Death of an Assassin

I won't blame you if you never heard of him, readers.

"Jack Tatum, 61, NFL all star known for hard-hitting play" by Rusty Miller, Associated Press | July 28, 2010

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jack Tatum, the Pro Bowl safety for the Oakland Raiders best known for his crushing hit that paralyzed the New England Patriots’ Darryl Stingley in an NFL preseason game in 1978, has died. He was 61.

Nicknamed “The Assassin,’’ Mr. Tatum died of a heart attack Tuesday in an Oakland hospital, according to friend and former Ohio State teammate John Hicks.

On Aug. 12, 1978, in an exhibition game against the Patriots, Mr. Tatum, who was known for his hard-hitting play, slammed into Stingley with his helmet while the receiver was running a crossing pattern. The blow severed Stingley’s fourth and fifth vertebrae and left the receiver paralyzed from the neck down.

The two never met after the hit. Stingley died in 2007.

Despite Mr. Tatum’s failure to show remorse, Hicks said Tatum was haunted by the play.

“It was tough on him, too,’’ Hicks said. “He wasn’t the same person after that. For years he was almost a recluse.’’

Mr. Tatum had said he tried to visit Stingley at an Oakland hospital shortly after the collision but was turned away by members of Stingley’s family.

“It’s not so much that Darryl doesn’t want to, but it’s the people around him,’’ Mr. Tatum told the Oakland Tribune in 2004. “So we haven’t been able to get through that. Every time we plan something, it gets messed up. Getting to him or him getting back to me, it never happens.’’

Part of the alienation came after Mr. Tatum wrote the 1980 book, “They Call Me Assassin,’’ in which he was unapologetic for his headhunting ways.

That is why this caught my eye. I read the book long ago and probably have it around the house here somewhere.

After starring for Ohio State under coach Woody Hayes, Mr. Tatum was drafted in the first round by the Raiders in 1971. In nine seasons with the Raiders, Mr. Tatum started 106 of 120 games with 30 interceptions and helped Oakland win the 1976 Super Bowl. He played his final season with the Houston Oilers in 1980....

Mr. Tatum was also a central figure in “The Immaculate Reception’’ in the Raiders’ 1972 playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With 22 seconds left, Mr. Tatum jarred loose a pass to Frenchy Fuqua from Terry Bradshaw, and the ball bounced off Fuqua’s foot and ricocheted into the arms of Steelers running back Franco Harris. Harris never broke stride and ran 42 yards for the winning touchdown.

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