Herb Weitman-USA TODAY Sports

3 NFL Players Who Played Through Their Teeth Knocked Out

Originally posted on The Forkball | By Julie Miller | Last updated 7/8/23

Last week, we discussed three NFL players who played through a broken neck. The neck is likely the most dangerous and painful injury there is to suffer. A player getting their teeth knocked out on the field and finishing the game isn’t nearly as bad. It’s still not for the faint of heart.

Honorable mentions go to Ray Nitschke, who also lost his four front teeth, although not as an NFL player. He lost them in a single game in college. All he wanted for Christmas were his four front teeth.

Detoothed player #1 – Bob St. Clair

Bob St. Clair lost five of his pearly whites on the field and played through it. Read more about his injury here.

Detoothed player #2 – Johnny Unitas

There are conflicting stories about Johnny Unitas’ dental woes. Some sources indicate that he chipped a tooth in high school during a football game when he was pushed out of bounds into a wall. He played through the injury.

Other sources indicate that Johnny Unitas sustained a broken nose, a concussion, and had his teeth knocked through his lower lip while he was in the NFL. Allegedly, Unitas packed mud on his lip to stop the bleeding and lined up for the following snap.

What do we know for sure about Unitas’ ivories? He couldn’t brush them in his later years. His right hand stopped working at age 60, which limited his ability to use it for anything, including holding a toothbrush. The NFL wouldn’t pay disability compensation for Johnny due to technicalities, despite a nearly complete loss of use of his manus.

Detoothed player #3 – Steve Largent

Steve Largent was another guy who preferred wearing his falsies instead of getting gummy with it. No one can call him out for that. In 1988, Seattle Seahawk Steve Largent was attacked by Bronco Mike Harden. He got a forearm to the face, and Mike was fined $5,000. Largent was knocked out cold for five minutes; his helmet was twisted and broken, and he lost two teeth.

The only hit more dramatic than the first one was Steve’s tackle on Mike Harden when the Seattle Seahawks played against the Denver Broncos again in 1988. Largent said it wasn’t a vindictive hit, but it felt good. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Steve. Who didn’t feel good about it? Harden. Largent ran full force, leading with his head, directly into Mike’s shoulder region.

Harden can never say he can’t fly because he careened through the air like he had his own set of wings. You could literally feel the passion and righteous anger coming off of Steve Largent when he exacted revenge on the brazen Bronco. The story is so good that you almost miss the fact that he lost two of his chompers in the entire exchange.

This article first appeared on The Forkball and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: