Upshaw Played and Talked a Great Game
The Oakland Raiders made another outstanding pick when they selected guard Gene Upshaw of Texas A&I with the 17th overall selection in the 1967 AFL-NFL Draft, as the merger of the two leagues was beginning.
“Eugene who?” many supposed drafts experts asked when his name was announced.
That’s because Raiders Managing General Partner Al Davis was the first NFL executive to scout, draft, and sign players from Black colleges in the South. However, they all did later after seeing the success the Silver and Black had in doing so.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Upshaw moved into the starting lineup at left guard the first day he arrived in Oakland and was strong in all phases of the game, becoming probably the best pulling guard in National Football history.
Upshaw also talked a good game.
Raiders' Icon Gene Upshaw transformed the National Football League on and off the field.
© Malcolm Emmons | 1967 Sep 1
“Uppy was talking all the time, even on the field during games,” Raiders quarterback Kenny “Snake” Stabler recalled several years ago. “He would even be talking as we huddled up, so I just let him go. But when he stuck my head in the huddle, a lot of times, I would have to tell him to shut up because I had to call the play.
“But he was a bright guy who had many interesting things to say, so he was worth listening to, on and off the field. But, he almost never shut up.”
Upshaw played all 15 of his NFL seasons with the Raiders, was selected to the All-Pro team eight times and to the All-AFL team twice, played in six Pro Bowls, and is a member of the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, the NFL 75th Anniversary Team, and the NFL 100th Anniversary Team.
“Upshaw was a dominant interior force, earning 1970s All-Decade honors along with seven Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pro nominations,” Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated wrote. “Playing between fellow Hall of Famers in left tackle Art Shell and center Jim Otto, Upshaw helped create one of the best offensive lines in NFL history.”
Upshaw also was involved in one of the most memorable plays in Raiders history when he pulled to the left and led Stabler to a one-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left in the game to give the Silver and Black a 24-21 victory over the New England Patriots a 1976 Divisional playoff game at the Oakland Coliseum.
“My knees were shot by then and I wasn’t very fast, so I don’t think they expected me to run,” Stabler said. “But I knew that I simply had to stay right behind Uppy and that they would have no chae to stop me.”
Said Upshaw: "Running over those defensive backs was my biggest thrill in football, and that's why I just loved t
Stabler, Upshaw, and those Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-7, in the AFC Championship Game and down the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, in Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
“Gene was a nightmare for us,” Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller of the Vikings said. “He was a tough, rugged guy to play against. Gene was the pilot of that great offense. I hope people remember that.”
Upshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 1987, and said during his induction speech: “(The Raiders) have been classed as renegades, misfits, mavericks, but we all stick together out there, and we always will. We had some unique individuals.
“We have had a tradition with the Raiders that winning was the most important thing, winning is all that matters. As Al Davis says: ‘Just win, Baby.’”
After retiring, Upshaw served for 25 years as executive director of the NFL Players Association, a position he held until his death from pancreatic cancer at 63 in 2008 at his home in Lake Tahoe, Calif.
The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.
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