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Jack Tatum, lionized as a hard-hitting safety for the Ohio State Buckeyes and later the NFL's Oakland Raiders, died today in California of a heart attack. He was 61.
John Hicks, a friend and former teammate, said he learned of Tatum's death from another former teammate, Tim Anderson, who was with the Tatum family in California.
Tatum had suffered from numerous health problems in the past 10 years and had a leg amputated in 2003. Hicks said he recently was treated for kidney and liver failure.
"We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes. When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans," Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel said.
Tatum started as a sophomore on the 1968 national championship team, was a two-time All-American and the national defensive player of the year as a senior in 1970.
He came Ohio State as a running back but moved to defense in the spring of his freshman year and was a mainstay the next three years as Ohio State compiled a 27-2 record and two Big Ten titles, the Rose Bowl twice and the national title.
Oakland selected him in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft. In his nine-year pro career, he was named to the Pro Bowl three times and won a Super Bowl championship with the Raiders in 1976.
"He was the best football player I ever played with or against, pro or college," said a teammate, former Ohio State linebacker Stan White. "O.J. Simpson or Walter Payton or Ronnie Lott, Jack was the best pure football player I ever saw."
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/07/27/jack-tatum-dies.html?sid=101
Jack Tatum, lionized as a hard-hitting safety for the Ohio State Buckeyes and later the NFL's Oakland Raiders, died today in California of a heart attack. He was 61.
John Hicks, a friend and former teammate, said he learned of Tatum's death from another former teammate, Tim Anderson, who was with the Tatum family in California.
Tatum had suffered from numerous health problems in the past 10 years and had a leg amputated in 2003. Hicks said he recently was treated for kidney and liver failure.
"We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes. When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans," Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel said.
Tatum started as a sophomore on the 1968 national championship team, was a two-time All-American and the national defensive player of the year as a senior in 1970.
He came Ohio State as a running back but moved to defense in the spring of his freshman year and was a mainstay the next three years as Ohio State compiled a 27-2 record and two Big Ten titles, the Rose Bowl twice and the national title.
Oakland selected him in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft. In his nine-year pro career, he was named to the Pro Bowl three times and won a Super Bowl championship with the Raiders in 1976.
"He was the best football player I ever played with or against, pro or college," said a teammate, former Ohio State linebacker Stan White. "O.J. Simpson or Walter Payton or Ronnie Lott, Jack was the best pure football player I ever saw."
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2010/07/27/jack-tatum-dies.html?sid=101
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