Former Buffalo Bills special teams standout Mark Pike died on Wednesday at the age of 57 after a battle with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
Pike spent 13 seasons with the Bills and was a key contributor throughout their run to four straight Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990’s. He played in 173 career games for the team from 1986-1998 and is the franchise’s all-time leading tackler on special teams with 255 career tackles.
The mark is also second in recorded NFL history behind only the 298 of Larry Izzo, who played for the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets.
“It had been such a great privilege for me to have been his coach with the Buffalo Bills during the 1990’s when Mark had been such an integral part in contributing to the success our teams enjoyed during our four trips to those Super Bowl games and beyond,” former Bulls coach Marv Levy said of Pike, via the Bills. “Mark was not only an outstanding defensive lineman, linebacker, and special teams standout, but he was the epitome of all that I had ever hoped our players would be like.”
Pike’s battle with Lymphoma was complicated by a Covid-19 infection, which was followed by pneumonia.