According to ESPN, Jack Tatum, one of the most intimidating DBs and an iconic Oakland Raider, has passed away due to a heart attack. He was 61.
I never saw Tatum play. Just before my time. But coming up as a football player and fan, he was one of those players that older fans made sure that you knew of. Like Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, and Deacon Jones. The legends told of them and their exploits on the field would create the folk tales of my youth and subsequent indoctrination into the game. "The Assassin" was known for some of the most punishing hits in the 1970s for the Oakland Raiders. Him, George Atkinson, Willie Brown, and Skip Thomas formed one of the most talented secondaries and were known as "The Soul Patrol" which won Super Bowl XI against the Vikings.
Losses like these, I call some oldheads and talk to them, sharing the news and trying to hear their stories about how Tatum would make a bitch out of Lynn Swann.
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