Wesleyan Christian School high school football player dies after injury

There was nothing special about the play that sent Hamm to the sidelines during a home game Sept. 11 against Woodland High School, Clark said. It was the fourth quarter, and Hamm went for the tackle on a kickoff return.

“It wasn’t an unusual hit, wasn’t a bigger hit than anything else. In fact, there wasn’t much that stood out about it,” Clark said.

No one knew how serious it was until teammates and coaches learned over an hour after an ambulance took him from the field that Hamm was being rushed into surgery at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa.

After Hamm’s initial surgery, Clark said, everyone felt cautiously optimistic. A few days later, that prognosis was much bleaker.

On Friday, when the Mustangs’ bus pulled off the Turner Turnpike into Bristow on the team’s way to Depew to take on the Hornets in the first game since Hamm’s injury, they saw signs saying “Praying for Ben,” Clark said.

The signs went throughout Bristow and continued into Depew, and some were even hung up at the football field. Before the game, both teams prayed together to honor Hamm. Several other high schools did the same, Clark said.

And the prayers will likely continue. On the school’s football Facebook page, Hamm’s parents, Steve and Misti Hamm, said the best way people could help was to pray for comfort and keep their faith.

Hamm’s family moved to Bartlesville three years ago during his freshman year of high school, and he had played for the team ever since. He was team captain this year and a member of student council.

“Ben was a wonderful student. He was very passionate about life, passionate about his school, about football, about his family and — most importantly — he was passionate about God,” Clark said.

Passion was the word Clark most used when describing Hamm. Clark said you could see it in everything he did, from playing football to academics. Students were drawn to him because of his energy.

Hamm was always the kid who would paint his arms purple, wear a yellow wig and pump up other students for football games, Clark said.

Youth pastors and counselors will be on standby at the school for as long as students and staff need them, Clark said.

Since the tackle, coaches and even Hamm’s dad have reviewed the game film. No one knows what went wrong. Nothing stands out in the play or any of the plays from that game, Clark said.

Two years ago, during his freshman year, Hamm suffered a concussion and was out for the season, but numerous physicals, doctors appointments and trips to a neurologist all said Hamm was OK to play.

Hamm’s father told the school’s coaches he didn’t want them to feel guilty, Clark said.

In fact, the coaches had even implemented a new tackling style this year, modeled after the Seattle Seahawks’ approach. Athletes were coached to tackle with their arms, using their momentum to bring other players down instead of their body.