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Former Bama RB Ray Hudson has Passed Away at 42

WMack4Bama

WMack4Bama

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Per multiple reports and social media posts from family and friends, Ray Hudson, Alabama RB from 2001-2004 has passed away.

At one point, Santonio Beard, Ahmad Galloway, and Ray Hudson all shared the same RB room. They have all passed away over a 2 year span.

From a personal standpoint, it is very sobering since I was at UA at the same time as all these guys. Hug and love your loved ones. We never know when it may be the last time.

RTR
 
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WMack4Bama said:
From a personal standpoint, it is very sobering since I was at UA at the same time as all these guys. Hug and love your loved ones. We never know when it may be the last time.

RTR
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It hits harder when these guys die 10 years younger than you are.

Seem to recall he had some rough concussions, this has me wondering if this was CTE related.
 
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crimsonaudio said:
It hits harder when these guys die 10 years younger than you are.

Seem to recall he had some rough concussions, this has me wondering if this was CTE related.
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www.al.com

Ex-Alabama RB Ray Hudson copes with depression, anger, memory loss he ties to football

Hudson, whose career ended in 2004, is one of many ex-college football players suing the NCAA over its handling of head injuries. Hudson says his headaches today feel like "a small explosion in my head."
www.al.com www.al.com

Here is an article about him from 2014. A high school friend who lives in the Huntsville area posted on Facebook last night that he had died. So I googled him and found the above article although his death hadn’t yet made the news.

The article strongly suggests CTE. It is sad to read. One part said he couldn’t remember the end of the ABC song to sing to his daughter.

My friend said he and some other former players used to come into a place where she worked. Said he was a nice guy who prayed for her when she was going through cancer.
 
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Crimson1967 said:
www.al.com

Ex-Alabama RB Ray Hudson copes with depression, anger, memory loss he ties to football

Hudson, whose career ended in 2004, is one of many ex-college football players suing the NCAA over its handling of head injuries. Hudson says his headaches today feel like "a small explosion in my head."
www.al.com www.al.com

Here is an article about him from 2014. A high school friend who lives in the Huntsville area posted on Facebook last night that he had died. So I googled him and found the above article although his death hadn’t yet made the news.

The article strongly suggests CTE. It is sad to read. One part said he couldn’t remember the end of the ABC song to sing to his daughter.

My friend said he and some other former players used to come into a place where she worked. Said he was a nice guy who prayed for her when she was going through cancer.
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I was afraid of that. Thank you for the article.
 
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This name doesn't quite register with me. Beard and Galloway, yes. VAGUELY familiar with Hudson.

(Bear in mind, I missed both the 2001 and 2002 seasons because I was in medical school, and I lived in California in 2003, which made keeping up with the whole thing very difficult. And then I moved back to the South in 2004 during September, so my ability to see games and keep up with the Tide was quite limited).

But every time I see one of those names and an age number next to it younger than mine (54 this month), I just cringe. (The worst for me is anyone younger than my child).

I have battled depression all of my life and still do (this week has been rough), so all I feel here is deep sadness and empathy.

RIP Ray Hudson.
 
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Rip. We really didn’t handle a lot the guys from that eras injuries well it seems. I guess it’s across football but man we had a lot the walking wounded out there for what felt like 10 years
 
selmaborntidefan said:
This name doesn't quite register with me. Beard and Galloway, yes. VAGUELY familiar with Hudson.

(Bear in mind, I missed both the 2001 and 2002 seasons because I was in medical school, and I lived in California in 2003, which made keeping up with the whole thing very difficult. And then I moved back to the South in 2004 during September, so my ability to see games and keep up with the Tide was quite limited).

But every time I see one of those names and an age number next to it younger than mine (54 this month), I just cringe. (The worst for me is anyone younger than my child).

I have battled depression all of my life and still do (this week has been rough), so all I feel here is deep sadness and empathy.

RIP Ray Hudson.
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Selma…pertaining to your last thought…I have spent a lifetime wrestling with it also. I’m 57 years old, so you and I have basically seen the same world. When mine is ramped up, whatever is bothering me replays over and over in my head in an antagonistic loop. I admire your ability to persevere through bouts of depression, knowing the way your memory works. I’d imagine you see it as a blessing and a curse…depending on your emotional state in the moment. I hope your next week is much better than your last.
 
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As one who counseled many depressed people and have had my own bouts with "the blues" I must say that it can be dealt with, but does require a lot of effort. For severe cases drugs are usually a necessity. A lot of depression is chemically based. Lifestyle changes, i.e., exercise, regular meditation of one form or another, having a close group of friends who offer love and support, all of these are vital.
Good counseling helps us to be set free from the prison that our minds can become, especially when our internal focus is on our past. Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers...
 
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TIDE-HSV said:
My wife is from Oxford and knew Faulkner. Her father and he were friends. I know one sure path to depression is to dwell in the past...

"The past is not dead; it's not even past"
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This is 100% true.

Where it became an anomaly in my obviously outlier case was that it's not as though I try to do that, it just sorta happens.

In all honesty, one of the healthiest developments FOR ME was the discovery of other folks with my type of memory. Because it meant, "Okay, now we know this, how do we address THIS situation."

So "the dog" as Lincoln (or maybe it was Churchill, never was sure) called it - is more tame now.

I've stood on the Golden Gate Bridge (walked over it both ways with my Mom on my 34th birthday) and my thought was, "the walk to the middle is so long, so cold, so desperate, you can't help but feel for someone who would think of jumping off of here."
 
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Just had a conversation with a former UA player who had 13 concussions while playing football. 13!!! Just think about that...he has dealt with a lot of the same issues Ray Hudson enumerates, only it seems he had a much better support system...who knows? Now I feel guilty over supporting football when the players suffer so much, and some for the rest of their lives. A web search does not reveal a cause of death..found dead in his home. Eerily speaks to suicide which would not be unusual in a case like this.
 
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