Oakland Raiders Jack Tatum Dead at 61

By Alicia Cruz

The Black Urban Times

They called him the "Assassin."

He was Jack Tatum. Well known for being one of the hardest hitting defensive backs in the NFL, Tatum, a Pro Bowl safety for the Oakland Raiders, took out players from tight ends to wide receivers during his playing career.

Tatum, who grew up in Passaic, died Tuesday in an Oakland, California hospital of a massive heart attack. He was 61.

Tatum's career on the gridiron began during his sophomore year at Passaic High School, where he played as a running back, fullback and defensive back. As a senior, he was selected All-American and was also selected first-team All-State. In 1999, The Star-Ledger named Tatum one of New Jersey's top ten defensive players of the century.

His collegiate tenure in football began at Ohio State University under the guidance of coach Woody Hayes, who recruited the former New Jerseyan as a running back.

Tatum went pro after he was drafted in the first round pick in 1971 for the Oakland Raiders, where he spent nine seasons of his career starting 106 of 120 games and helped the Raiders win the 1976 Super Bowl.

Tatum's pro-career culminated the same year he was traded to the Houston Oilers, 1980. Though his tenure with Houston was short-lived, he played all sixteen games that season and recorded career-high seven interceptions to finish with a career total of 37, which he returned for 736 yards. Tatum also holds the record for the longest fumble return in NFL history.

Sadly, Tatum's career highs matched their lows. In 1977, during the Super Bowl XI against the Minnesota Vikings, in a helmet-to-helmet hit, Tatum knocked the helmet off of Vikings wide receiver Sammy White sending it flying 8 yards from where the players landed. It was a massive hit, but White never lost the ball. The Raiders won that game 32-14.

Tatum's other notorious hit came in 1978 when he bore down on New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley in a head-on collision during a preseason game. The hit knocked Stingley unconscious, instantly paralyzing the former high school running back, compressing his spinal cord, breaking his fourth and fifth vertebrae.

Stingley eventually regained limited movement in his right arm, but was confined to a motorized wheelchair until his death in 2007 from heart disease and pneumonia complicated by quadriplegia.

The two players never spoke of the incident and Tatum was ridiculed for allegedly not ever having apologized to his fellow player for injuring him. Media outlets reported quotes from both players and their camps over the years since the fateful clash that indicated agonistic feelings towards one another.

It was reported that Stingley was hurt that Tatum never attempted to see or make amends towards him afterwards.

Tatum claimed he tried, but was turned away by the Stingley camp and as for an apology, the former Buckeye said he did nothing wrong that warranted an apology.

"People are always saying, 'He didn't apologize.' I don't think I did anything wrong that I need to apologize for. It was a clean hit," Tatum was quoted as saying.

Tatum dealt with his own disability, which eventually relegated him to a wheelchair after his right leg had to be amputated below the knee in 2003 due to an arterial blockage. Later, doctors were forced to remove the toes on his left foot because of a staph infection caused by diabetes, The MercuryNews.com reported.

His struggles led Tatum to educate others about the dangers of diabetes as well as establishing the Jack Tatum Fund for Youthful Diabetes, which finances diabetes research, serving as co-chair of an annual fundraiser for the Central Ohio Diabetes Association and Celebrities for Diabetes, which is held during the week of The Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus, Ohio.

After his retirement from the gridiron, Tatum, who later became part owner of a restaurant in Pittsburgh, California, moved into real estate becoming a land developer. He penned three best-selling books, "They Call me Assassin" (1980), "They Still Call Me Assassin" (1989), and in his last book, "Final Confessions of NFL Assassin Jack Tatum" (1996), Tatum wrote: "I was paid to hit, the harder the better. And I hit, and I knocked people down and knocked people out. ... I understand why Darryl is considered the victim. But I'll never understand why some people look at me as the villain."

"We are deeply saddened by the news of Jack Tatum's passing," the Raiders said in a statement. "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. Our thoughts, prayers and well-wishes go out to his wife Denise and family," The MercuryNews.com reported.

Tatum, who was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame and Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame, played 136 games during his NFL career and recorded 37 interceptions. He started for the Raiders in their first Super Bowl victory at the end of the 1976 season.

"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."

After learning of Tatum's death, Raiders safety Michael Huff tweeted: "R.I.P. Jack Tatum the assassin. One of the best safetys to ever play this game, his legacy will live forever."

Tatum leaves a wife, Denise and three children to mourn his passing.