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S Jack Tatum "The Assassin" (All-American, NCAA DPOY,National Champ, CFB HOF, Super Bowl Champ, RIP)

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Was Jack Tatum a bad-boy barroom brawler or a carefully trained athlete?

By Kyle Nagel | Friday, April 11, 2008, 02:16 PM
Tatum.jpg

On Wednesday, I went to see the new movie Leatherheads, a film about professional football in the 1920s.
In one scene (don?t worry, I?m not giving anything away), George Clooney?s character barges into a meeting with the football commissioner after staying up all night drinking in a speakeasy, a period that included a bar fight with Army soldiers. In one chair sits a character played by The Office?s John Krasinski, a former college star who has chosen leave school early and turn professional with a manager named C.C. (both clear references to Red Grange).
Clooney symbolizes the old-time philosophy of pro football, that it was better to be a brawler than a skilled or intellectual player. We even admire Clooney?s character Dodge Connelly for his toughness and charm. He?s not a bad guy, just a gritty one when he needs to be.



Cont...
 
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Link

Oakland Raiders All-Time Defense



S/ Jack Tatum.
 Tatum has been unfairly characterized by some for the Darryl Stingley injury, which is unfortunate, because he was one of the best safeties in NFL history. Many other NFL safeties have made similar hits but because theirs did not result in a such a catastrophic injury, they are not remembered as a ?dirty? player.
The play was within the rules at that time and it always appeared to me that Tatum had no way of knowing whether Stingley touched the ball or not. Every Raider fan should read Tatum?s biography They Call Me Assassin. There are some great Woody Hayes stories from Tatum?s college days at Ohio State, and of course, many great Raider stories.
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osugrad21;1234135; said:
Scout$--All-Time Greatest ? No. 10: Jack Tatum

2 time All-American, National Defensive Player of the Year in 1970, named to 3 Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl, and elected to tOSU HOF in 1981.
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Are you sure that he wasn't a 3 time A-A? I seem to remember a lot of the talk about Mike Doss hitting the hat trick mentioning that he was the first 3 time AA defensive back at Ohio State since Tatum.
 
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ORD_Buckeye;1234141; said:
Are you sure that he wasn't a 3 time A-A? I seem to remember a lot of the talk about Mike Doss hitting the hat trick mentioning that he was the first 3 time AA defensive back at Ohio State since Tatum.
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Laurinaitis is poised to become the 8th this year - the 3-time All-Americans at tOSU are listed here:

official.site.all-american.pdf

Chic Harley - '16, '17, '19
Wes Fesler - '28, '29, '30
Lew Hinchman - '30, '31, '32
Merle Wendt - '34, '35, '36
Archie Griffin - '73, '74, '75
Tom Skladany - '74, '75, '76
Mike Doss - '00, '01, '02
 
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ORD_Buckeye;1234141; said:
Are you sure that he wasn't a 3 time A-A? I seem to remember a lot of the talk about Mike Doss hitting the hat trick mentioning that he was the first 3 time AA defensive back at Ohio State since Tatum.
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3 time All-Big Ten, 2 time 1st team All American.
 
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Since an earlier link to the Tatum hit of Earl Campbell on the goal line is no longer functioning, this one shows it between the 15 and 20 second mark.

Caution - language is NSFW.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty3Van5utZc]YouTube - Earl Campbell is the Juggernaut, #@#$@!![/ame]
 
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MililaniBuckeye;1130728; said:
Looks like he could still strap it up...
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I met Jack when he was in Canton for the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction of John Madden. We chatted for about half an hour and he was one of the nicest people I met the entire weekend. He has had his foot amputated because of diabetes and walks with a cane. It was so strange to see a man that I grew up having on my wall (thanks Dad) hobble around.
 
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OSU ON SUNDAY
TODAY: SAFETIES
Saturday, November 28, 2009
By BY RAY STEIN

Each week, Gameday+ examines Ohio State's impact on professional football with a position-by-position analysis of the Buckeyes who have made a mark in the NFL:

Like the people who herd cattle and fight fires for a living, those who play NFL safety at a high level are cut from a special cloth. Rare is the player who can stand up to the demands of football's most violent position and maintain his edge for years on end. And if tough-as-nails pro safeties had a patron saint, he might wear scarlet and gray.

The best

1128_gd_osu_nfl_tatum_sp_11-28-09_T2_JHFPPU9.jpg

Jack Tatum

College life

Born in North Carolina and raised in New Jersey, Tatum didn't play organized football until he was in high school. But he made a quick impression and soon was heavily recruited by most major colleges. Tatum signed with Ohio State and coach Woody Hayes -- as a running back.

Path to the pros

Tatum moved to the defensive backfield in the spring of his freshman season for the Buckeyes and showed himself to be extremely versatile. He played a little cornerback and linebacker as well as safety, where he was three-time All-Big Ten and two-time All-American. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first round (No. 19 overall) in 1971.

NFL career

The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Tatum was one of the game's great intimidators, which sort of figures for someone nicknamed "The Assassin." He played 136 career games, most with the Raiders (his final season was with the Houston Oilers), and finished with 37 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and a whole bunch of offensive players made nervous by his presence. He made three Pro Bowls.

Little-known facts

Big hits defined Tatum's career, unfortunately including one in a preseason game that paralyzed New England's Daryl Stingley. Many others were less damaging, including blows to Sammy White in Super Bowl XI (he held on!) and Earl Campbell on a goal-line play (he still scored!). Tatum also had a big hand in the Immaculate Reception -- if he had played the ball instead of Frenchy Fuqua, the Raiders win the game.
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OSU ON SUNDAY | The Columbus Dispatch
 
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