During his heyday, 'Slammin' Sam' Backo was among the toughest rugby league players. Now, he's facing his biggest test yet and hoping to inspire Queensland to an Origin series win.
abc.net.au/news/slammin-sam-backo-survives-quadruple-bypass-heart-surgery/102415644It was among the most fearsome sights in rugby league during the mid-to-late 1980s: Sam Backo, at 188 centimetres and 115 kilograms, charging at the defensive line with a full head of steam.Rugby league legend Sam Backo is recovering from quadruple by-pass heart surgery and a double knee replacement
"Slammin' Sam" as he became known, left tacklers in his wake during his distinguished career playing 153 first-grade games for the Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and Leeds in the United Kingdom.But it's his seven games for Queensland, and his dominant performances in the 1988 State of Origin series, that he remembers most fondly."But I always thought State of Origin was the toughest football I've ever played in.
He suffered a massive heart attack while he was in hospital in Cairns undergoing a double knee replacement – the toll of decades plying his trade in one of the toughest sports in the world, and a post-playing career as a roofer."They put three stints in to keep me going, and then I got transferred to Brisbane.He went into a coma following his heart attack and was clinically dead for about two minutes.
"They're from right across the spectrum of all the different clubs and teams I've played for [and against]."Backo has a long road to recovery ahead, including medical procedures and an arduous rehabilitation process.
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