Nelson Toburen Nelson Edward Toburen ( born November 24 , 1938 in Boulder , Colorado ) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers . He played high school football at Colby High School and college football at Wichita State University as a End . Nelson Toburen , was selected in the 14th Round ( 194 overall ) of the 1961 NFL Draft , by the Green Bay Packers . Toburen , a second - year linebacker with the world champion Green Bay Packers , was making his first start in the National Football League . The date was November 18 , 1962 . The site was City Stadium , Green Bay Wisconsin . The opponent was the Western Conference rival Baltimore Colts led by star quarterback Johnny Unitas . " Unitas went back to pass and then started to run , " Toburen said . " ( Ray ) Nitschke was coming at him straight on and I was coming from the side . " I hit him squarely in the hip , but the mechanics of the tackle got blown up . My head was down and it should have been up . " Toburen ' s hit jarred the ball loose from Unitas and Nitschke recovered the fumble . But Toburen lie still on the City Stadium turf . " With my first start , my emotions were high , and I was playing reckless that day , " Toburen said . " It was the greatest thing with my first start in front of my wife and dad . One moment I was on top of the world and then I wasn ' t . " Before Toburen even hit the ground , James Nellen , the team physician , was off the Packer bench and running onto the field to assist . " Doc Nellen realized right away what had happened - Nelson had broken his neck , " said former Green Bay guard Jerry Kramer . " According to Kramer , Nellen put pressure on Toburen ' s neck as they put him on a cart , moved him off the field , loaded him in the ambulance , wheeled him into the hospital and took him up to his room where they put him into traction . Nellen ' s quick actions to stabilize Toburen ' s head and neck were instrumental to a successful outcome . " Nellen was wringing wet and shaking after that , but he made the difference , " Kramer said . " He preserved Nelson ' s functions and maybe his life . " The 6 - foot - 3 , 235 - pound Toburen said it was a tackle that he had made more than 1 , 000 times in his football career , but he immediately knew something was wrong , very wrong . " I was aware of things and just knew that it felt like my arms were on fire , " Toburen said . " Doc Nellen saved my bacon . He realized what was wrong and he didn ' t let me get up . " Toburen , whose sixth vertebrae broke in half and fifth was displaced , was fortunate that his spinal cord was stretched , not severed . At St . Vincent ' s Hospital , he was put in a body cast for the next six weeks . " I tell people I broke my damn neck , but I had to be dramatic and do it against a ( Pro Football ) Hall of Fame quarterback like Johnny Unitas , " Toburen said with a laugh . " But I accomplished everything I set out to do on the play - make the tackle and cause a fumble . " Most important , we won the game . The next week we lost our only game at Detroit , and I always told my teammates it was because I wasn ' t there . " But for Toburen , his first start in a Green Bay uniform also was his last . Nelson , obtained his law Degree , and eventually became a Judge in Kansas . ( 1 ) References . 1 . Injury Sent Toburen to Law School 2 . Judge Nelson Toburen