Originally published in The Journal-News in Hillsboro, Illinois

In a more perfect situation, Ricky Dees would be celebrating his 60th reunion this summer with his fellow classmates from the Litchfield High School class of 1965. Instead, Dees’ presence will be felt in a different way, a way that symbolizes the risks of the sport that he and his five brothers all played at LHS.

On May 15, the surviving brothers of the late Ricky Dees, Frank, Tim, Bill and Denis, met with Litchfield Superintendent Dr. Kelly McClain to donate the framed football jersey worn by their late brother.

The white Purple Panthers jersey will hang at the high school in memory of Dees, who died shortly after playing in an away football game in Staunton on Sept. 27, 1964, during his senior year. He died early the following morning at St. John’s Mercy Hospital in St. Louis.

In the week before his death, Dees, a defensive end, played in two football games for Litchfield High School. In the first game on Tuesday, he tackled a player and later developed a headache.

The next day at school, Dees confided in his younger brother and teammate Frank that the injury might have been more serious than once thought.

“I hurt my head. But don’t tell mom and dad. They won’t let me play,” Dees told his younger brother, who complied with his request.

During Saturday night’s away game, Dees tackled another player, went to the sidelines and collapsed. According to a Litchfield News Herald report, Dees told Coach Phil Mann that he was fine, but felt dizzy before collapsing on the bench. He died the next morning in the hospital.

Despite the accident, all six of Roy and Betty Dees’ sons played football for Litchfield, including four after the untimely death of their brother. Four of his brothers also went on to graduate from Southern Illinois University, where Dees was planning to go after graduation.

The family’s dedication to their brother’s memory doesn’t end there, though. In [2019 — obscured in print], Frank, Tim, Bill and their brother Charles, who passed away in 2021, founded It’s Just A Game (www.concussion-safety.org), a nonprofit dedicated to increasing awareness about the dangers of concussions.

In addition to details of the family’s story, the website, www.concussion-safety.org, also shares research about concussions and some of the hurdles for not immediately reporting concussion symptoms; a decision that the Dees family knows can be the difference between life and death.

The football jersey the family donated to their alma mater also underscores that fact. It doesn’t just serve as a reminder of a life tragically cut short, but also as a reminder to current and future Litchfield High School athletes to put their health first. Undoubtedly, Dees’ classmates and his family would rather have him around still today, but short of that, it’s hard to imagine a more noble legacy.