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[truthseeker]

Jack Tatum, the Oakland Raiders ‘Assassin,’ dead at 61

Jack Tatum, the defensive back known as “The Assassin” has died of a heart attack at the age of 61, according to Ohio State University.

Tatum played for Ohio State and later went on to become an NFL star with the Oakland Raiders.

In 1978, during a game with the New England Patriots, Tatum tackled wide receiver Darryl Stingley. The encounter on the football field left Stingley paralyzed and in a wheelchair until his death in 2007.

After retiring from the NFL in 1980, Tatum was diagnosed with diabetes. Due to the disease, his right leg and every toe on his left foot had to be amputated.

According to the Bleacher Report, Tatum was “the best at what he did: forcing opponents to either give up on the ball or wake up on the sidelines wondering what area code they were in.”

Tatum is survived by his wife Denise and three children.
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I'd rather be reasonable and wrong, than hysterical and right.

[Republicanfanz23]

Yeah, he was my idol. My dad gave me his book, "The Call Me Assassin" and I loved every page and applied it to my game. I played with violence, because one, I was not big for my position and two, I know it's bs, but I hate losing and I would steal, cheat and probably decapitate to win.

I'm not a Raider fan of todays Raiders, but I liked them, back in the day and Tatum is one of those reasons...

and heres something to stir up the pot, since the Steelers from the same era has been out-ed for using steroids in those days...Were the Raiders the best ever in that time period?

RIP Jack..maybe you can probably see Darryl and make amends you tried to do, when both of you were alive..
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For all Veterans who gave some and to Some who gave ALL...

[truthseeker]

You played D-Back in school RF?

I never played organized football (baseball was my best sport), but if I did, and I had "the wheels", my dream would have been to be a DB. A safety probably.

So like you, as a big Raider fan, and a fan of that Raider mystique, I've always had an admiration of Tatum. The ultimate intimidator.

I also thought what you said about him and Stingley meeting up again. I thought the same thing yesterday when I heard Tatum had died. He always handled the Stingley tragedy like an asshole imo. It would be nice if he could make amends for that in the after-life somehow.
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I'd rather be reasonable and wrong, than hysterical and right.

[Republicanfanz23]

nope, played linebacker. You know today on sports radio, the usual high moral white callers called Tatum a dirty player, but on the other hand, refused to put Dick Butkus in the same conversation..thoughts
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For all Veterans who gave some and to Some who gave ALL...

[truthseeker]

LOL. I'm not one bit surprised to hear that about the white male callers on sports radio. I don't listen to it much anymore these days, but I vividly remember that kind of thing.

It's like the white callers who hated Daryl Strawberry when he got into trouble, but loved Pete Rose no matter what. Or the ones who reveled when Barry Bonds came under steroids suspicion, but wouldn't say one word against Roger Clemens when the same happened to him.

Oh yes! I'm very familiar with the sports radio caller racial double standard you point out. And Tatum/Butkus is a damn good comparison imo. From what I've learned over the years, they both played the same type of intimidating game. Heck we could throw Jack Lambert in there too.
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I'd rather be reasonable and wrong, than hysterical and right.

[Mongo_Slade]

I can't be delicate when talking about Jack Tatum. He knocked mofo's the phuck OUT!

I'm from Ohio and he's still a legend there from when he played at Ohio State in the late '60s.

When he was a freshman he knocked a tight end and a wide receiver out cold IN THE SAME GAME.

Years after he graduated, Ohio State had a hard hitting safety named Doug Plank hit some guy so hard, he broke his ribs. When he got back to the sideline, he thought head coach Woody Hayes would praise him. All Hayes told him was, "So f'ing what? Tatum would have hit him harder."

You compliment a defensive back by saying they hit like a linebacker. You compliment a linebacker by saying he hits like Ronnie Lott. Ronnie Lott his like Jack Tatum.

RIP.
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Dear God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and a great big bag of money.

[Republicanfanz23]

Yeah he did, Mongo...can you imagine that the hits Tatum, Lott, Carrier and Harrison used to plant mofo's with...man!! and who can forget Steve Atwater from the Broncos...Ya'll remember that hit on Christian Okoye? let me see if I can youtube it...
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For all Veterans who gave some and to Some who gave ALL...

[Republicanfanz23]

Here it is!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvPxzQBIafo
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For all Veterans who gave some and to Some who gave ALL...