R.I.P. Jack Tatum
- Thread starter RollTide72
- Start date
might be thee biggest hitting safety of allll tiiiimes......
he was somethin`....a large part of that old raider mystique...
he was somethin`....a large part of that old raider mystique...
Yeah it is hard to believe that he didnt feel enough remorse to do more. God knows something like that would haunt me.
It's funny because I have the same impression but John Madden said it was the complete opposite....but he could be "protecting one of his own"....
John Madden on Tatum's reaction to Stingley injury: "It ate at him his whole life"
Posted by Mike Florio on July 28, 2010 12:22 AM ET
As part of an excellent obituary of former Raiders safety Jack Tatum, who died Tuesday of a heart attack while waiting for a kidney transplant, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times obtained reaction from Tatum's coach in Oakland, John Madden.
Madden told Farmer that the play for which Tatum was most notorious -- the August 1978 hit on Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley that left him paralyzed -- had a dramatic impact on the man who seemed to relish his reputation as a fierce hitter.
"It ate at him his whole life," Madden said of Tatum.
Madden also said that Tatum didn't want to be known as an assassin, but that the label was foisted upon him based on the title to Tatum's autobiography. "After the book, people started to call him 'The Assassin' and say that that was his nickname, which was never true, and that he called himself an assassin, which he didn't," Madden told Farmer. "The story is that he's a high school All-American and he's recruited to Ohio State as a hitter. And he's praised to be a hitter. And he plays at Ohio State and he's an All-American, because he's a hitter. And he goes to the pros and is a first-round draft choice because he's a hitter.
"And then he hits a guy, the guy doesn't get up, and they call him an assassin."
First of all, that brilliant-in-its-simplicity explanation from Madden makes me realize how much I miss hearing him on my television. Second, Tatum really shouldn't be chastised for doing too effectively the job he was hired to do -- especially since the NFL still loves to show us the kinds of hits that Tatum used to dish out, as long as the guy who absorbed the blow was able to get up afterward.
Saw him at a sports memorabilia show with some other Raiders about 4 years ago in Canton, Ohio. He looked the part of "The Assassin". Hardly said a word, while on the other hand Lester Hayes wouldn't shut up. :shrug:
Being a Steeler fan, my most memorable play of Tatum's was the Franco Harris catch not Stingley's hit. I always felt fortunate he went for the big hit and didn't try to bat the ball down.
RIP JACK TATUM :0008 YOU WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED BY FRIEND OR FOE
Being a Steeler fan, my most memorable play of Tatum's was the Franco Harris catch not Stingley's hit. I always felt fortunate he went for the big hit and didn't try to bat the ball down.
RIP JACK TATUM :0008 YOU WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED BY FRIEND OR FOE
An interview with Steve Grogan, the QB who threw the pass, said that Madden couldn't do enough for Stingley. But he said he had nothing good to say about Tatum. Said Tatum exploited the hit to make money and the only times he approached Stingley he had tv cameras with him and Stingley wanted no part of him.
