The pillar honoring Karl Mecklenburg stands about 8' (2.43 m) tall and is made of sheet steel that has been allowed to rust. The 3D head is cast of bronze, as well as the players former number and plaque explaining their contributions to the Broncos and [American] Football. The pillars are illuminated at night. As I am a Denver native, I have followed the Broncos all of my life -- from the laughing stock of the league with the ugly brown and mustard yellow uniforms to the blue and orange who have won several Superbowl's (though not lately!).
"Each bronze likeness of the players was sculpted by Brian Hanlon, a classically trained master sculptor who has sculpted more than 200 public art pieces. He also explained a unique feature of the base of each pillar.
"The pillars are constructed in corten steel, which was the material your original building (Mile High Stadium) was made out of, and that's why it was so loud," Hanlon said. "So the design was amazingly creative that the architect and the designer came up with the idea that they should be this material that intimidated so many other teams."" (from (
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Karl Mecklenburg --
"In 1983, the Denver Broncos drafted Karl Mecklenburg in the 12th round with the 310th pick overall. In spite of his low selection, Mecklenburg went on to become an integral part of the Broncos' Super Bowl teams of the 1980s. He played in six Pro Bowls. His 79.5 sacks is the second highest total in franchise history. In 2001, during half time of a game against the Baltimore Ravens, he and Dennis Smith were inducted into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. He is also in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and serves on the Broncos Alumni Council.
Since retiring from pro football in 1994, Mecklenburg divides his time between family, motivational speaking, and his ongoing charity involvements. Karl and his wife Kathi have three children. The Mecklenburgs reside in Littleton, Colorado. The son of Fred Mecklenburg and Marjory Mecklenburg, Karl has two brothers, Eric and Fred, and a sister, Carol.
His nicknames as a Bronco include 'The Snow Goose', 'The Albino Rhino', 'The Vanilla Gorilla' and 'Wrecklenberg'!" (from (
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Mecklenburg was involved with the recent lawsuit regarding closed-head injuries to Pro [American] Football players:
"Karl Mecklenburg offers comments on NFL concussion settlement
I spoke with former Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg Thursday night in the wake of the news of a proposed settlement in the NFL concussion-related lawsuits, and we added his quotes in the wire-service story that ran in the newspaper this morning. (I wasn’t credited.)
Here are those quotes, since they are not in the online story:
“I’m glad,” Mecklenburg said Thursday night. “I really felt the lawsuit had done what it needed to do in the football community already. Just the changes how concussions are handled and in reaching out to young people, helping them learn about concussions. Now the guys with ALS, the guys with dementia, are going to get help and that’s a good thing.”
Mecklenburg said he would go through the evaluation process to determine the amount of his compensation.
“I have some issues, as I’ve already said,” he said. “I’m doing OK for now, and hopefully it stays the way it is. But it’s a time bomb inside each of us who had all those concussions, and I want to make sure my family doesn’t suffer because of it any more than they will.”
A couple of points that didn’t make the story:
Mecklenburg, a plaintiff in Hostetler vs. NFL, a Pennsylvania case, didn’t have advance notice of the the settlement.
“My son, who’s a law student, called me and said he got some sort of thing on his phone. ‘Alert! Alert!’ He said, ‘Are you involved in this?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’”
This didn’t make the story. I asked him if, from what he had heard, he thought the settlement was “fair.”
“I have no idea,” Mecklenburg said. “The NFL didn’t have to admit anything, but the players who need help are getting help. The NFL is able to now start from a clean slate and say, ‘Hey, we’re taking concussions seriously,’ and they are. I think I saw the other day that a player who isn’t a quarterback was out with a concussion, if there is such a thing! So, yeah, it makes a difference.”
In case you missed it, here’s my Sunday story on Mecklenburg and former teammate Simon Fletcher, contrasting their attitudes and beliefs about the toll of football and the NFL’s liability. (
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And here’s a supplementary blog, with additional comments from Mecklenburg and Fletcher. (
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Over the years, I’ve written extensively about former Broncos and former NFL players and disability issues in books and in the newspaper." (from (
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