I remember not having back pain. Just barely, but I do remember it. I also remember the exact moment that it popped and my life has never been the same. That was a long time ago and it’s been a battle. I had surgery once and after my recovery, I had a few months of no pain. But, one day, I just casually bent over and it popped again.

Very few are the days that I can’t walk, or even move, but every day has pain. Now, I have three pinched nerves in my back which causes not only back pain, but pain down my legs. It’s pretty much constant.

It really sucks, but what is the alternative? I’ve been to countless doctors and insurance won’t pay for another surgery. Neuropathy in the feet doesn’t help, either.

Why am I writing this? Do I want your pity?

No. Absolutely not.

I’m just saying I feel for anyone that has back problems.

I’ve written pretty often about the Super Sophomores of Ohio State in 1968. There’s a reason for that,

also. When I was a young kid, I remember watching the Rose Bowl and seeing a quarterback by the name of Rex Kern and he was kind of a life time hero for me.

I’ve written about him many times on this blog.

Of the entire group of Super Sophomores in that 1967 recruiting class, Rex Kern was probably the most well known. Was he the top recruit? No, that probably would have been Jack Tatum, or maybe John Brockington.

But, Kern was their quarterback and their leader, both on and off the field.

When Rex Kern was in high school, he was a star quarterback. But, he was also a star basketball and baseball player. He was just a top athlete, over all.

He was recruited nationwide in football. But, surprisingly, he was also recruited by the big boys in basketball. UCLA was after him, as well as the powerhouses of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Of course, the local Ohio State Buckeyes wanted Kern really badly also.

John Havlicek, of Boston Celtics fame, played college basketball at Ohio State and he teamed with roommate Jerry Lucas to win the 1960 NCAA basketball championship. Kern grew up idolizing Havlicek, kind of like I grew up idolizing Kern.

Kern was seriously considering attending Ohio State as a basketball player.
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He was good enough in baseball to have been drafted by the Kansas City A’s before they moved to Oakland.

When Woody Hayes recruited Kern, he made the decision to attend Ohio State and play both football and basketball which would be no easy task.

Obviously, freshmen weren’t allowed to play on the varsity in any sport before 1972, so Kern played on the freshman football and basketball teams. Freshmen football teams didn’t play that many games, and they mostly served as scout team players for the varsity players.

In basketball, Kern injured his back.

As far as I know, there is no record of how serious his back injury was. But, it was serious enough that he required surgery. I don’t know why they decided to wait so long, but he had his surgery in June of 1968 just a couple of months before the season got going. Thankfully for Kern, and for Ohio State, the seasons started a lot later back then than they do now. They opened with SMU at home on September 28th.

Amazingly, Rex Kern was ready to go for the Mustangs of SMU and along with his Ohio State

teammates, they were very impressive. They started the 1968 season ranked 11th in the country and they fought their way to the national championship with a win over top ranked, and favored, USC in the Rose Bowl.

Over a nine game schedule, and then the tenth being the Rose Bowl, Rex Kern’s back held up. It held up long enough for him to lead the Buckeyes to a 27-2 record as a starter over 3 years.

But, Kern didn’t play basketball any more.

He was drafted in the 10th round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts as a defensive back. He played cornerback and safety as a rookie in every game. But, his second season was cut short by that back injury. Kern recovered and had a good 1973 season complete with a couple of interceptions. But, 1974 was his last year as an NFL player because of chronic back problems.

I’m sure a doctor worded it ‘degenerative’ at some point which is why insurance won’t pay to get mine fixed by a surgeon.

I’ll admit that I haven’t the slightest of clues how Rex Kern has been since his playing days as far as his back goes. Maybe he’s gotten it repaired by a top surgeon.

Or, maybe he’s suffered with it for years, as I have.

The only thing I know for sure is Rex Kern had back problems and he recovered enough to play and he was a fun player to watch.