NFL mourn dying of Oakland Raiders legend George Atkinson | EUROtoday
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George Atkinson, the formidable former Raiders security identified for his hard-hitting play, has handed away at 78.
His dying was introduced by the Raiders on Monday, although the membership didn’t reveal a trigger. Atkinson had disclosed signs per continual traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a 2016 interview with the San Jose Mercury News.
The Raiders hailed him because the anchor of their Nineteen Seventies ‘Soul Patrol’ secondary, pivotal in securing their first Super Bowl title, and he remained related to the organisation.
“George’s contributions as a friend and mentor to everyone in the Raiders organization continued long after his playing career, and his genuine personality and wonderful sense of humor will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him,” the crew stated in a press release.
Atkinson performed 144 video games in his profession, spending 10 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and a ultimate season with the Denver Broncos. He performed in seven AFL or AFC championship video games and helped the Raiders win the Super Bowl following the 1976 season.
His 33 profession interceptions within the common season and playoffs rank fourth all-time for the Raiders however he was most identified for his bodily play.
“Football is a collision sport,” Atkinson instructed the San Jose Mercury News in 2016. “If you don’t have a certain mentality you will get run out of the game.”
Atkinson joined the Raiders after being drafted within the seventh spherical in 1968. He was a part of a stellar draft class that included Hall of Famers Ken Stabler and Art Shell, in addition to working backs Marv Hubbard and Charlie Smith, who all helped construct the crew into one of many high within the league within the Nineteen Seventies.
“We became part of the nucleus for the Raiders from that draft,” Atkinson as soon as instructed the crew web site. “We wore the Silver and Black with pride. We understood what the tradition was and what we had to live up to.”
Atkinson was a significant a part of that, nearly from the beginning, scoring on an 86-yard punt return in his skilled debut. He made the AFL Pro Bowl in his first two seasons for his play as a returner and defensive again and later grew to become a part of probably the most feared security duo within the NFL after Jack Tatum was drafted within the first spherical in 1971.
In an period when receivers had little or no safety when going over the center, Atkinson and Tatum doled out harsh punishment to anybody who tried.
“We never go out on the field with the intention of trying to hurt anyone but we go out with intentions of getting our jobs done,” Atkinson stated on the time. “If you don’t want to get hit, it’s best not to show up when we play Sunday. I guarantee you will get hit.”
Atkinson’s most well-known hits got here in opposition to Pittsburgh and Hall of Fame receiver Lynn Swann. He knocked him out within the 1975 AFC championship recreation after which once more within the 1976 season opener with a forearm to the again of the top on a play when Swann did not even get the ball.
“Maybe a little outside of the rules but that was George’s way of setting the tone for the game,” Stabler later stated in an interview with NFL Films.
The second hit on Swann led Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll to consult with Atkinson as a part of the “criminal element” within the NFL. Atkinson sued Noll for defamation however misplaced the swimsuit.
Atkinson’s twin sons George III and Josh each performed soccer at Notre Dame with George Atkinson III having a short NFL profession that included a stint with the Raiders. Josh died by suicide in 2018 and George III died by suicide in 2019.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/george-atkinson-death-nfl-oakland-raiders-b2853514.html