Jerry Mertens
Encyclopedia
Jerry Mertens is a former American football
cornerback who played eight seasons in the National Football League
for the San Francisco 49ers
.
Mertens, a high-school standout at Racine
Saint Catherine's
, was named to the NFL
Pro Bowl in 1958, his rookie season. Mertens was officially a member of the 49ers during the 1966 season, although his career was over. Jerry ended his own career when he delivered a bone crushing hit to Bart Starr for a six yard sack, which resulted in him breaking his neck. He was forced to sit on the sidelines for the reminder of the game. The doctors had failed in finding the fractured bones, until the next day when he had awoken from chronic pain in his neck. He spent nine months in a full body cast, but eventually had a full recovery. After retiring at the age of 30, Mertens settled into a career as a fertilizer broker and working for kids' programs as a member of the NFL Alumni.
He and his wife Karen also helped raise his three children – Gregory, Debbie and Lauri – and now had four grandchildren (Jamie, Stephanie, Scott, and Gregory) in the San Francisco bay area. He also eventually became president of the NFL Alumni Association, a position he held for over 10 years.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
cornerback who played eight seasons in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
.
Mertens, a high-school standout at Racine
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
Saint Catherine's
St. Catherine's High School (Racine, Wisconsin)
St. Catherine's High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Racine, Wisconsin. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.-History:St. Catherine's traces its origins to the fall of 1864, when the Racine Dominican Sisters...
, was named to the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Pro Bowl in 1958, his rookie season. Mertens was officially a member of the 49ers during the 1966 season, although his career was over. Jerry ended his own career when he delivered a bone crushing hit to Bart Starr for a six yard sack, which resulted in him breaking his neck. He was forced to sit on the sidelines for the reminder of the game. The doctors had failed in finding the fractured bones, until the next day when he had awoken from chronic pain in his neck. He spent nine months in a full body cast, but eventually had a full recovery. After retiring at the age of 30, Mertens settled into a career as a fertilizer broker and working for kids' programs as a member of the NFL Alumni.
He and his wife Karen also helped raise his three children – Gregory, Debbie and Lauri – and now had four grandchildren (Jamie, Stephanie, Scott, and Gregory) in the San Francisco bay area. He also eventually became president of the NFL Alumni Association, a position he held for over 10 years.