Post by MiniHusk on Aug 21, 2008 8:03:32 GMT -5
nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26326065/
NEW YORK - NFL.com is reporting that Gene Upshaw, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and executive director of the NFL's Players Association, died early Thursday morning after a bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.
Upshaw, a former left guard for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, was named an All-Pro 11 times in his 16-year career. He also was selected to seven Pro Bowls between 1967 and 1981
and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987 - his first year of eligibility.
Upshaw was a member of the Oakland team that won the 1967 AFL Championship but lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. He would later win championships with Oakland in 1977 and again in 1984 following the team's move to Los Angeles.
His trio of appearances makes him the only player in NFL history to appear in the Super Bowl in three different decades and the only player to start in both an AFL and NFL Championship game.
Following a successful playing career, during which he served as a player representative and officer for the Players Association for 13 years, Upshaw continued to serve the Association when he became the executive director of the NFLPA in 1983.
Under his direction, the NFLPA and NFL came to an agreement on a Collective Bargaining Agreement in 1977 and again in 1982 and 1993. Upshaw also led negotiations for CBA extensions in 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Upshaw was rewarded with a contract extension through 2010, following the 2006 CBA extension that raised the salary cap to $102 million in 2006 and $109 million in 2007 as well as created a series of improvements to their policy and program on anabolic steroids and related substances.
However, in April, Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover e-mailed a plan to fellow player representatives to have a new union leader in place by next March.
Upshaw has been harshly criticized for not doing enough for retired players who have encountered health problems, but he also helped improve the situation of players currently in the league.
Upshaw revolutionized the Players Association by making it the first association of its kind to create a for-profit corporation for player group licensing - the National Football League Players Incorporated, also known as NFL PLAYERS.
NFL PLAYERS, an Upshaw initiative, is "involved in the creation, ownership and marketing of special events, promotions, publishing, and recording and broadcasting projects," according to its web site, NFLPlayers.com.
Upshaw is survived by his wife, Terri, and sons, Justin, Daniel and Eugene Jr.
NEW YORK - NFL.com is reporting that Gene Upshaw, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and executive director of the NFL's Players Association, died early Thursday morning after a bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.
Upshaw, a former left guard for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, was named an All-Pro 11 times in his 16-year career. He also was selected to seven Pro Bowls between 1967 and 1981
and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987 - his first year of eligibility.
Upshaw was a member of the Oakland team that won the 1967 AFL Championship but lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. He would later win championships with Oakland in 1977 and again in 1984 following the team's move to Los Angeles.
His trio of appearances makes him the only player in NFL history to appear in the Super Bowl in three different decades and the only player to start in both an AFL and NFL Championship game.
Following a successful playing career, during which he served as a player representative and officer for the Players Association for 13 years, Upshaw continued to serve the Association when he became the executive director of the NFLPA in 1983.
Under his direction, the NFLPA and NFL came to an agreement on a Collective Bargaining Agreement in 1977 and again in 1982 and 1993. Upshaw also led negotiations for CBA extensions in 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Upshaw was rewarded with a contract extension through 2010, following the 2006 CBA extension that raised the salary cap to $102 million in 2006 and $109 million in 2007 as well as created a series of improvements to their policy and program on anabolic steroids and related substances.
However, in April, Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover e-mailed a plan to fellow player representatives to have a new union leader in place by next March.
Upshaw has been harshly criticized for not doing enough for retired players who have encountered health problems, but he also helped improve the situation of players currently in the league.
Upshaw revolutionized the Players Association by making it the first association of its kind to create a for-profit corporation for player group licensing - the National Football League Players Incorporated, also known as NFL PLAYERS.
NFL PLAYERS, an Upshaw initiative, is "involved in the creation, ownership and marketing of special events, promotions, publishing, and recording and broadcasting projects," according to its web site, NFLPlayers.com.
Upshaw is survived by his wife, Terri, and sons, Justin, Daniel and Eugene Jr.
