Hughes was selected in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft and played three seasons with the Eagles before he was traded to the Detroit Lions prior to the start of the 1970 season. Although listed as a wide receiver he saw most action on special teams, being a backup at wide receiver. In his five-year career he caught only 15 passes.
Death
On Oct. 24, 1971, the Lions hosted the Chicago Bears at Tiger Stadium. Late in the 4th Quarter, with Detroit trailing 28–23, the Lions were driving into Chicago territory and Hughes, who entered the game as an injury replacement, caught a pass from quarterback Greg Landry for 32 yards and a first down at the Bears' 37-yard line. Three plays later, Landry threw a pass that tight endCharlie Sanders dropped near the end zone. Hughes, a decoy on the play, began running back to the huddle with 1:02 showing on the clock. Suddenly, he dropped to the turf clutching his chest around the 20-yard line. Hughes collapsed near Bears linebackerDick Butkus, who saw him begin to convulse violently on the field. Butkus motioned to the sideline frantically to get Hughes assistance. Both teams' doctors and trainers, along with a physician who happened to be attending the game, ran to Hughes to try to save him. An ambulance was called for and arrived to take Hughes to Henry Ford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:34 pm that afternoon. He was 28 years old. The game was played to its conclusion in front of a now-stunned silent crowd in Tiger Stadium, with the Bears' lead holding. The Lions awaited word of Hughes' condition after the game and the players were informed once word had broken that he was dead. A postmortem examination revealed that Hughes was suffering from undiagnosed and advanced arteriosclerosis and that he had a family history of heart disease. The direct cause of death was a coronary thrombosis, which caused a massive myocardial infarction that cut off the blood flow to his heart. Hughes was buried in San Antonio, Texas, and all 40 of his Lions teammates attended his funeral, including head coachJoe Schmidt. He was survived by his widow, Sharon Leah, and by his son, who was 1 year and 11 months old at the time, Brandon Shane. A $10,000 trust fund was set up for his son Brandon by an insurance company. His widow filed a $21.5 million malpractice lawsuit against Henry Ford Hospital in 1972 for not diagnosing his condition when he was hospitalized after complaining of chest pains. The lawsuit was settled on October 3, 1974 for an undisclosed amount of money.
