RIP Mark Pike

[BFritz21]

Mark Pike, who played for the Bills, died on Wednesday.

He went to the same high school I did and opened a gym near here when he retired from the NFL.

When I was 17, my therapists said that I wouldn't improve anymore and that it was a waste for me to keep coming to therapy, but I wasn't happy with where I was with my walking or how my arms functioned. My old man went to Mark and talked to him about buying a membership, but Mark gave me a free membership and then set me up with a trainer to work with me for free and set me up with a workout program.

Then, when I started having a friend bring me, he gave them a free membership, too!

Whenever I'd slack off and miss a few days, if I saw him out, he'd always make fun of me and tell me to get my ass back in the gym. That always motivated me to keep trying.

Quote:Mark Pike, one of the top standouts on special teams coverage units for the 1990's AFC champion Bills, died Wednesday following a battle with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Pike, who spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Bills, suited up for 173 games for Buffalo after the club made him a seventh-round pick in 1986. He backed up Hall of Famer Bruce Smith on the defensive line for many of those years.

Pike, 57, was a Dixie Heights High School graduate and played at Georgia Tech before being drafted in 1986.

There's more in the link and I'd take a look because it's a good read.

RIP.

I'll raise a glass for you tonight, brother.