Three months into battling the demon memories of a play for which his career could be cruelly recalled, Dan Turk simply quit fighting the residual embarrassment of a botched snap that might have cost the Washington Redskins a shot at a Super Bowl berth last season.
Diagnosed with testicular cancer in April, the 15-year veteran instead had to turn his attention to battling for his life, a fight that Turk lost on Sunday when he succumbed to the disease.
Turk, 38, battled the cancer in private, politely but emphatically declining on three occasions to discuss with SportsLine.com by phone his prognosis and treatment. SportsLine.com had learned of Turk's illness in the spring, about a month after the original diagnosis, through league and club sources. But he changed his phone number from the one provided by a Redskins official, and then when a new one was finally secured, Turk was in no mood to talk about himself anyway.
"In the big picture," Turk said a few months ago, "it's not something people want to hear about."
He insisted that the members of the media who knew about the cancer not reveal it and asked that his teammates not discuss it.
Turk spent his final months at the University of Indiana medical center in Indianapolis, arguably the leading testicular cancer research and treatment center in the country. Only two months ago, a Redskins official told SportsLine.com it was his understanding Turk's condition was improving. The health of the veteran deep snapper declined, however, in recent weeks.
He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and daughter, Sarah, and hundreds of teammates with whom he played during stints with four different teams. "No matter what people said about his situation, you somehow expected him to beat it," said former Redskins kicker Brett Conway. "A lot of us tried to prepare ourselves for this possibility, but it's still a shock."
Turk's younger brother, Matt Turk, is a punter for the Miami Dolphins. The two were teammates in Washington for the 1997-99 seasons. Matt Turk was traded to the Dolphins this spring and Dan Turk did not have his contract with Washington renewed after the '99 campaign. Like his brother, Matt Turk also declined to talk about the cancer.
Despite being one of the NFL's premier centers for punts and placement kicks over the course of his tenure, Turk may be unfairly recalled for the final snap of his career.
It came at Tampa Bay on Jan. 15, with the Redskins trailing the Buccaneers 14-13 in a division-round playoff game, and Washington aligned for a 51-yard field goal attempt by Conway with just over a minute remaining. Turk bounced the snap toward holder Brad Johnson, who scooped up the ball and tried to pass, but was sacked by Tampa Bay's Floyd Young.
Turk entered the NFL as the fourth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the '85 draft. In addition to the Steelers (1985-86) and Redskins (1997-99), he also played for Tampa Bay (1987-88) and the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders (1989-96). He appeared in 218 games, with 40 starts.
