George Atkinson, the fierce, hard-hitting safety of the Oakland Raiders, has passed away. He was 78.
In a statement, the Las Vegas Raiders confirmed Atkinson’s passing and paid tribute to one of the most popular players from the 1970s era.
“The Raiders Family is deeply saddened by the passing of George Atkinson, a life-long Raider whose physical style of play helped define an era of football,” the team wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“He anchored the defense as a part of the famed ‘Soul Patrol’ secondary of the 1970s, helping lead the Raiders to unprecedented success as the Silver and Black advanced to five consecutive AFC Championship Games and won Super Bowl XI following the 1976 season. 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 prayers of the Raider Nation are with Denise, Brittany, Maya, Angela, Craig, and the entire Atkinson family at this time.”
Drrafted in the seventh round in 1968 out of Morris Brown College, Atkinson was part of a draft class that included future Raisers Hall of Famers Ken Stabler and Art Shell.
Atkinson, along with Jack “The Assassin” Tatum made one of the most intimidating safety combinations of all time. Both earned reputations of being “dirty players” even during an era when player safety was not in existence.
“Football is a collision sport,” Atkinson told the San Jose Mercury News in a 2016 interview. “If you don’t have a certain mentality you will get run out of the game.”
Atkinson’s most infamous hits came against Pittsburgh Steelers and Hall of Fame wide receiver Lynn Swann who he knocked out in the 1975 AFC championship game and then again in the 1976 season opener with a forearm to the back of the head while Swann wasn’t looking.
In addition to Tatum and Atkinson, the “Soul Patrol” defensive secondary of the Raiders included cornerbacks Willie Brown, a Hall of Famer, and Skip Thomas. Atkinson had been the unit’s last living member.
In his career, Atkinson played 144 games, spending 10 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and a final season with the Broncos. Atkinson was a member of seven AFL or AFC championship games and helped the Raiders win Super Bowl XI.
Atkinson ranks fourth all-time in team history with 33 career interceptions in the regular season.
Atkinson’s twin sons, Josh died by suicide in 2018 and George III died by suicide in 2019. Previously, they’d played college football for Notre Dame. George III eventually played briefly for the Raiders and Cleveland Browns.