RIP Jack Tatum

There was sad news earlier this week as Raider legend Jack Tatum passed away from a heart attack at age 61. Tatum had worked for the NFL in recent years as part of the "fashion police", the group comprised mostly of ex-NFL players who enforce the uniform dress code on Sundays, which results in fines against players who don't conform to standards.

Tatum is mostly known for his hit on Patriot WR Darryl Stingley in 1978 that left Stingley paralyzed for the rest of his life. Although the hit was clean and there were no fines or suspensions as a result of the hit, Tatum became synonymous with violence in pro football, and was never given the consideration he should have received for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In Tatum's autobiography, They Call Me Assassin, Tatum told a story of being turned away at the hospital when he went to visit Stingley after the incident, and never returning. To this day, many of Stingley's teammates are still angry with Tatum. Ex-Patriot QB Steve Grogan even went on the radio to blast Tatum this week (classy!).

The young fan of today's NFL has a tendency to overrate today's player, while ignoring the contributions of past greats to the game. Jack Tatum is never going to receive the credit he deserves as one of the best free safeties of the seventies, and well as a cornerstone of one the best franchises of that period. The seventies Raider teams were excellent in the secondary, and Tatum had as much to do with that as anyone else, including Hall of Fame CB Willie Brown.

It's not easy to be remembered for your worst moment, no matter what it is. I'll always try to remember Tatum as a devastating hitter and a winner.