10/27/25 02:42:00
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10/27 14:40 CDT Raiders legend George Atkinson, known for his fierce hits, dies
at 78
Raiders legend George Atkinson, known for his fierce hits, dies at 78
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Pro Football Writer
George Atkinson, a hard-hitting former Raiders safety who struck fear in the
opposition, has died. He was 78.
The Raiders said Atkinson's family informed the team of his death on Monday.
The team said he died in Georgia without revealing a cause of death.
The Raiders called Atkinson the anchor of the team's "Soul Patrol" secondary of
the 1970s that helped lead the team 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 the Oakland
Raiders 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 following the
1976 season.
His 33 career 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 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 had disclosed he was suffering symptoms consistent with CTE in that
interview.
Atkinson joined the Raiders after being drafted in the seventh round in 1968.
He was part of a stellar 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 top in the league in the 1970s.
"We became part of the nucleus for the Raiders from that draft," Atkinson once
told the team website. "We wore the Silver and Black with pride. We understood
what the tradition was and what we had to live up to."
Atkinson was a major part of that, almost from the start, scoring on an 86-yard
punt return in his professional debut. He made the AFL Pro Bowl in his first
two seasons for his play as a returner and defensive back and later became part
of the most feared safety duo in the NFL after Jack Tatum was drafted in the
first round in 1971.
In an era when receivers had little or no protection when going over the
middle, Atkinson and Tatum doled out harsh punishment to 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.
"If you don't want to get hit, it's best not to show up when we play Sunday. I
guarantee you will get hit."
Atkinson's most famous hits came against Pittsburgh and Hall of Fame receiver
Lynn Swann. He knocked him out in the 1975 AFC championship game and then 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 in an interview with NFL Films.
The second hit on Swann led Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll to refer to Atkinson as
part of the "criminal element" in the NFL. Atkinson sued Noll for defamation
but lost the suit.
Atkinson's twin sons George III and Josh both played football at Notre Dame
with George Atkinson III having a brief NFL career that included a stint with
the Raiders. Josh died by suicide in 2018 and George III died by suicide in
2019.
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