Gene Upshaw Dies

Gene Upshaw has been Executive Director of the National Football League Players Association since June 1983, after a successful 16-year career as a player and he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On a trivia note - Upshaw became the only player ever to start on championship teams in both the AFL and NFL.

You may be wondering why I would post this story. Gene Upshaw was one of those people that I kind of knew - only because he was a student teacher in shop class when I was in junior high. First, by me saying junior high - that tells my age, as they are all now middle schools and the like. Now Upshaw was not my own shop class student teacher, but he was a student teacher while I was there. Student teachers usually only teach a couple of classes.

I will say this though. We were afraid of him. We all knew he would drive up through the wall if he gave us 'licks.' For you young-uns and overly politically correct people, that was a paddling you got for misbehaving in class. Why schools have gone away from that is just crazy - I think it was after the whimps that croed for getting lick grew up - they did stuff to "show them" by passing laws and making frivolous law suits. Sorry to digress...

He was born near where I grew up, and went to the same college I graduated from - Texas A&I. (The same school Darrel Green another Pro Footbal Hall of Famer went to). My dad was a local football nut - so I saw every home game for the Javelinas. If you need to know what a Javelina (pronounced hah-vuh-lee-nah, with the accent on the third syllable) is - go here. I remember the game where Upshaw kicked off and it would have been a field goal if such things count. Of course they kicked off from the 40 back then. At least in those days he was a giant to us. (6-5 255lbs) He would not be a large offensive lineman by todays NFL standard.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share about all of that.

Be Safe!