Four Raiders named to The Athletic’s Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
Gene Upshaw, Raiders
Gene Upshaw may be more known as the executive director of the NFL Players’ Association, a position he held for 25 years until his death in 2008, than for his legendary career with the Raiders. Upshaw spent all of his 15-year career with the Raiders after being selected in the first round of the 1967 NFL Draft. He didn’t miss a game until his 15th season and has played the third most games in Raiders history behind only Tim Brown and Sebastian Janikowksi.
The Raiders have had a number of incredible offensive lineman throughout their history but Gene Upshaw may be the best of the bunch. Some of his career accolades include two Super Bowl rings, six Pro Bowl selections, three First-Team All-Pro selections, five Second-Team All-Pro selections, and being named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
As noted on his Wikipedia page, he is the only player in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl in three different decades, all of course with the Raiders. Unlike some of his teammates from the 70s, the NFL recognized the greatness of Upshaw early on and named him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987, just six years after he retired.
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Several other Raiders legends like Art Shell, Jim Otto, Tom Flores, and Charles Woodson just missed the cut in The Athletic’s 25-person list but it is a testament to the greatness of the Raiders that they accounted for nearly 20% of a list that takes two NFL teams, two MLB teams, three D1 NCAA programs, an MLS team, and an NHL team in to account.