Tommy Maddox seemingly had stardom within his grasp when he left UCLA for the Denver Broncos on the 25th pick of the 1992 NFL Draft; that much was predictable.
That it would take Maddox 10 years to achieve it and require detours through five NFL cities, the insurance business in Texas, a couple of rinky-dink professional football alternatives -- one of which plays indoors on a hockey rink covered by artificial turf -- and Maddox overcoming a concussion and spinal cord contusion that left him temporarily paralyzed in Nashville is almost unfathomable.
This year's Tribune-Review City of Champions Achievement Award winner knows a thing or two about persistence, and about beating the odds.
Maddox was a novelty when he left the XFL's Los Angeles Extreme and not only made the Steelers but also secured the backup quarterback job in training camp of 2001.
In 2002, the former field general for the Arena Football League's New Jersey Red Dogs was nothing less than the Steelers' savior.
Summoned from the bench Sept. 29 late in a game the 0-2 Steelers were trailing at home against Cleveland, Maddox began dropping back and firing passes and never looked back. In doing so, he transformed the Steelers from a running team into a passing fancy and returned to contending status what had been an early season disappointment on the verge of collapse.
The novelty became "Tommy Gun."
Despite a season that saw him throw for 20 touchdowns and 2,836 yards, including a team-record 473 in a 34-34 tie with the Atlanta Falcons, Maddox saved his most dramatic moments for the recovery room, the locker room and the media room.
Less than a week after lying paralyzed in Tennessee, Maddox ambled into the Steelers' facility and announced his firm intention to play again as quickly as possible, then left the assembled press to rejoin his teammates.
He returned to the starting role he had waited some 10 years to regain less than a month after the Tennessee scare and wound up engineering another remarkable comeback against the Browns, this one in the playoffs and after Maddox had first addressed his teammates via a passionate sideline address.
Now that he has, there's seemingly nothing beyond Maddox' grasp once again.
