After the deaths of Yip Man and Bruce Lee, Spira faced an onslaught of attention from the press and was the subject of constant inquiries from the CIA, FBI and KGB. Spira managed to stay out of the public eye by covertly joining NASA, in hopes of establishing a settlement on the Moon. Upon his discovery that the Apollo 11 Moon landing was a hoax, Spira left NASA to sign as a free agent with the Chicago Bears under the pseudonym Levi Shapiro. Only one photo was ever captured during Spira’s NFL career, and we were able to purchase it for this website at a Sotheby’s auction. His helmet and facemask allowed him to remain undetected, leading the authorities to end their search for Spira. He was presumed dead from 1973 until 1980.
