He’s a Pro Football Hall of Famer, one of the key members of the Oakland Raiders dynasty. It represents one of the NFL’s most colorful eras, but that’s just part of the story. Gene Upshaw influenced both on and off the field, impacted the game of football, and changed professional sports forever. Welcome to Highway 63: The Legacy of Gene Upshaw.
Hello everyone, I’m Dave Feldman. Welcome to Schafer’s Mill Golf and Lake Club here in beautiful Truckee, California. For anyone who has followed the Oakland Raiders of a certain era, guard Gene Upshaw is a household name. Since his death in 2008, some of the biggest names in professional sports have gathered here for the Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf Classic. The event raises money for the Tahoe Forest Cancer Center. Four years ago, the cancer treatment and care center was dedicated in Upshaw’s name and is now the Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center.
Upshaw was an Oakland Raider for 15 years, but his accomplishments were far greater than what he did on the football field. Let’s start with a young man who grew up in Robstown, Texas. I go into the Hall with all of you because you wouldn’t make the game of football great. Gene was a very down-to-earth person. There was this perception of who he was on the field and how he was a leader, and he was this tough guy, but there was such a soft, sweet side to Gene. He was just a great guy who you never forgot.
His humble beginnings: for Eugene Thurman Upshaw Jr., the journey to the Pro Football Hall of Fame began in tiny Robstown, Texas. In 1967, the American Football League’s Oakland Raiders made Upshaw their first-round draft pick. In his rookie season, the Raiders recognized Upshaw’s rare combination of speed and strength and positioned him at guard. Upshaw would become the prototype for an entire generation of pro football guards. I watch the play because we play them twice a year, and I was very impressed because he could run like a deer and play like a rookie. You fit right in, Daddy did.
Upshaw’s impact on the field was immediate. He started as a rookie, and the Raiders made the playoffs in his first three years. Thanks in no small part to Upshaw’s efforts, the Raiders made the playoffs in 11 of his 15 seasons with the team. But it wasn’t just about his ability on the field. He’s a great leader. He was the man every place needs somebody like. Gene led by playing and vocally. Believe me, he had such a presence that you would have thought he was the assistant head coach. He ran things. He was a guy that didn’t say much, but he said something. Listen, you know, stable as a quarterback, but you see, they’ll listen to him. He helped me when I became a head coach. He helped us win a Super Bowl. But also, his guidance as a player in the Raiders of the 60s and 70s—that was no small feat. To call the Raiders of Matheus at Hendrix, Stabler, Biletnikoff colorful? That would be a dramatic understatement. We do have some interesting guys. They were about to say the Raiders were crazy. They were outlaws. Davis, who rules day, was this, you know, because you would assume it. In the black, he would always share some of the great stories, you know, how they were going in the locker room at halftime. And guys would be smoking cigarettes, and we New Age guys at the time were like, “Over cigarettes at halftime.”
Anyone who could assume a leadership role in that group deserved an appropriate nickname. Upshaw became known as “The Governor.” Noah GD gave it to him. They call him the Governor because he was a politician and he was always talking. It was almost like he was always campaigning for something. He knew how to talk to players. He knew how to motivate players. He knew how to really get the best out of the players around him. I could see clearly why they were calling him the Governor.
In 15 seasons in Oakland, Upshaw’s Raiders won one AFL title, 1977 and 1981, and they won the Super Bowl. Upshaw is the only player to appear in the Super Bowl in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Through the 60s, through the 70s, and into the 80s, the team didn’t change personalities that much because he had the same guy. So you’re playing the Raiders, Upshaw is still there. We just had a great offense. They didn’t call it Highway 63 for nothing. Along that highway came six Pro Bowl selections for Upshaw. At the conclusion of his career, he was named to both the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 70s and the 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.
We talk about players having ownership. Gene really owned the Raiders. Not only did he talk to the players, he talked to defensive players and could have been almost important enough for us. Upshaw retired in 1981 with an incredible distinction: he missed one game in 15 seasons. In 1987, Upshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I can always look back and remember this moment because so many of you have had such a tremendous part in making this a successful career for Gene. Thank you very much.
Upshaw’s football career was just part of his life story. He would become one of the most influential figures in pro sports labor relations, the impact of which is still felt today. We’ll hear about that later in the show, but next we’ll go out to JT the Brick in this year’s Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf Classic.
Tahoe Forest Health System, a UC Davis Rural Center of Excellence, offers advanced technologies in orthopedics, including a total joint program and direct anterior approach total hip replacement. Expert care with convenience and accessibility close to home in the beautiful Truckee Lake Tahoe area. We’re able to handle just about everything from complex pelvis fractures to very simple stuff and everything in between. I think a big part of what we offer that they won’t get at big centers is truly the personalized attention. So if I do a surgery on a patient, I see them before surgery, I see them after surgery, and then when they come to the office, they see me for every visit. That’s not true at a lot of the big centers, where they see the surgeon once or maybe twice, and if there’s an issue, sometimes it’s difficult to get back in. Here, that’s never a problem.
Highway 63: The Legacy of Gene Upshaw is presented by Tahoe Forest Health System, located in North Lake Tahoe. Find out more at TFHD.org.
Welcome back to Highway 63: The Legacy of Gene Upshaw. Celebrity golf tournaments are about raising money for charities, but they’re also a chance for pro athletes to get reacquainted and share some of their unique experiences. Nationally syndicated sports talk host JT the Brick is on the course with one former NFL player and one current one.
You know, it’s great playing with two guys like this. One was just a fantastic, legendary linebacker and had an unbelievable career. Will with a spoon, and then Alex Carter went to Stanford and is just starting his career in Detroit. He has just a great career in front of him as an athletic defensive back. To see two guys like this bonding, who really never met before, it’s a lot of fun.
Now, I’m impressed because both you guys think about charities, but you’re a real young player in this league. What motivated you to come play here? I think it was great to be around guys that have played like this and just soak up their kind of wisdom. I’m just talking early about all the things that he… it’s great to be around. Gene Upshaw meant something to you, but he had an impact on your career. Tell us about that. When I first came into the league, I was kind of in a good place at the time with the CBA and everything else. There was not a lot of contract dispute going on there, but by the time I became a free agent, that had changed. But Gene himself, just understanding his story and how much people viewed him as a player, you see that just carried through.
All right, make this all right, chipping the chip and roll right, that’s what we want.
That’s we get by me, pick that up for you. Keeping the roll, I’ll get you talking about Gene Upshaw more and get all those ups and downs. The Gene Upshaw Golf Classic not only raises money for worthy causes but celebrates the legacy of a man who continues to influence the players in the game. He was so passionate about football. Thank you guys.
This year’s tournament featured an impressive list of celebrities. Among them were Hall of Famers Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk, and Fred Biletnikoff. It all got started on Sunday night at the pairings party.
Good evening and welcome to the 8th annual Gene Upshaw Memorial Golf Classic. It’s hard to believe that Gene has been gone eight years this August. Some days it feels like yesterday, and other times it feels like a lifetime ago. I still miss him. I’m so humbled by the generosity of each and every one of you who are here tonight and for your continued support. Since the inception of this event in 2009, we have raised over a million dollars to help fund traumatic brain injury research, concussion prevention, education, and help so many cancer patients and their families in this community.
Well, you know, this is a local charity for me, so it’s nice. It’s my backyard, so I do support a lot of charities. But having the Gene Upshaw Memorial Fund right here in our backyard, it’s important to my community of Truckee. We’ve seen the work that Gene’s done with the Cancer Center down in Truckee, and I have a place in Truckee, so it’s fun to come support it. You know, it’s an honor to come out and represent. It’s always a good cause, and if you can find more information to save more lives, best support is always a good thing.
I had a very special relationship with Gene. He mentored me a lot, taught me a lot, and if I can lend my likeness to come here to help fundraise in his name, I’ma be here.
The major attraction of the pairings party was for all the participants to meet the celebrities, take pictures, and get autographs with the Hall of Famers, personalities, and Raiders favorites they’d be playing golf with the following day. Ladies and gentlemen, we are thrilled to have the head coach of the reigning NFC champion Carolina Panthers. Let’s hear it for Ron Rivera.
