Savannah’s George Atkinson, NFL legend, dies at 78

George Atkinson, a Savannah native who went on to become a Super Bowl champion with the Oakland Raiders, has died.He was 78.The Johnson High School graduate was a key member of the Raiders’ 1977 Super Bowl championship team.The hard hits are what distinguished the 6-foot, 180-pound Atkinson from everyone else.”Those were the good old days. That’s where football was football. You had to be a man to play in those days,” Atkinson told WJCL 22 News last year.A prestigious career spanning 11 years in the NFL, including 10 with the then-Oakland Raiders, began right here in the city of Savannah. “I always had a desire and a dream of playing pro football at age 10 growing up on Waldburg Street, where we used to play in the streets. I was one of the fastest kids in the block,” Atkinson said.That God-given talent allowed him to compete in four different sports at Johnson High School. As a sixth-round pick in the 1968 draft, Atkinson went on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons with the Raiders. Atkinson started his professional career playing for John Rauch, but most notably for Hall of Fame coach John Madden. “Under John, we won a lot of football games. John was a players’ coach. You know, it was easy to play for him because John treated you like a man. We had three basic rules that was be on time for meetings and practice. Dress like a professional when you’re on the road and play like hell on Sundays,” Atkinson said.And that mindset helped lead one of the most talented defensive back backfields in Raiders history, known as the Soul Patrol. On Dec. 23, 1972, one of the most famous plays in the history of American football happened between the Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers. More than 50 years later, the Immaculate Reception still haunts Atkinson. “You never get over things like that,” Atkinson said. “Those things stay with you. I don’t care what people say. I mean, that was a pain that has never gone away.”But it also helped drive the team to victory years later. Winning in the Super Bowl in 1977, beating the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 to claim the organization’s first championship.

George Atkinson, a Savannah native who went on to become a Super Bowl champion with the Oakland Raiders, has died.

He was 78.

The Johnson High School graduate was a key member of the Raiders’ 1977 Super Bowl championship team.

The hard hits are what distinguished the 6-foot, 180-pound Atkinson from everyone else.

“Those were the good old days. That’s where football was football. You had to be a man to play in those days,” Atkinson told WJCL 22 News last year.

A prestigious career spanning 11 years in the NFL, including 10 with the then-Oakland Raiders, began right here in the city of Savannah.

“I always had a desire and a dream of playing pro football at age 10 growing up on Waldburg Street, where we used to play in the streets. I was one of the fastest kids in the block,” Atkinson said.

That God-given talent allowed him to compete in four different sports at Johnson High School.

As a sixth-round pick in the 1968 draft, Atkinson went on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons with the Raiders.

Atkinson started his professional career playing for John Rauch, but most notably for Hall of Fame coach John Madden.

“Under John, we won a lot of football games. John was a players’ coach. You know, it was easy to play for him because John treated you like a man. We had three basic rules that was be on time for meetings and practice. Dress like a professional when you’re on the road and play like hell on Sundays,” Atkinson said.

And that mindset helped lead one of the most talented defensive back backfields in Raiders history, known as the Soul Patrol.

On Dec. 23, 1972, one of the most famous plays in the history of American football happened between the Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers. More than 50 years later, the Immaculate Reception still haunts Atkinson.

“You never get over things like that,” Atkinson said. “Those things stay with you. I don’t care what people say. I mean, that was a pain that has never gone away.”

But it also helped drive the team to victory years later. Winning in the Super Bowl in 1977, beating the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 to claim the organization’s first championship.