betty. And Roy, they

[26:48]
Raise six, boys.

[26:52]
We wrote tiles and we wait, but we learned the limits of what we're having was about. We we played Sports, we love sports, we knew we loved our parents. So I I think my mission is is simple. There's a lot of single

[27:13]
parents out there, trying to be moms and dads and

[27:18]
I Sports is a great outlet, but at the same time it's an outlet. There are dangers out there and one of those dangers is head concussions and which, which

[27:30]
I think Society is becoming more and more aware of. Now the answer to that is not to play sports. The answer to that is to be smart about sports. Yes, we can create equipment. I think that's back because it's a big business. The NFL is a huge business if you really want to know about concussions and the medical aspect of it. It was a great movie, I guess, three years four years ago. But Will Smith who did a wonderful job, it's called concussion. I recommend that you you see that? See, as relatively new CTE is the what the term that the pathologist, who discovered that the brain is not meant to bounce off of this skull.

[28:17]
And they were, they were individual sports. There are team sports and like I said, I love football, but you have to be smart. Kids have to be smart to let mom and dads know, locally. There's a couple individuals that have come to me and and said, thanks Craig, due to the article that you shared and was in the Enterprise. This is over in voicemail and one over and it's connected. He my daughter had a concussion and and

[28:49]
She brought it up to us. Thanks, because we talked about it, and that's what parents have to do. A few single mom, if you're single dad, you have to talk, you have to talk and say, share, share that that

[29:02]
not like in a hallway, like my

[29:06]
Brother, Rick, you know, don't tell Mom and Dad because they won't let me play.

[29:11]
That's not the answer. It wasn't worth his life. I think many times with all these different girlfriend and I'm gonna grandkids as he would have, but also, when you talk about sharing and telling part of it too, was you felt so guilty. You were just a boy and you kept this Secret in all these years and it just is important for people.

[29:36]
To share. I think I think that's true. I there was I was going to there was going to go through this. It was a couple of things that I wanted to rebut with yet since we've really not really shared. And that's really really kind of good but that and I don't want to keep you how long we have to hear what you have to say. Okay.

[29:56]
I thought when you concluded in in the story was talking about Tim and the military experience and his silver star and the people stuff things. And I think it really is important for people to get things out. This is your brother who has the purple hearts, and you mentioned in Vietnam and he wasn't, he wouldn't talk about his War experience. But I, I don't think I ever really felt guilty. Okay. I don't know what I, what I found is a sense of commitment. It's kind of like I work for mental health.

[30:32]
20 years, almost and confidentiality is important. So I almost was carrying that. Mmm. I see when, when did you swore you wouldn't tell ya, I wouldn't tell but, but when I did, and it reached the point where Mom and Dad, what was it going to matter to him? What was is, was it going to help Mom or Dad to share the Rick told me in a hallway. He was hurt and I couldn't see how that would help at all. So you were protecting your parents, which, which in the and the I have since learned, you learned things as you go and open up and talk to people and, and to your point, but the one of the things that I recently learned that at, I thought dad didn't know about the head injury.

[31:27]
And one of the brothers told me that he had mentioned something the day of the game and gave him asper. Now, you think about a head injury, and he may have had on that first hit?

[31:42]
A bleed started, what will ask for do?

[31:46]
Make you bleed more, right? Right. So it's another thing, another reason to share why? And if you're injured and and why I'm passionate about it is I went to Carbondale, I was going to be a teacher. I was going to be the best coach in the world because the guys that protected me and I'm just yesterday, I'm still trying to find one individual, when my coaches would do one ended up going. Actually, two of them ended up going on and coaching and NBA ball players. And one was a head basketball coach for the University of Hawaii for 42 years. He's the one I have not found yet, but then they all football coach that we alluded to the, I went and saw him personally and he said I knew that was something more to it. Frank, I knew there was we looked at the films and and couldn't

[32:39]
Couldn't see why, but he didn't know about the first hit. So I I think that you, they

[32:50]
Meant to be a coach and I got involved with how I ended up in New York. Okay. This is probably real quick story out of it, say here. But the, I worked for mental health and developmental disabilities for almost 20 years and was what my way up to doing Statewide quality assurance work.

[33:12]
And then, because of my Maria, who was, my wife was received, her Masters in Behavior Analysis, and her folks were from a hungry and she was from Guilderland, she wanted to come to the Guilderland area.

[33:26]
And believe me.

[33:28]
The ladies get their way. So we ended up moving out here in the individual, there was the head of Department of Mental Health and developmental disabilities. And Illinois was Dr. Blanton and he was became a commissioner down in Long Island and was working for the part and here in New York. And he said, Frank, come on out, we'll take care of you. Well, we made the move and went in know what he dropped dead of a heart attacks. So that's how I ended up going all over the place. Looking for a job and everybody was asking what political affiliation. I wasn't so forth and I never got a job like, that one. And I'm glad I did. And the only place that didn't asked me was the railroad. So I went to work for them, but that's the story and you liked working for the railroad. I did accept my back, doesn't like it. Now a good doctor to once told me said,

[34:28]
Frank. It's like an old car that you put a lot of miles on on the shocks and due to the vibration of the train. You wore those things out. So my but yeah, I

[34:42]
Have come full circle. And now, it seems as a shared with you. It seems in my golden

[34:49]
Years.

[34:51]
A good mission to as a educator at heart, to get the word out that sometimes we have to protect athletes from themselves and that's a perfect.

[35:03]
Where we began and know the place better. Thank you. Frank, thanks, Melissa.