George Atkinson, a hard-hitting former Oakland Raiders safety who struck fear in the opposition, has died. He was 78. The team announced Atkinson's death on Monday without revealing a cause of death, the AP reports. Atkinson had disclosed he was suffering symptoms consistent with CTE in a 2016 interview with the San Jose Mercury News. The Raiders called Atkinson the anchor of the team's "Soul Patrol" secondary of the 1970s that helped lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl title. Atkinson remained connected to the organization until his death.
"George's contributions as a friend and mentor to everyone in the Raiders organization continued long after his playing career, and his genuine personality and wonderful sense of humor will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him," the team said in a statement. Atkinson played 144 games in his career, spending 10 seasons with Oakland and a final season with the Denver Broncos. He played in seven AFL or AFC championship games and helped the Raiders win the Super Bowl after the 1976 season. His 33 interceptions in the regular season and playoffs rank fourth all-time for the Raiders. But he was most known for his physical play.
"Football is a collision sport," Atkinson said in 2016. "If you don't have a certain mentality you will get run out of the game." Picked in the seventh round in 1968, Atkinson was part of a draft class that included Hall of Famers Ken Stabler and Art Shell, as well as running backs Marv Hubbard and Charlie Smith, who all helped build the team into one of the league's best in the 1970s. "We wore the Silver and Black with pride," he said. "We understood what the tradition was and what we had to live up to." He made his mark in his professional debut, scoring on an 86-yard punt return, per the AP. He made the AFL Pro Bowl in his first two seasons as a returner and defensive back and formed the most feared safety duo in the NFL after Jack Tatum was drafted in 1971.
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In an era when receivers had little or no protection when going over the middle, Atkinson and Tatum punished anyone who tried. "We never go out on the field with the intention of trying to hurt anyone but we go out with intentions of getting our jobs done," Atkinson said at the time. His most famous hits came against Steelers Hall of Fame receiver Lynn Swann. He knocked him out in the 1975 AFC championship game and again in the 1976 season opener with a forearm to the back of the head on a play when Swann didn't even get the ball. "Maybe a little outside of the rules but that was George's way of setting the tone for the game," Stabler later said. Atkinson's twin sons George III and Josh both played football at Notre Dame, with George having a brief NFL career. Josh died by suicide in 2018, and George III died by suicide in 2019.
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