From Don Walker at JSONLINE:
Gene Upshaw dead at 63
By Don Walker
Thursday, Aug 21 2008, 08:00 AM
Gene Upshaw, the head of the powerful National Football League Players Association and a football Hall of Famer, died Wednesday night after a bout with pancreatic cancer, the NFL announced.
He was 63. Upshaw had been executive dircector of the union since June 1983, after completing a 16-year career.
Upshaw was an offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders, playing in the Pro Bowl six times. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1987. He is the only player in history to play in three Super Bowls in three different decades in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Link:
http://blogs.jsonline.com/packers/archive/2008/08/21/gene-upshaw-dead-at-63.aspxHere is a quote from Mark Murphy:
"We at the Green Bay Packers today were saddened to learn of the passing of Gene Upshaw.
Gene was a Hall of Fame player who very much appreciated the game and all its traditions and history. Through his leadership on behalf of the players, he helped to strengthen the game and grow the popularity and success it enjoys today.
Personally, I owe a lot to Gene. I had the chance to work with him first as a player representative, and then he gave me a start with the players association as an assistant executive director in 1985 after my playing career had ended.
I was impressed that he always had the best interests of the game in the forefront, even though he remained a strong advocate for the players. At the end of the day he always wanted to do what was right for the game.
He treated the players with dignity, and they had great respect for him given his stature as a Hall of Famer and all of his accomplishments in more than 40 years of NFL involvement.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
And again Hattip Don Walker for this Andrew Brandt blog posting about Upshaw:
Gene has been a voice and presence for NFL players for decades. He was a seminal presence in the labor history of the NFL. He has been criticized for his cozy relationship with former Commissioner Tagliabue and the fact that NFL players do not have guaranteed contracts. That said, free agency in the NFL would not exist but for Gene Upshaw. More importantly, the present collective bargaining agreement that we are living under today has been the source of constant complaint and dissatisfaction by the owners, a testament to the job Gene did.
This deal, negotiated by Upshaw and his staff in March of 2006, is the best deal NFL players have ever had. They receive 59.5% of Total Football Revenues (TFR), not the Designated Gross Revenues (DGR) that were calculated under the previous agreement. DGR primarily included broadcast and ticket revenue; TFR includes all football revenues. This change of acronyms has brought NFL players tremendous wealth compared to where they once were.
Link to article:
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008/08/gene-upshaw-a-lasting-presence/
