Former Oakland Raiders star George Atkinson, who helped the franchise to its first Super Bowl championship in the 1976 season, has passed away at the age of 78.
The Las Vegas Raiders announced the news of George Atkinson’s passing in an X/Twitter post. The Raiders said they were “deeply saddened by” his death and offered prayers to his family.
After playing college football at Morris Brown, Atkinson was drafted in the seventh round (190th overall) by the Oakland Raiders in 1968. Though he was known as a hard-hitting safety, Atkinson was also an elite special teams returner during his prime years with the Raiders.
George Atkinson earned AFL All-Star selections in his first two professional seasons and shared AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with Miami Dolphins star Dick Anderson in 1968.
Coached by the legendary John Madden, Atkinson and the star-studded Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl 11 to win their first Lombardi Trophy. Atkinson had six combined tackles in that game.
Our thoughts and prayers are with George Atkinson’s family and friends and the Raiders’ organization during this difficult time.
George Atkinson Has The Fifth-Most Interceptions In Raiders History
Over his 10 seasons with the Raiders (1968 to 1977), Atkinson recorded 30 interceptions. That puts him at No. 5 on the franchise leaderboard, behind only Willie Brown (39), Lester Hayes (39), Terry McDaniel (34) and Vann McElroy (31), per Pro Fotball Reference.
George Atkinson, who played his final season with the Denver Broncos in 1979, is fourth in franchise history in punt return yards (1,247) and seventh in kick return yards (1,893). His three punt return touchdowns are also tied with four others for most in franchise history, along with Tim Brown, Claude Gibson, Johnnie Lee Higgins and Phillip Buchanon.
Atkinson had his best statistical season as a rookie in 1968, recording four interceptions, seven forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 490 punt return yards, two punt return touchdowns and 802 kick return yards.
The post Raiders Legend & Super Bowl Bowl Champion Has Tragically Passed Away originally published on Total Pro Sports.