Tommy Nobis, 74; Atlanta Falcons star linebacker

ATLANTA (AP) — Tommy Nobis, the first player drafted by the expansion Atlanta Falcons and a hardhitting middle linebacker who was never fully recognized for his talents on a struggling franchise that failed to make the playoffs during his long career, died Wednesday. He was 74. The team said he died at his suburban Atlanta home after an extended illness with his wife of more than 50 years, Lynn, at his side. Nobis was among hundreds of ex-NFL players who struggled with physical and cognitive ailments after their careers ended, having played in an era when no one paid much attention to the lingering impact of concussions nor thought twice about groggily going back on the field after a shot to the head.

When the Falcons reached the Super Bowl last season, his wife told the Houston Chronicle she wasn't sure if Nobis had any idea what his former team had accomplished.

"We've told him the Falcons are in the Super Bowl, and we wear red and black," Lynn Nobis said. "But it doesn't seem to click. I don't know if he understands."

A native of San Antonio who sported a red-headed crew cut, Nobis starred on both sides of the line at the University of Texas, where his No. 60 is one of six numbers retired by the school. Despite being slowed by a knee injury during his senior season, he won the Maxwell Award as the nation's best allaround player and the Outland Trophy as top lineman.

He was drafted first overall by the Falcons and also picked by his home-state Houston Oilers of the American Football League, leading to a spirited bidding war that drew interest as far away as outer space. While orbiting the Earth in his Gemini spacecraft, astronaut Frank Borman — whose two sons were ball boys for the Oilers — urged Nobis to sign with Houston .