"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,"
"Football is a collision sport,"
"If you don't have a certain mentality you will get run out of the game."
"We wore the Silver and Black with pride. We understood what the tradition was and what we had to live up to."
George Atkinson died at 78; the Raiders announced his death and did not reveal a cause. He disclosed symptoms consistent with CTE in 2016. Atkinson anchored the 1970s Soul Patrol secondary that helped lead the Raiders to their first Super Bowl title and remained connected to the organization until his death. He played 144 games across 11 NFL seasons, spending 10 with the Oakland Raiders and a final season with the Denver Broncos. He appeared in seven AFL/AFC championship games and helped the Raiders win the Super Bowl following the 1976 season. His 33 career interceptions rank fourth in Raiders history, and he was known for physical play and toughness.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]