| The Assassin – Jack Tatum -- passed away |
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Bueno, it’s with a heavy corazón, that I write this week’s column. On Jul 27th The Assassin – Jack Tatum -- passed away at a young age of 61.
Tatum was one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, a Pro Bowl safety who intimidated opposing players with bone-jarring tackles that helped make his Oakland Raiders one of toughest teams of its era.
He’s also a player who will always be tied to one of the game’s most tragic moments—a vicious but at that time a legal hit in a preseason game that left New England Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley paralyzed from the neck down.
Tatum died in an Oakland hospital. The cause was a massive heart attack, according to friend and former Ohio State teammate John Hicks. Tatum had battled diabetes and other health problems for years.
The collision with Stingley happened Aug. 12, 1978, at Oakland Coliseum. Stingley was cutting inside when he lunged for a pass which fell incomplete. Bearing down at full speed from the opposite direction, Stingley met the assassin while the receiver was off balance and leaning forward. Stingley went to the ground, his fourth and fifth vertebrae severed.
Over the years, Stingley would regain limited use of his body, but he spent the rest of his life in an electric wheelchair. He died in 2007. There were never words of consolation or an apology from Tatum, and the two players never spoke after the hit. Tatum said he tried to visit Stingley at an Oakland hospital shortly after the hit but was turned away by Stingley’s family.
Tatum showed no remorse for his headhunting ways in a 1980 book, They Call Me Assassin and the follow-ups They Still Call Me Assassin: Here We Go Again in 1989 and Final Confessions of an NFL Assassin in 1996.
Jack was a true Raider champion and a true Raider warrior. … Jack was the standard bearer and an inspiration for the position of safety throughout college and professional football. He wasn’t the type of person who was really out trying to maim anybody or hurt anybody. He was just doing his job. That’s the way he played the game.
After starring for Ohio State under coach Woody Hayes, Tatum was drafted in the first round by the Raiders in 1971. In nine seasons with the Raiders, he started 106 of 120 games, had 30 interceptions and helped the Raiders win the 1976 Super Bowl. He played his final season with the Houston Oilers in 1980.
In his third book, he wrote, “I understand why Darryl is considered the victim. But I’ll never understand why some people look at me as the villain.”
Tatum was not penalized on the play and the NFL took no disciplinary action, but it did tighten its rules on violent hits.
Despite their lingering resentment, Stingley was gracious in 2003 when he learned Tatum had diabetes and several toes amputated. “You can’t, as a human being, feel happy about something like that happening to another human being,” Stingley told The Boston Globe.
Tatum began a charitable group to help kids with diabetes and helped raise more than $1.4 million to fight the disease in the Columbus area. He was a good athlete and a good person. He gave a lot back to the community, but he didn’t want a lot said about it.
Tatum was also involved in “The Immaculate Reception” in the Raiders’ 1972 playoff loss to the Steelers. With 22 seconds left, Tatum jarred loose a desperation pass from Terry Bradshaw to Frenchy Fuqua with a trademark hit. The ball ricocheted into the arms of Steelers running back Franco Harris, who never broke stride and ran 42 yards for the winning touchdown.
Tatum was a part of the “super sophs” class that led Ohio State to an unbeaten season and the national championship in 1968. He stole the headlines in the Buckeyes’ showdown with No. 1 Purdue early in the season, shadowing All-American running back Leroy Keyes in Ohio State’s 13-0 upset of the Boilermakers. In his three years as a starter, Tatum’s teams went 27-2 and won two Big Ten titles.
Each week after an Ohio State game, the coaching staff awards the “Jack Tatum hit of the week” award for the hardest tackle or block by a Buckeye. “We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes,” current Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said in a statement. “When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans.”
Raiders safety Michael Huff sent a message on Twitter after learning of Tatum’s death: “R.I.P. Jack Tatum the assassin. One of the best safetys to ever play this game, his legacy will live forever.”
It was unfortunate that Tatum’s hitting overshadowed how well he did everything else. Jack should be in the Hall of Fame. There’s no question, no doubt about it. When you’re playing back in the middle, you have one job to do (and) that’s stop the long pass right down the middle. He did that better than anybody that I could think of.
Vaya con Díos Jack.
Mi amigo Roy Walton contributed the Ohio State portion, Roy is in his early eighties but can still swing a golf club. Love me or hate me at least your thinking of me , Tu Tío Ronnie.
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