The football world has lost another star. John Mackey has joined fellow Hall of Famers Ollie Matson, Joe Perry, and John Henry Johnson as the most recent additions to the football team in the sky. Mackey once said "Playing with Johnny Unitas is like being in the huddle with God". He'll have the chance to make that comparison real.
John Mackey was one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game. He helped make an already great Baltimore Colts offense better. Before Mackey, tight ends mostly blocked. They were an extra lineman far more often than a downfield threat. Mackey spread the field. Scoring from anywhere, his plays were often exrtaordinary. My favorite Mackey story explained his excellent days against the 49ers in San Francisco. If it rained, the field at old Kezar Stadium became much like a bog. Worms came to the surface. Mackey hated worms. He could not, he would not be tackled. Not with the worms on the field. Mackey also made an impact off the field as the first president of the players association. The players could have used his leadership right about now.
Mackey battled dementia in his latter years. His wife, Sylvia, moved the family to Baltimore in the hopes that something familar might trigger a memory. It didn't, but Baltimore remembered him. The city embraced John Mackey.
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