Jim Gibbons obit

Former Detroit Lions hero Jim Gibbons dies at 79

 He was not on the list.

Jim Gibbons, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end who scored one of the most dramatic touchdowns in Detroit Lions history, died from double pneumonia Saturday in California. He was 79.

Gibbons starred for the Lions in 1958-68 and finished his career with 287 catches for 3,561 yards.

His most memorable play came in a 1960 game against the Baltimore Colts, when he scored a 65-yard catch-and-run touchdown as time expired to lead the Lions to an improbable comeback.

The Colts had scored the go-ahead touchdown seconds earlier on a Johnny Unitas pass to Lenny Moore. The Lions returned the kickoff to the 35-yard line and, with 10 seconds left and Baltimore in a prevent-type defense, Gibbons caught a pass across the middle from Earl Morrall and raced down the sideline for the game-winning score.

According to ESPN, Gibbons' touchdown remains the longest pass play to end a game in regulation in NFL history, just ahead of the Aaron Rodgers' Hail Mary pass to Richard Rodgers for 61 yards against the Lions last year.

"It was simply unbelievable," Gibbons told SportDetroit in 2001. "Just seconds before, the crowd noise was deafening. But when I crossed the goal line there was this dead silence. The Baltimore fans just stood there, shocked."

Gibbons, who played collegiately at Iowa, was known as a sure-handed pass catcher and one of the game's finest gentlemen. He moved to Aspen, Colo., after his playing career, where he was an avid skier and owned a restaurant, The Blue Moose.

"He was just an outstanding guy," said former Lions receiver Pat Studstill, who played six seasons with Gibbons in Detroit. "One that everyone loved. He was just such a nice guy, it's hard to believe that he'd get out there and crack back on (Ray) Nitschke. But he was always alert and on the ball, and he could catch anything."

Gayle Gibbons said her husband suffered from early-stage Alzheimer's disease and was diagnosed with pneumonia about 10 weeks ago. Gibbons' brain already has been donated to Boston University to study for the brain disease CTE, Gayle Gibbons said.

“One of his nicknames was 'Smiley' and I’d watch him on some of the games on Hulu, and the television announcer during the games, 'There’s Sticky Finger Gibbons catching another ball,'" Gayle Gibbons said. "He never misses them. He was just incredible."

While no public memorial service is planned, well wishers can make donations to the Jim Gibbons Fund at the Children's Hospital of Michigan. Proceeds will benefit the hospital's Tuberous Sclerosis Complex clinic.

Gibbons was very close with a niece who suffered from the disease, Gayle Gibbons said.