Jack Tatum, the All-Pro safety for the Oakland Raiders has died. He was 61. Tatum was a three-time Pro Bowler in nine season with the Raiders from 1971-1979. He finished his career with one season with the Houston Oilers. The NFL Network ranked him as the sixth-most feared defender in league history in a panel last summer
Nicknamed “The Assassin,” Tatum died of a heart attack Tuesday in Oakland, according to friend and former Ohio State teammate John Hicks.
Jack Tatum was known for his hit that paralyzed Darryl Stingley. On Aug. 12, 1978, Stingley, the Chicago high school and Purdue star playing for the New England Patriots, ran head-on into the hard-hitting Tatum on a crossing pattern. The blow severed Stingley’s fourth and fifth veterbrae and left the receiver paralyzed.
Tatum said he tried to visit Stingley at an Oakland hospital shortly after the collision but was turned away by Stingley’s family members. Stingley died in 2007.
