An Afro-American Point Of View

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ohn David “Jack ” Tatum was a former professional football defensive back who played ten seasons from 1971 through 1980 for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the National Football League (NFL). He was popularly known as “The Assassin. ” He was voted to three Pro Bowls (1973-1975), and was a member of one Super Bowl winning team in his nine seasons with the Raiders. Tatum earned a reputation as a fierce competitor, and was considered as one of the hardest hitters ever to play the game. In a recent poll by Sports Illustrated on the century ’s best defensive backs, Tatum finished with eight percent of the vote. He is best known for a hit he made against former New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley in a 1978 pre-season game. The hit paralyzed Stingley from the chest down. Tatum was also noted for his involvement in the Immaculate reception play during a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tatum was born November 18, 1948, in Cherryville, North Carolina, and grew up in Passaic, New Jersey, where he had little interest in playing sports in his early years. Tatum did not start playing football until he entered his sophomore year in Passaic High School, where he played as a running back, fullback and defensive back. He was selected First-Team All-State. He was selected a high school All-American as a high school senior. In 1999, the Newark Star-Ledger named Tatum as one of New Jersey ’s top ten defensive players of the century. Tatum visited a number of universities before starting his collegiate career on the Ohio State University Buckeyes team. Head coach Woody Hayes recruited Tatum as a running back. However, assistant coach Lou Holtz convinced Hayes to switch Tatum to defensive back during Tatum ’s freshman season. Tatum was used by the Buckeyes to cover the opposing team ’s best wide receiver, but he also was used occasionally as a linebacker due to the nature of his hits and his innate ability to bring down even the biggest fullback or tight end. Tatum was a First-Team All-Big Ten in 1968, 1969 and 1970. In 1969 and 1970, he was a unanimous All-American. In 1970, he was selected as the National Defensive Player of the Year. He was among the top vote getters for the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to the athlete considered to have been the nation ’s best college football player that year. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a 27-2 record in his three seasons as a starter, with two national championship appearances and one national championship win in 1968, Tatum ’s first season with the team. Tatum was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1981, and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2001, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel instituted the “Jack Tatum Hit of the Week Award, ” given to the player who had the most impressive defensive hit of the game. “I like to believe that my best hits border on felonious assault. ” Jack Tatum He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders as the 19th pick in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft to replace former Oakland safety Dave Grayson, who retired after the 1970 season.

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