Gene Upshaw
Encyclopedia
Eugene Thurman Upshaw, Jr. (a.k.a. Uptown Gene) (August 15, 1945 – August 20, 2008) was an American football
player for the Oakland Raiders
of the American Football League
and later the NFL
, later the executive director of the National Football League Players' Association
(NFLPA). In 1987, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
.
, USA. He graduated from Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville), where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity.
After playing football in college at a number of offensive line positions, he settled at left offensive guard
for the Oakland Raiders
in the American Football League
and the National Football League
for 15 years. During that time, he played in three Super Bowl
s; in the 1967, 1976, and 1980 seasons, making him the only person (other than Jerry Rice
) to play the game in three different decades. He also played in three AFL Championship Games, seven American Football Conference
title games, one AFL All-Star game
, and six NFL Pro Bowls. He was selected by The Sporting News' to the 1969 AFL All League
team.
He was part of a particularly strong offensive line during the 1976 season, with interior linemates Dave Dalby
at center and George Buehler
at right guard. In the 1976 AFC championship game of the 1976–77 NFL playoffs, the Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers
, rushing for 157 yards and passing for 88 yards. The Raiders then beat the Minnesota Vikings
in Super Bowl XI
, rushing for a whopping 266 yards and passing for 180 yards, as Upshaw overwhelmed the opposing defensive tackle, Alan Page
, a Hall-of-Famer. In the 1980 AFC championship game of the 1980–81 NFL playoffs, the Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers
, rushing for 138 yards and passing for 261 yards. The Raiders then beat the Philadelphia Eagles
in Super Bowl XV
, rushing for a 117 yards and passing for 261 yards again, as Upshaw, Dalby, and right guard Mickey Marvin
outmatched Eagle nosetackle Charlie Johnson and inside linebackers Bill Bergey
and Frank LeMaster
.
Upshaw is the only player in Professional Football
history to play in three Super Bowls with the same team in three different decades. In 1999, he was ranked number 62 on The Sporting News
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
He was the older brother of Marvin Upshaw
, who was a defensive lineman with the Cleveland Browns
, Kansas City Chiefs
and St. Louis Cardinals
.
(NFLPA) throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. He led the NFLPA in its unsuccessful strike in 1987 and through years of anti-trust litigation against the league, including a brief period in which the NFLPA became a professional association rather than a union, that ended with the union's acceptance of a salary cap
in return for free agency and an enhanced share of league revenues for the union's members. Until his death, he was the Executive Director of the Association.
He alienated many retired players after comments he made in response to 325 former AFL and NFL players receiving minimal retirement benefits. When the former players attempted to have the league and the Association consider their plight, Upshaw responded: "The bottom line is I don't work for them. They don't hire me and they can't fire me. They can complain about me all day long. They can have their opinion. But the active players have the vote." Upshaw later said he was misquoted and was speaking solely about fellow Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure
, further saying "A guy like DeLamielleure says the things he said about me; you think I'm going to invite him to dinner? No. I'm going to break his damn neck." While Upshaw's comments were true on the letter of the NFL's benefit rules—the NFLPA is charged with the union rights of active players, and any matters dealing with retirees are subject to negotiations between the NFLPA and the NFL Management Council—they were badly received by both former and current players, fans, and the media. Prior to his death, a campaign was allegedly being led by Ravens kicker Matt Stover
to oust Gene Upshaw as head of the NFLPA; however, all parties have denied such a plan. Stover along with a number of other players claim to have only been seeking a definite succession plan in order to avoid a drawn out and messy transfer of power such as Upshaw's death has seen realized. Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae
, president of the NFLPA, had denied reports of mass callings from players for Upshaw to step down.
in 1987.
In 2004, the NCAA Division II sports information directors awarded the first Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year award. It is presented each year during the weekend of the NCAA Division II Football Championship by the Manheim (Pennsylvania) Touchdown Club.
, Upshaw began to feel ill. His wife Terri noticed that his breathing was labored, so she convinced him to go to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
on August 17. On August 20, Upshaw died with Terri and his sons Eugene III, Justin, and Daniel by his side, five days after his 63rd birthday.
After his sudden death, the NFL announced that for the opening weekend of the 2008 season
, all 32 teams would wear a patch on the left chest of the jerseys with the initials "GU" and his number 63, his jersey number with the Oakland Raiders
; the patch was also painted onto every NFL field for Week 1. Beginning in the second week of the season, all teams wore the patch as a decal on their backs of their helmets instead of a shoulder patch; the Raiders continued to wear the patch on their shoulder throughout the season.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player for the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
and later the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, later the executive director of the National Football League Players' Association
National Football League Players' Association
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is the labor organization for the professional football players in the National Football League . It has been at times a professional association, as well as a labor union...
(NFLPA). In 1987, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
.
Early life and football career
Upshaw was born in Robstown, TexasRobstown, Texas
Robstown is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Corpus Christi. It was founded about 1906, and was named for Robert Driscoll Jr., a landowner...
, USA. He graduated from Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville), where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity.
After playing football in college at a number of offensive line positions, he settled at left offensive guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
for the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
and the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for 15 years. During that time, he played in three Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s; in the 1967, 1976, and 1980 seasons, making him the only person (other than Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
) to play the game in three different decades. He also played in three AFL Championship Games, seven American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
title games, one AFL All-Star game
American Football League All-Star games
-All-League Teams:The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969...
, and six NFL Pro Bowls. He was selected by The Sporting News' to the 1969 AFL All League
American Football League All-League Teams
The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969...
team.
He was part of a particularly strong offensive line during the 1976 season, with interior linemates Dave Dalby
Dave Dalby
David Merle Dalby was a former American football center.-College:Dalby played for UCLA, where he became part of their All-Century team as center...
at center and George Buehler
George Buehler
George Siegrist Buehler, Jr. is a former American football offensive lineman in the American Football League and the National Football League.-High school career:...
at right guard. In the 1976 AFC championship game of the 1976–77 NFL playoffs, the Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, rushing for 157 yards and passing for 88 yards. The Raiders then beat the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...
, rushing for a whopping 266 yards and passing for 180 yards, as Upshaw overwhelmed the opposing defensive tackle, Alan Page
Alan Page
Alan Cedric Page is a justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1963, received his B.A. in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1967, and received his J.D. from the University of...
, a Hall-of-Famer. In the 1980 AFC championship game of the 1980–81 NFL playoffs, the Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, rushing for 138 yards and passing for 261 yards. The Raiders then beat the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1980 regular season...
, rushing for a 117 yards and passing for 261 yards again, as Upshaw, Dalby, and right guard Mickey Marvin
Mickey Marvin
Mickey Marvin is a former professional American football player. After attending the University of Tennessee, Marvin played in the National Football League for 11 seasons, from 1977 to 1987, as an offensive guard with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders...
outmatched Eagle nosetackle Charlie Johnson and inside linebackers Bill Bergey
Bill Bergey
William Earl Bergey is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player. He played collegiately for Arkansas State University and for the American Football League's Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL Philadelphia Eagles....
and Frank LeMaster
Frank LeMaster
Frank Preston LeMaster is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League who played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1974 through 1982. At 6'1", 195-lb., LeMaster was drafted by the Eagles from the University of Kentucky in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft...
.
Upshaw is the only player in Professional Football
Professional football
In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...
history to play in three Super Bowls with the same team in three different decades. In 1999, he was ranked number 62 on The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
He was the older brother of Marvin Upshaw
Marvin Upshaw
Marvin Allen Upshaw is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League. He played nine seasons for the Cleveland Browns , the Kansas City Chiefs and the St...
, who was a defensive lineman with the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
and St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
NFLPA career
Upshaw was an active member of the bargaining committee for the National Football League Players' AssociationNational Football League Players' Association
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is the labor organization for the professional football players in the National Football League . It has been at times a professional association, as well as a labor union...
(NFLPA) throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. He led the NFLPA in its unsuccessful strike in 1987 and through years of anti-trust litigation against the league, including a brief period in which the NFLPA became a professional association rather than a union, that ended with the union's acceptance of a salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
in return for free agency and an enhanced share of league revenues for the union's members. Until his death, he was the Executive Director of the Association.
He alienated many retired players after comments he made in response to 325 former AFL and NFL players receiving minimal retirement benefits. When the former players attempted to have the league and the Association consider their plight, Upshaw responded: "The bottom line is I don't work for them. They don't hire me and they can't fire me. They can complain about me all day long. They can have their opinion. But the active players have the vote." Upshaw later said he was misquoted and was speaking solely about fellow Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure
Joe DeLamielleure
Joseph Michael DeLamielleure is a former American football offensive lineman who was an All-American at Michigan State. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft. He won All-Rookie Honors, after finding out a physical condition with his irregular heartbeat was...
, further saying "A guy like DeLamielleure says the things he said about me; you think I'm going to invite him to dinner? No. I'm going to break his damn neck." While Upshaw's comments were true on the letter of the NFL's benefit rules—the NFLPA is charged with the union rights of active players, and any matters dealing with retirees are subject to negotiations between the NFLPA and the NFL Management Council—they were badly received by both former and current players, fans, and the media. Prior to his death, a campaign was allegedly being led by Ravens kicker Matt Stover
Matt Stover
John Matthew "Matt" Stover is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek origin. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore...
to oust Gene Upshaw as head of the NFLPA; however, all parties have denied such a plan. Stover along with a number of other players claim to have only been seeking a definite succession plan in order to avoid a drawn out and messy transfer of power such as Upshaw's death has seen realized. Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae
Kevin Mawae
Kevin James Mawae is a former American National Football League center. During a 16-year football career, he played for the Seattle Seahawks , New York Jets , and the Tennessee Titans . Mawae was a four-year starter for LSU and was selected second-team All-SEC by Associated Press and SEC coaches...
, president of the NFLPA, had denied reports of mass callings from players for Upshaw to step down.
Hall of Fame and other honors
Upshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1987.
In 2004, the NCAA Division II sports information directors awarded the first Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year award. It is presented each year during the weekend of the NCAA Division II Football Championship by the Manheim (Pennsylvania) Touchdown Club.
Death
While on vacation in mid-August 2008 at his home in Lake TahoeLake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
, Upshaw began to feel ill. His wife Terri noticed that his breathing was labored, so she convinced him to go to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
on August 17. On August 20, Upshaw died with Terri and his sons Eugene III, Justin, and Daniel by his side, five days after his 63rd birthday.
After his sudden death, the NFL announced that for the opening weekend of the 2008 season
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
, all 32 teams would wear a patch on the left chest of the jerseys with the initials "GU" and his number 63, his jersey number with the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
; the patch was also painted onto every NFL field for Week 1. Beginning in the second week of the season, all teams wore the patch as a decal on their backs of their helmets instead of a shoulder patch; the Raiders continued to wear the patch on their shoulder throughout the season.
See also
- Bay Area Sports Hall of FameBay Area Sports Hall of FameThe Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame honors sports figures who have made a significant impact in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization is a section 501 non-profit, that was created by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce in 1979.-Inductees:...
- List of American Football League players
- Most consecutive starts by a left guard
External links
- Upshaw's football card
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: member biography