Joe Theismann recalls Lawrence Taylor breaking his leg, changing his life: 'I heard a pop'

The sports world knows Joe Theismann as a quarterback and a commentator.

But he’s also a storyteller.

And no story is more a part of his life than Lawrence Taylor breaking his leg during a Monday Night Football . Theismann, who came to town this week for Oklahoma City Town Hall’s lecture series, told the tale of that night and the injury that ended his NFL career.

It happened Nov. 18, 1985.

Theismann and Washington vs. Taylor and the New York Giants .

We’ll let the storyteller take it from here.

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“We were in the midst of a lousy season. I wasn't playing well. We were 4-5 as a football team.

“I'll never forget walking in the locker room, sitting in my locker and staring at the wall, and I was going to have a heart-to-heart with Joe Theismann. Every one of us in this room has done that. From time to time, we've reached crossroads and periods in our life where we're going to sit down and we're going to have a little discussion with ourselves.

“I sat there and I said, ‘All right, Joe, it's the Giants. … This is going to be your opportunity to be able to go out and show the world that the Joe Theismann that you love so much is back.’

“For 12 years, I left that locker room, I hit that (team) logo and never said a word. But on this night, for some reason … I start out of that locker room, hit that logo and utter these words, ‘Tonight, your life's going to change, Joe.’

“My world was about to change like I could never imagine.

“Went out on that field, started 7 for 10, threw a touchdown pass, thought ‘Look out, world. Joey's back.’

“We start the second quarter. Coach Gibbs calls the flea flicker. … I get up under the center, take the snap, turn around, hand the ball to John Riggins. Centralia, Kansas. He starts towards the line of scrimmage, stops, freezes, pitches the ball back to me. There should be a wide open receiver down the field. He's covered. There should be a safety valve over there. He's covered. Then all of a sudden I felt a little pressure coming from the left side. I slid a little bit right.

“Lawrence Taylor would grab my left shoulder. I swung around. He wouldn't let go, and as LT came around, his right leg caught my right leg between the knee and the ankle.

“I heard a pop. Sounded like two muzzled gunshots, but actually, it was my right leg breaking. I had an open compound fracture in my lower right leg. … From the knee down, my leg is completely numb.

“They wheeled me out of that stadium, and 55,000 people stood up and gave this selfish man, a man who thought about himself only, a standing ovation. As I went out of that stadium, it really humbled me tremendously.

“That was sort of a night that my life changed, I guess you could say.

“I'm laying in the hospital bed. Tuesday morning. Nurse comes in. She said, ‘Mr. Theismann, Mr. Taylor is on the phone. Would you like to speak to him?’ I said, ‘Give me the phone.’ I said, ‘LT, is that you?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Joe, how you doing?’ I said, ‘Not very well.’ He says, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Why? You broke both bones in my leg, for crying out loud.’ He said, ‘Joe, you gotta understand something. I don't do things halfway. Gotta go to practice. Talk to you later.’

“Lawrence and I play golf together. But I won't let him stand where I can't see him. He has to be right here in front of me so I know exactly where he is, because I didn't see him once, and that's what happened to me after that.

“When my leg was broken, people came up and said, ‘Oh man, Joe, I'm so sorry you broke your leg. Oh geez. I'm so sorry.’ … I didn't break my leg. Lawrence Taylor broke my leg.

“I had an insurance policy on myself, which is the only thing you can do when you sign a contract. And (LT) said, ‘You know, I deserve 10% of that policy because you would have never collected it.’ I said, ‘Hey, look buddy, I gotta tell you something. Nobody knew who you were until you broke my leg.’”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Joe Theismann recalls Lawrence Taylor breaking his leg, changing his life: 'I heard a pop'