Jack Tatum, 61, Oakland Raiders Legend dies: I saw Darryl Stingley hit

Tatum crushes Stingley (NY Times)

Jack Tatum, the Oakland Raiders Legend dies at the young age of 61, and this blogger is shocked: Jack Tatum is one of those people who, as an Oaklander, is like part of your mental furniture; you just expected him to be there, forever.

That's especially true because I saw Darryl Stingley as he was hit by Jack Tatum at the 1978 preseason game between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. I was at Skyline High School at the time (in fact, unbelievably, our 30th reunion is this weekend) and went to the game with my good friend Bill Boyd (who you may remember from my Star Trek video, if you follow this space).

Bill and I were nerds before the term was created. In Bill Boyd's case, he was given to a Monty Python-style of humor: he could sing the "LumberJack Song" on cue. (Well, OK, all of us - me, Bill, Lars Frykman, and Craig Prior on a good day - could.)

Anyway, it was Bill's first pro football game at the Oakland Coliseum - I got the tickets from my Mom, who was friends with Raiders Defensive Tackle Otis Sistrunk and Marvin Upshaw, brother of Oakland Raiders Legend and later NFL Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw at the time - and he was in rare form. When the Oakland Raiderettes Cheerleaders were introduced, Bill stood up in his seat and yelled "SEX! SEX! SEX!" When the Oakland Raiders players came out, he got up and yelled "VIOLENCE! VIOLENCE! VIOLENCE!" Well, he was right.

The New England Patriots and Darryl Stingley in particular, were having a field day on offense against the Raiders. I got used to seeing Stingley run after the catch with abandon; Tatum put a stop to that.

As I recall, Stingley caught a slant pass and headed up field; I saw a number 32 cross my binoculars, and then a resounding crack. That was it.

The Oakland Coliseum was the quietest it's ever been. Darryl Stingley was down and Bill and I thought he died. That's a wild something to experience, especially when you're a teenager.

Then, after what seemed to be an eternity, they brought out a stretcher, gently lifted Stingley, and took him to an ambulance.

As you know by now, Darryl Stingley was paralyzed.

That event forever changed Jack Tatum and NFL Football. He played with less abandon after that, and it closed a chapter in Oakland Raiders history where the team was considered to have "criminal elements" on it. The charge came from then-Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Chuck Knoll, who's own players had some of the same claims aimed at them...by the Raiders.

Shortly after that event, and entering the 80s, the NFL liberalized defensive contact rules, allowing receivers to run through defenses without being "chucked" beyond five yards, whereas a defender could hit a receiver and knock the person off course before.

That change paved the way for the wide-open NFL of today.

That ended the Jack Tatum era.

Jack Tatum, whom I met once, was from what I recall a quiet and nice person; not at all like his football persona.

He died too young, but his sprit lives on. Perhaps the modern Oakland Raiders will channel his energy into an NFL Championship.

Stay tuned. What a sad day for Oakland sports. Jack Tatum, RIP.