Walls donates kidney to ex-teammate Springs

Associated Press
March 1, 2007

DALLAS (AP) - Ron Springs and Everson Walls will always share a bond
forged over their years as teammates on the Dallas Cowboys. That's
nothing compared to their newest link - the kidney Walls donated to
Springs.

Springs and Walls were recovering at Medical City Hospital on
Thursday, a day after the transplant operation - the first between two
former U.S. professional athletes.

"That's brotherly love," Springs told The Associated Press in
December. "It's something you can't explain, but something that I will
always think about every day for the rest of my life."

The former football stars and their doctors are scheduled to hold a
news conference Friday. The players hope they can inspire others to
become organ donors by sharing their story.

The only other known transplants involving former pro athletes as
donors include Greg Ostertag giving a kidney to his sister in 2002
when he was playing for the Utah Jazz, and basketball Hall of Famer
Oscar Robertson donating a kidney to his daughter in 1997. Several pro
athletes have received an organ, with basketball players Alonzo
Mourning and Sean Elliott returning to play in the NBA following their
ordeals.

The 50-year-old Springs has suffered from diabetes for 16 years and
has been on the national transplant waiting list since 2004. The
disease has led to the amputation of his right foot and the big and
middle toes on his left foot, and caused his hands to curl into knots.
He also was forced into a wheelchair and needed dialysis three times a
week.

Providing his body accepts Walls' kidney, Springs will no longer need
dialysis and can expect his hands to regain their normal form. He also
should again be able to walk on his own.

"It's like getting a new battery in a car," Springs said in December.
"I'll be able to be back to basically almost 100 percent normal."

The 47-year-old Walls volunteered to be tested after things fell
through with two of Springs' relatives who were perfect matches.

"I said, 'Well, look, I know my blood type is the same as his. Why not
give it a shot and see what happens?"' Walls said in December.

Springs and Walls became fast friends during Walls' first training
camp with the Cowboys. They played together only four years (1981-84),
but their close relationship continued, enhanced by their wives and
children being close with each other, too.

The duo had wanted to keep the transplant quiet until it happened, but
word leaked in December through Springs' oldest son, Shawn, who plays
cornerback - Walls' old position - for the Washington Redskins.

Ron Springs joined the Cowboys in 1979 and became a starter alongside
Tony Dorsett in '81, the year Walls arrived as an undrafted rookie
from Grambling. Springs left in 1985, finishing his career with two
seasons in Tampa Bay.

Walls led the NFL in interceptions his first two seasons and again in
'85, making him the only three-time leader in NFL history. He picked
off 57 passes and made the Pro Bowl four times over his 14-year
career, which included stints with the New York Giants and Cleveland
Browns.