Portland Timbers legend Jimmy Conway, an influential figure in Portland soccer history, died in 2020 at age 73 after battling trauma-induced dementia. Now, three years later, a Boston University study released Tuesday diagnosed Conway and three other deceased former NASL players with the brain disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE is a degenerative brain disease found in some former athletes with a history of repeated concussions or other traumatic brain injuries. The study was conducted by a research team in Boston led by Dr. Ann McKee, who examined Conway’s brain post-mortem — currently the only way to diagnose the disease.
“Soccer poses a clear risk for the development of CTE,” McKee said in a news release. “We’ve found CTE in soccer players, young and old, non-professional and professional. There needs to be greater emphasis on reducing or eliminating heading during soccer, as heading is a major source of concussions and the repetitive nonconcussive injuries that cause CTE.”
According to researchers, Conway’s wife, Noeleen, began noticing Conway’s struggles maintaining conversations beginning in his mid-50s. At 63, 10 years before his death, Conway went public with his diagnosis of dementia.
CTE is highly prevalent in former American football players as well, and more widely discussed. Boston University researchers have identified CTE in the brains of 345 of 376 (91.7%) deceased NFL players studied.
But headers and head-to-head collisions in soccer are major risk factors for the development of the disease. Researchers identified Stage 4 CTE in Conway and three other former NASL players: Jim Fryatt, Jimmy Gabriel, and Franny Pantuosco.
“I am frustrated that American soccer organizations have, so far, refused to acknowledge that repeated heading in soccer can cause CTE,” Dr. Chris Nowinski, CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, said in the release. “CTE is entirely preventable, and every day they don’t confront it, we give soccer players new cases of CTE. Considering how many children play between the ages of 11 and 18, when heading is allowed, this is simply unacceptable.”
Conway is in the Timbers’ ring of honor at Providence Park. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, he played 14 years of professional soccer in Ireland and England, including 11 seasons at Fulham FC, before joining the NASL Timbers in 1978.
Conway became a fixture in the Portland soccer community after three seasons with the Timbers and two with their indoor team. He spent 28 years as director of coaching for the Oregon Youth Soccer Association, five seasons as the men’s soccer coach at Pacific University, and 11 seasons as the founding men’s soccer coach at Oregon State University.
The Concussion Legacy Foundation has a HelpLine that “provides free, personalized support to patients and families battling concussion or suspected CTE symptoms,” the release said. Those interested in receiving assistance or support can go to CLFHelpline.org.
Former soccer players interested in contributing to research efforts to prevent future cases of CTE can join the Concussion Legacy Foundation Research Registry, which allows former players to enroll in relevant studies or pledge to donate their brains if they so choose for additional research after their death.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com, Twitter: @RyanTClarke
